A vibrant programme for this year’s Bath Children’s Literature Festival has been announced, ahead of the 10-day celebration of books which opens on Friday 23rd September.
Europe’s largest stand-alone children’s book festival will welcome household names, debut authors and a host of illustrators to the city for a line-up for all ages.
There will be plenty for families to look forward to, from live storytelling sessions for pre-school children, through a wide mix of events for middle-grade readers, to events aimed at teen and Young Adult (YA) audiences.
The festival will run from Friday 23rd September until Sunday 2nd October.
In addition to live events for families, there is also a programme of school events attended by hundreds of local schoolchildren.
Alice Oseman, the creator of the bestselling Heartstopper graphic novel series, has been announced as the 2022 guest curator for the teen and YA strand of events.
As well as appearing at the festival in two events, one about the success of Heartstopper, and another with fellow writer Juno Dawson, Alice has curated a selection of top events for teens and YA audiences across the school and public programme.
These include events from YA author Simon James Green, manga creators, Saturday AM Comics, and celebrity reporter and author Benjamin Dean.
Other highlights will include the return of Michael Rosen and Jacqueline Wilson and appearances from TV comedian Rosie Jones, award-winning writer Elle McNicoll and former CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell.
Back by popular demand are among others, the current Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, Joseph Coelho, Robin Stevens M. G. Leonard and illustrators popular for their draw-along events, Liz Pichon, Steven Lenton and Rob Biddulph.
Sharing LGBTQ+ stories are comedic novel writer Simon James Green, Jodie Lancet-Grant, Alice Oseman and Juno Dawson.
Well-known entertainers turned successful children’s authors at the festival include David Baddiel, Julian Clary, Richard Ayoade and Dermot O’ Leary.
The full programme of events can be found on the Bath Festivals website here.
Tickets will go on general release on 1st July.
