Age guideline 7-11, 11-13

Author of Costa Book Award-winning Asha & the Spirit Bird Jasbinder Bilan and bestselling author of The Girl of Ink & Stars Kiran Millwood Hargrave are celebrated for their ability to combine poetic prose with page-turning storytelling that plunges the reader into the adventure full gusto.

Age guideline 13+

Guardian Award-winning author Alex Wheatle brings a vital part of British and Jamaican history vividly to life in his latest novel Cane Warriors, which follows the true-life slave rebellion known as Tacky’s War in 18th-century Jamaica.

Age Guideline 11-13

Join Kimberly for an engaging discussion with Selina Brown, Founder of the Black British Book Festival as they discuss the power of sport for girls, why Kimberly wanted to give a voice to those children who don’t always have the confidence to speak up, and the importance of representation in children’s books.

Age Guideline 7-11

Join Waterstones’ Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and brilliant new talent J.T. Williams for this special ‘Bookmaker Like You’ event. J.T. Williams will be telling us all about her Lizzie and Belle Mystery series, fantastic adventures that feature characters inspired by hidden Black British history.

Age Guideline 4-7

Join Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton for a fantastic event all about these robber dogs turned crime-solving baking duo! Expect interactive storytelling and live illustration, as they bring the series to life. Drawing, games – it’s sure to be PAW-some!

Age guideline 4-7

The standout and prize-winning picture book of 2019, Julián is a Mermaid, tells a wonderful story about revealing ourselves and the beauty of being seen for who we truly are by someone who loves us.

Age guideline 7-11

Join Amelia Fang creator Laura Ellen Anderson for a journey to The Weatherlands, the magical setting for her new book, Rainbow Grey. In a fun-filled event, meet an extraordinary cast of characters including Ray Grey and her Weatherling friends Snowden Everfreeze and Droplett Dewbells. Create an exciting book cover, featuring your very own climate-controlling Weatherling character and learn how to draw Ray’s adorable cloud-cat Nim.

Age Guideline 4-7

Does a story need words? If it doesn't then how can we possibly read it? Author JonArno Lawson and illustrator Qin Leng don't think they do and work together to create 'silent' picture books, wordless stories that allow the reader to use their imaginations to create their own stories.

Age Guideline 11-13, 13+

Join author Sita Brahmachari and artist Natalie Sirett as they explore that artistic collaboration that led to the creation of When Shadows Fall - a Carnegie shortlisted coming-of-age novel told through a skilful combination of poetry, prose and illustration.

Students will have the opportunity to create their own art in response to When Shadows Fall - whether this be in the form of poetry, song or sketches.

Age Guideline 7-11, 11-13

Join multi-award-winning author David Almond and acclaimed artist & illustrator Tom de Freston as they celebrate 25 years of Skellig and chat to Janet Smyth about the power of imagination and creating the special illustrated edition of this classic book.

Age guideline 7-11, 11-13

B.B. was inspired to write Amari and the Night Brothers, soon to be a major movie, because he couldn’t find any fantasy stories featuring black kids when he was growing up. Hear the story first from B.B. before you see the film!

Age Guideline 7-11

Join David Wolstencroft for a journey to The Magic Hour! Discover all about the challenges of writing The Magic Hour, his highly-anticipated middle-grade debut novel which poses the question: what would you do with an extra hour in the day?

Age Guideline 7-11, 11-13

In this special event Elle McNicoll will be joined by shortlisted authors Lisette Auton and Cerrie Burnell and the winner of the prize Aisha Bushby to chat about their fabulous books full of magic, myth, family and fairy tales and the importance of joyful and authentic representation.

Age Guideline 4-7

Join Waterstones Children’s Book Prize’s illustrated book winner Harry Woodgate for a special Pride-themed creative event, to celebrate the publication of their new book Grandad’s Pride.

Age Guideline 4-7

Join legendary poet, author, actor and musician Benjamin Zephaniah to hear all about his brand new picture book, We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me. Benjamin will be joined by performance poet Ella McLeod to talk about the inspiration behind the book and why he loves poetry.

Age Guideline: 4-7

Join this interactive workshop with Tom, who will show you the wonders in his book and then draw a vehicle that you can have a go at too!

Age Guideline: 13+

Join the bestselling authors and real-life sisters-in-law Katherine Webber and Catherine Doyle, who have joined forces to create a YA fantasy that is bursting with high-stakes adventure, romance and humour.

Age Guideline: 7-11

Nic Blake and the Remarkables has been praised as “a thrilling magical world” by The Times and “Nothing short of a triumph” by Rick Riordan. Join her as she discusses her writing journey and inspirations behind her books.

Age guideline 7-11, 11-13

Helen Rutter and Benjamin Dean have created two of the year’s standout characters in Billy and Archie. Their funny but challenging adventures show us that with self-belief, understanding of others, and the support of people who love us - oh, and a bit of rule-breaking - we can all find the end of the rainbow.

Age guideline 13+

They say that love makes the world go round. It can make our hearts sing, but it can sometimes be confusing and sad. What does love really mean? Meet three incredible authors who each write about love beautifully in their relatable and page-turning YA books, and hear first-hand what love means to them.

Age Guideline 7-11

From a gorgeous tropical garden in Trinidad, Danielle, sets the stage for the story and reads extracts from the book.

Age Guideline 4-7

Join James and Lucy Catchpole as they introduce their picture book, You're So Amazing!, a brand-new story featuring Joe, who has one leg.

Age Guideline: 7-11

It’s the 20th Anniversary of Cressida Cowell’s worldwide sensation, How to Train Your Dragon! Come and celebrate with Cressida at the Reading is Magic Festival.

Join this online event to enjoy Maranke Rinck reading from the hilarious stories and follow illustrator Martijn van der Linden who will teach you how to draw your own version of Popcorn Bob. Then you can have a go at creating and writing about your own corn kernel!

Join bestselling author Kwame Alexander in conversation with Janet Smyth about his award-winning verse novels The Crossover, Booked and Rebound. Fast-paced novels that fuse sport and poetry to tell heartfelt stories about young people’s lives. Find out about how he adapted his books into a TV series for Disney+ and discover more about Kwame’s forthcoming new series The Door of No Return. An opportunity to hear from a brilliant US author whose work connects with young people everywhere.

Join author Swapna Haddow and illustrator Dapo Adeola, the superstar creative duo behind the acclaimed My Dad is a Grizzly Bear, for a brilliantly funny, roar-tastic, interactive storytelling of MY MUM IS A LIONESS, a warm and loving tale celebrating mothers!

In this event, Fay and Fluffy will spread their message of inclusivity, kindness and being proud of who we are as they present picture books that discuss a variety of topics, like sharing, self-esteem, loss and sadness, and expressing one’s uniqueness.

Did you know that we all have a superpower – EMPATHY?! It helps us all understand and connect to each other much better. It grows the more we practice it, so join Paul Jenkins hosting with EmpathyLab and authors Sharna Jackson and Helen Rutter to find out more about how to boost your empathy powers through reading and get creative with three fantastic activities, like wearing Empathy Glasses.

Learn to draw Manga with the team at Saturday AM comics! Saturday AM are a collection of Manga artists from all over the world, with creators ranging from Europe and Asia to Africa and the USA, all with one mission: to create characters that reflect all readers, whatever race, gender or ethnicity. You’ll have drawing tutorials from overseas artists Whyt Manga (Nigeria) and Jey Odin (USA), who’ll be teaching you how to draw a range of incredible Manga characters!

Join Nigerian author Lola Shoneyin to hear a reading of Iyaji the Housegirl, one of a series of stories Lola has written about children in Northern Nigeria. As part of this exciting event from Ake Arts and Book Festival, Lola will also be chatting to illustrator KR Onimole, about how they work together on their books and bring the stories to life.