TAGS Festival

@tagsfest.co.uk

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Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling Festival https://tagsfest.co.uk/ 🏷️ 17th October 2026 📌 Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh ✉️ hello@tagsfest.co.uk 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Run by @smallpress.scot

Applicants, check your email! Image is of two seagulls fighting over a zine.

Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling (TAGS) Festival. TAGS Festival returns on 17th October 2026! Image of a person wearing rollerskates and headphones sitting on a grassy hill, overlooking Edinburgh Castle with large clouds in the sky.

Did you visit TAGs? We'd love to hear your feedback! To help this free event continue, please let us know what you thought of TAGS Fest 2025. We can use the information you share when applying for funding for future events.

A small boat resting against stack of rocks. Two seabirds make posters and string zines while an octopus drips ink into a printer. Text reads "TAGS (Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling) Festival, TODAY! A free-to-attend event celebrating Scottish small press and indie creators! Explore comics, zines, graphic novels, tabletop games, and more! Day Two. 10am - 5pm. Fruitmarket, Edinburgh."

A small boat resting against stack of rocks with various seabirds perched on them, making zines, painting figures, or playing board games. Text reads "TAGS (Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling) Festival, TODAY! A free-to-attend event celebrating Scottish small press and indie creators! Explore comics, zines, graphic novels, tabletop games, and more! Day One. 10am - 5pm. Fruitmarket, Edinburgh."

Talks & Panels
All of our talks are free to attend, but space is limited. We suggest queueing up 10 minutes before the talk begins to guarantee getting a seat. Talks run for 45 mins.

Saturday

Pitch to Page: How do you make a comic? 11am. Scripting, compositions, pencilling, inking, colouring, lettering, printing; so much goes into every comic you've loved reading. Sit in with veteran comic creators Gustaffo Vargas and Jenny Mure as they chat about the comic-making process.

Fanfiction, the Old Human Tradition. 12.30pm. Fanfiction has always been part of storytelling culture. Join Ell J Walker and Fran Morton as they discuss the similarities and differences between modern and historic fanfiction.

Comics For Your Own Good: Educating through comics. 2pm. As a medium, comics are a very accessible way to share information. Cat Laird and Julie Campbell will discuss the strength of comics in education and community outreach.

You Can Be a Luddite: How artists can resist AI. 3.30pm. Listen to comic creator Tom Humberstone discuss the impact of generative AI on the creative process, and how artists and audiences can rally against the rising tide of slop.

Sunday

First Draft to Final Product: How do you make a game? 11am. Join TTRPG publisher Paolo Greco / Lost Pages and game designer Letty Wilson as they discuss the ins and outs of the game-making process.

Let's Talk Cash: The cold hard finances of making comics. 12.30pm. Many creative industries are financially lean fields. With the costs of living ever spiralling, Faye Stacey and James Lawrence discuss the realities of making money as comic creators, from self-publishing to public funding.

Autobiography & Vulnerability. 2pm. Steven Fraser, Ashling Larkin, and Amandawonk come together to discuss their experiences of autobiographical work, and the power of creating comics about yourself.

TAGS (Tabletop & Graphic Storytelling) Festival. Board Game Zone signups opening soon! 1.5 hour sessions with the TTRPG of your choice. 2 hour sessions of Blood on the Clocktower. Playtests from local game designers. Oct 25th-26th Fruitmarket.