Fringe Programme Style Guide

The Style Guide is also available to download here.

We have put together a Style Guide to help participants write their copy, and to answer some frequently asked questions ensuring that we are consistent in the way we do things across the printed programme and website and to make sure that your listings are clear, correct and user-friendly. The Guide acts as the default for the way we present your listing's copy but we also want performers and companies to be able to present their work in the way that they wish. We are therefore always happy to discuss any specific requests, questions or deviations from the Guide when you are registering your show, on a case-by-case basis.

The Fringe Society is the publisher of the listings and holder of the copyright for the content in the official Fringe Programme and on edfringe.com. As such we reserve the right to edit copy or refuse images in order to comply with the Style Guide, or if we believe them to be inappropriate in any way. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an open access festival and The Fringe Society neither selects the shows that take part, nor controls the content of those shows and the associated promotional materials. Under no circumstances will we be liable for any content, including but not limited, to errors or omissions, or loss or damage (or claim thereof) of any kind as a result of any content submitted for publication.  

We endeavor to work with the performer, company or venue when making changes but please note, as the publisher, the Fringe Society's decision is final. Please feel free to contact the programme team if you have any questions. You can reach them on programme@edfringe.com or +44 (0)131 226 0034.

Common awards:

BAFTA - British Academy of Film and Television Award

Tony - Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre

Ages

Eight years old, but an eight-year-old; the 56-year-old actor; she was in her 20s (but twentysomething, thirtysomething, etc).

And/but

It is acceptable to start a sentence with 'and' or 'but', however be careful.

'n' is a contraction of 'and' resulting in the creation of one word: as in rock'n'roll should be written as one word with apostrophes around the 'n'.

Ampersands (&)

Use in brand names when the brand does: Marks & Spencer, P&O. Otherwise, 'and' is always preferable.
Eg, Ant and Dec

Apostrophes

Apostrophes indicate a missing letter or letters (can't, we'd) or a possessive (David's book). Don't use an apostrophe to indicate a plural (pea's), but be sure not to omit one where it's required.

The possessive in words and names ending in S normally takes an apostrophe followed by a second S (eg, Jones's), but be guided by pronunciation and use a plural apostrophe where it helps: Mephistopheles' rather than Mephistopheles's.

One year's experience (I have one year of experience)

Two years' experience (I have two years of experience)

Plural nouns that do not end in 's' take an apostrophe and 's' in the possessive: children's games, old folk's home, etc. Phrases such as butcher's knife, goat's cheese, hangman's noose, etc are treated as singular.

Be careful as not all plurals require a possessive. Sometimes the relationship is adjectival, not possessive:
eg, Fringe Schools Poster Competition, Boys School, sports car

Sometimes there's no thing to possess or be possessed (possessive phrases need two nouns), ie:

Twenty weeks pregnant

Awards and acknowledgments

Awards and prizes are generally uc, eg, Fringe First Awards, Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Award-winning, Prize-winninghyphenated, unlike award winner, prize winner.  Also applies with reference to specific awards, eg,Fringe First-winning.

Best Newcomer nominee Initial caps on Best and Newcomer, lc for nominee

Critic's Choiceupper case when referring to an acknowledged feature in a publication, notably the Time Out London Critics' Choice (note the plural possessive); lc when implying that a critic has chosen to favour something with a good review.

Any word ending in -ly cannot be followed by a hyphen. For example: critically acclaimed not critically-acclaimed.

Babes in arms
Babes in arms, in running text 'babes in arms', no initial caps, no hyphenation.

BBC
BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four
BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, Five Live, Radio 6 Music

Numerals only used for radio

Brackets

Brackets if the sentence is logically and grammatically complete without the information contained within the parentheses (round brackets), then punctuation stays outside brackets. (A complete sentence that stands alone in parentheses starts with a capital letter and ends with a stop.)

Brand names
Brand names should be spelt as they are known. A few commonly used brand names we style as they do:
EventScotland
PortaKabin
SoundCloud
VisitScotland

British/American English

Please use British spellings. Retain North American (ie, theater) for company names that elect to apply it.

Caps versus lower caps

Capitalisation should be reserved for proper grammatical usage and for certain abbreviations (see Abbreviations and Acronyms). Nothing else should be written in all-caps.

In the Fringe Programme, title case is used. Show titles and group names take initial capitals except for a, an, and, at, for, from, in, of, the, to (apart from initial position, after a colon or dash). If there's felt a legimate reason to change the capitalization than the registration team will deal with this a case-by-case basis.

In performer or performing company names 'in association with' should all be lower case.

Citations

Printed press sources take initial caps and omit the prefatory 'the' when cited in brackets. So: (List), (Scotsman), (ThreeWeeks), (Times). Press sources otherwise retain their 'the', lc and without emphasis, in running text: the Guardian, the New York Times, etc. When referring to the city where a press source is published (when this is not part of the title), place it after the publication and a comma, eg, (Advertiser, Adelaide).

Websites, when used as cited sources, should list the registered domain name of the site homepage (no http:// or www.) without emphasis, using initial caps on the name (no spaces) but not suffix string. So: Guardian.co.uk, Scotsman.com, TimeOut.com.

ThreeWeeksis one word, the 'T' and 'W' both take full caps. It is a printed publication.

Social media sources should be cited as the handle (or page), followed by a comma and then the appropriate source.

For example: @FringeBiscuit, Twitter.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns such as company, duo, team and troupe take a singular verb or pronoun when thought of as a single unit, but (more commonly) a plural verb or pronoun when thought of as a collection of individuals:

'The company is well-known for its hit-and-miss updates of Aristophanes';

'The company are back in Edinburgh after their triumphant tour of the US'.

'The Fringe Society staff are happy to help.'

'The Board are meeting later this month.'

This also applies with reference to proper nouns:

'Rogue Shakespeare are back in Edinburgh after their triumphant tour'.

Colons and semi-colons

Colon use between two sentences, or parts of sentences, where the first introduces a proposition that is resolved by the second, eg, Fowler put it like this: to deliver the goods invoiced in the preceding words. A colon should also be used (rather than a comma) to introduce a quotation: 'He was an expert on punctuation', or to precede a list - 'He was an expert on the following: the colon, the comma and the full stop.'

Semi-colon is used to join two complete sentences into a single sentence when the two sentences are too closely related to be separated by a full stop, there is no connecting word which would require a comma, such as and or but, and the conditions requiring a colon are absent. The semicolon must be both preceded by a complete sentence and followed by a complete sentence; use sparingly and only when convinced you are correct.

Commas

Commas should be used to separate clauses, not connect them.

Comma Splice

This is when a comma is used to separate two independent clauses, when a conjunction should really be used. Please avoid.

Eg,

I love to travel, I go on holiday whenever I can.

This sentence should read:

I love to travelsoI go on holiday whenever I can.

I love to travel - I go on holiday whenever I can.

Oxford comma

Should only be used if it is essential to the reader:

'I dedicate this book to my parents, Martin Amis, and JK Rowling'

'I dedicate this book to my parents, Martin Amis and JK Rowling'.

Sentences containing simple lists of nouns do not generally need an Oxford comma:

'The flag is yellow, green and red'.

However, more complex lists may require the use of a comma for clarity:

'He had bacon, eggs, toast and marmalade, and tea'.

Use sparingly.

Compass points

Geographically distinct areas are capped up but areas defined by compass points are lower case: the north, the south-east, the south-west, etc. Equally: eastern culture, western music, etc.

east Asia; eastern, but the East End of London
north Wales, north-west England, etc. northern, northerner
south-west England, the south-east, south Wales, etc.

Highlands and Islands
Borders
Central Belt
East Anglia
Lake District
Midlands
West Country

North London (is now used as a proper noun)

Currency

Prices should be written in whole pounds and pence if required.

The programme registration fee is £295.20.
Lanyards cost £1.

Dashes

Dashes we use en dashes to surround subordinate clauses with one space before and after.

Dates and times

Dates eg: 05 August 2016 (no commas). In the 21^st century but a 21^st-century boy; 10,000BC; references to decades use figures: eg, the swinging 60s or 1960s.

Centuries should be hyphenated when used adjectivally: a 17^th-century play dealing with life in the 10^th century.

Times These are the different formats you can use: 1am, 6:30pm; half past two, quarter to three; for 24-hour clock, 00:47, 23:59. Please try to be consistent and preferably use the 24-hour clock.

Dictionary

Please use the Oxford English Dictionary.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Edinburgh Festival Fringenot Fringe Festival or Ed Fringe. Note that, apart from proper names, festival always takes lc and Fringe takes uc.

Also, a show can be at the Fringe or on the Fringe, but not in the Fringe.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society the organisation that helps organise the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Edinburgh Slang

Auld Reekie

New Town

Old Town

Either/or, neither/nor

Do you have either an apple or a pear?

I have neither an apple nor a pear.

Ellipses

If you are continuing a sentence, use three dots before the first word, no space ('...the cast is perfection'). If the sentence is missing its end, three dots after the final word, no space ('She didn't want to go there...'). If the missing bit is in the middle, three dots with a space on the end ('She didn't want to go there... the cast is perfection').

Exclamation marks

We recommend only using one, when needed. We allow no more than two.

Explicit words
Please bear in mind your audience when considering the use of any explicit or potentially offensive words. Explicit words may be included in a show's title or copy. However, f*ck and c*nt will be represented as such by replacing the key characters of the word with * symbols. This is reflective of the general offense caused by these words.

Half

Halfhas no hyphen when used adverbially: his trousers were at half mast; the scores were level at half time. Hyphen when used adjectivally: a half-price ticket; a half-eaten sandwich. The boy is six and a half; a six and a half-year-old boy.

Half hour but ahalf-hour performance.

Headings
For show titles in the Fringe Programme, title case should be used. Also use for titles of other plays, novels, poems etc used in show copy.

Use lowercase only for conjunctions (words like and, or, nor, and but), articles (the words a, an, and the), and prepositions (words like as, at, by, for, in, of, on, per, and to), as long as they aren't the first word in a title or subtitle.

Hyphenation

There is no need to use hyphens with most compound adjectives where the meaning is clear and unambiguous without (eg, civil rights movement, financial services sector, etc). Hyphens should be used to form short compound adjectives (eg, stand-up comedian, 19^th-century artist, etc). Also use hyphens where not using one would be ambiguous (eg, to distinguish 'black-cab drivers come under attack' from 'black cab-drivers come under attack'). Do not use hyphens after adverbs ending in - ly (eg, internationally acclaimed), but when an adverb is also an adjective (eg, hard), the hyphen is required to avoid ambiguity (it's not a hard, pressed person, but a hard-pressed one; an ill-prepared report, rather than an ill, prepared one). Use hyphens with short and common adverbs: well-established principle of style (note though that in the construction 'the principle of style is well established' there is no need to hyphenate).

Words definitely not hyphenated:
Cooperate
Coordinate
Email
Website
Online
Rewrite
Subtotal

MC, Emcee
Both accepted as alternative for Master of Ceremonies. Emcee is the derivative now commonly used to describe a vocalist performing to a beat in hip hop music.

Measurements

Please use metric whenever possible.

cm - centimetre

kph - kilometres per hour

kg - kilos

km - kilometre

mm  - millimetre

mph - miles per hour

m - metre

mile

M - million

K - thousand

Heights

6' 7" with a space between 6 and 7 is acceptable, otherwise six feet, seven inches

Music
A cappella should be lower case 'a cappella' in running text. Alphabetise under A.

Band names Check online for reference to how the band identifies - Editors, not The Editors. The Beatles, not Beatles. The Rolling Stones, not Rolling Stones etc. Bands take a plural verb (Editors are overrated, Iron Butterfly were the loudest band of the 60s, etc).

Classical music Mozart's 41st Symphony (or Symphony No 41) in C, K551; Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2; Schubert's Sonata in A minor for Piano, D845; Op 58, No 2. No quotation marks required.
Genres All music genres are generally lower case, unless being used in a title.
Hip hop is always two words, unless acting as an adjective.
R&B is always used with an ampersand.

Honky-tonk is one word with a hyphen.
Rock star is always two words, unless acting as an adjective.
Singer/songwriter - one word

No one

Not no-one

Numbers

Spell out from zero to nine and use numerals from 10 to 999,999.
Thereafter use m or bn for sums, quantities or inanimate objects in copy, eg, £10m, 5bn tonnes of coal; but million or billion for people or animals, eg, 1 million people, 3 billion rabbits, etc. Also: 1,000 (no spaces), not 1000.

Adjectives of sequence follow the same rules:
spell out first to ninth, then 10^th - 21^st, millionth.

Please note, no sentence should start with a numeral. (Eg, 'Seventy people applied for your job.')

One show/one listing programme policy

The Fringe Society operates a one show/one listing policy for all registered shows. That means that every show registered and listed in the programme and/or edfringe.com is entitled to exactly the same listing space as any other - and each listing must only be filled by one show. For an open arts festival as big and diverse as the Fringe, defining what makes up a single show can be a tricky task. In the simplest of terms, if you can explain the exact experience of your show in your 40-word show copy, you likely have a single show.

One company performing one concert for three weeks is an obvious example of a single show. A music programme featuring different musicians each night is also considered one show if the format is the same and you don't need a breakdown of who is performing on each night (eg, 'We feature the best musicians on the Fringe each night'). However, if you need to use a portion of your copy to explain the differences on each date (eg, 'On the 21st, soloist Jane Smith will perform Grieg, on the 22nd John Brown will perform Mozart and on the 24th Aleksandra von Wruck will perform Prokofiev,') you likely have multiple shows. Similarly, you cannot register the same show more than once in order to have a number of listings. This ensures all participants get the same listing space. A second show with a similar title or set-up must be significantly different and the copy should explain that.

Each show should only be registered once and have one listing in the programme and on edfringe.com.

Phone numbers

Telephone numbers are unhyphenated. Check if a three-, four-, or five-digit area code applies, then format respectively: 012 3456 7890, 0123 456 7890, 01234 567890.

Mobiles have five digit area codes and should be presented as such, eg: 07123 456789.
If placed after the last sentence in the copy, they require no full stop, unless they are part of a sentence: eg, for booking details, call 0123 456 7890.

Quotations Marks

Use single quotes (' ') at the start and end of a quoted section. Double quotes (" ") should only be used to help denote irony or sarcasm.

Place full stops and commas inside quotes for a complete quoted sentence, otherwise the point comes outside. Anna said: 'Your style guide needs updating,' and I said: 'I agree.' But: Anna said updating the guide was 'a difficult and time-consuming task'.

(Sic)

If there is an error /unusual spelling, archaisms, grammar, punctuation in the original text, you can indicate this using (sic) next to the word. This tells your reader that this 'error' is deliberate and part of the original quoted text, rather than a typo.

Show Image

Image must be minimum 343x343 pixels at 300dpi, RGB or CMYK. JPEGs are recommended.

Your show image must be in keeping with our policies and the style guide.

The image must not feature full nudity.

Be careful to avoid:

An image that will not appear on any further publicity material

A production snapshot that is not representative of the show

Using a low res/unprofessional photo

Using an image you don't have the rights for

Small text that may not be legible due to the size of the image in the programme

Star ratings
Star ratings should not be enclosed in quotation marks when listed on their own. Always cite the source of the rating. Separate an extended series of star ratings from various sources with semicolons. A star should be rendered in Edfringeware as [s]*[/s] for programme copy. Use just * for web copy, no tags are required.

'It was a five-star, award-winning show'.
'They received five stars from the Scotsman'.

Programme style for quote, star rating and attribution:
'Amazing' ***** (Scotsman).

That or which?

'That' defines, 'which' gives extra information (often in a clause enclosed by commas): This is the house that Jack built, but this house, which John built, is falling down; The Guardian, which I read every day, is the paper that I admire above all others. Note that in such examples the sentence remains grammatical without 'that', but not without 'which'.

Tricky words

acknowledgementnot acknowledgment.

any moreis always two words.
any time or anytime? Use it as one word like this: Jo said the meeting can be scheduled anytime. But if you're using it as an adjective to modify a noun it should be two words: Bee won't have any time until Thursday.
dependent or dependant? A dependant is someone who's dependent on someone else.
effect or affect? Most of the time you use affect as a verb and effect as a noun: 'When you affect something, you have an effect on it.'
biannual can mean twice a year.

Biennialmeans once every two years.

compliment- an expression of praise or admiration.

complement- a thing that contributes extra features to something else in such a way as to improve it.

emailis one word with no hyphen.

every day or everyday?Is two words except when it's an adjective, eg 'I'm just an everyday guy, who likes a swim every day.'

focusingnot focussing,focusednot focussed

internet- no initial cap

iOS - lower case 'i', caps OS
judgement not judgment (except in legal terms: a judge makes a judgment. But he can show bad judgement when making that judgment).
learnt or learned? Learnt is traditionally British so if you're writing for a UK audience, you'll be safer using learnt than learned. Otherwise your audience might think you can't spell.

licenceis the noun

licenseis the verb, Edinburgh Licensing Board, a Premises Licence, Theatre Licence etc.

'I am going to apply for alicence'.

The council willlicenseyour venue.

live-stream/live-streamed

live-tweet

on season/off season- as a noun, two words

opt in/opt out- as a noun, two words

pageview- one word

PowerPoint(one word, capital P in the middle).

practiceis the noun

practiseis the verb

principle- a fundamental truth or proposition 'the guiding principle of the Fringe Society...'

principal- first in order of importance

real-time

stationarymeans standing still.

stationeryis pens and pencils and all that ('e for envelope' is an easy way to remember it).

straight awaynot straightaway.

Tumblr

web pageis two words

websiteis one word

wifi- one word

Web and email addresses

Websitesshould be written in lower case without the www/https etc. If placed alone after the last sentence in the copy, they require no full stop, unless they are part of a sentence: If a web or email address comes at the end of a sentence, it should have a full stop after it. Even if it's at the end of a paragraph.

Websites as citations in copy should take initial caps to make them readable:

BroadwayBaby.com

One4Review.co.uk

Using the Style Guide - Programme Production 2020
This is the official style manual for use in creating and editing a listing for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Programme. It lists topics alphabetically, interspersing broader subjects with clarifications of spelling, punctuation and formatting in specific cases. Throughout this manual, 'lc' stands for lower case and 'uc' for upper case. We also refer to the Oxford Dictionary for spelling and use the online service https://www.lexico.com/ .

Accents

These should be used on French, German, Spanish, Gaelic words etc, but not anglicised words like cafe (unless in the name of an establishment that uses an accent) or naive, apart from:

à la carte
exposé
résumé
roué

Institut français d'Écosse

Acronyms, abbreviations, initialisms

Do not use full stops in abbreviations or spaces between initials.

UK
USA
mph
4am
WH Smith
Op 58

Mr                                                       Mrs                                                      Ms

Use all capitals if an abbreviation is pronounced as the individual letters.

BBC
VAT
CD

AKA (also known as)