Will Hill & Richard Kurti

Total Warfare

Two epic and violent stories. Two brutal wars. Two very different worlds. Will Hill and Richard Kurti will talk about the complex worlds they have created and why they don’t flinch from violence.

Battle Lines is the third instalment in Will Hill’s Dept 19 series – a fantastic mix of sci-fi, horror and sheer action adventure, set in a complex and deeply imagined world. Dept 19 exists to hunt and kill demons and vampires. In Battle Lines, the very existence of humanity is at stake. War is unavoidable.

Monkey Wars is a challenging and unflinching look at the politics of power from screenwriter Richard Kurti. As the Langur monkeys rise to power, there is a brutal masscacre of Rhesus monkeys which drives them out of their homes. One young Langur stands up against the corrupt regime, but when monkeys turn on each other, there can be no survivors.

Find out how these writers create such believable worlds and why they embrace extremes.

Duration 60 mins.

13+ years

Guitar Effects 1

How to get the sounds you want. Creating the right effects for musical styles.

12–18 years

Hands-on workshops from Cool Fossil Music Foundation

Kitchen Academy Workshop 15

Join us in making Mini Spanish Omelettes, Welsh Sushi, Giant Chocolate Waffles, Sicilian Chicken and No Bake Cheesecakes. The menu will be rotated between sessions on a daily basis.

13–16 years

Maesllwch Farm

Andrew and Rachel Giles’ farm has a herd of 350 dairy cows. Visitors will have the opportunity to enter the milking parlour and help to milk some of the cows, as well as see the young calves. Watch how the cows are fed and learn how their four stomachs enable them to digest grass. Samples of whole milk and other dairy products will be provided for tasting.

9am–1pm

A minimum age of 8 years is required to take part in this expedition.

Anthony Browne

Picture book legend, multiple award-winner and former Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne will share the magic of his art and show us how to play the Shape Game.

Duration 45 mins.

5+ years

Animal Adventures

Sarah Lean’s debut A Dog Called Homeless went down a storm with Morpurgo fans. Learn how she creates her stories and join in with some ideas of your own.

Duration 45 mins.

8+ years

Kitchen Academy Workshop 16

Join us in making Mini Spanish Omelettes, Welsh Sushi, Giant Chocolate Waffles, Sicilian Chicken and No Bake Cheesecakes. The menu will be rotated between sessions on a daily basis.

5–8 years – children must be accompanied

Royal Shakespeare Company Workshop 2: Romeo And Juliet

Melanie Whitehead leads this participatory workshop exploring key scenes and characters in Shakespeare’s great tragedy. Ideal for GCSE students.

14+ years

Judith Kerr & Michael Morpurgo

Judith and Michael celebrate their 90th and 70th birthdays respectively this year. Be part of a magical event as they reminisce and share Judith’s new book, Creatures.

Duration 60 mins.

9+ years (not for young children)

The History Keepers

Time-travelling adventures and evil plots abound with Damian Dibben’s The History Keepers – a secret society that travels through the centuries to prevent history being changed.

Duration 45 mins.

9+ years

Tracey Corderoy

Granny Trouble

The author of Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble and Whizz, Pop, Granny Stop! will share Granny’s adventures in a lively fun-packed session.

Duration 45 mins.

4+ years

See also event HF66

Kitchen Academy Workshop 17

Join us in making Mini Spanish Omelettes, Welsh Sushi, Giant Chocolate Waffles, Sicilian Chicken and No Bake Cheesecakes. The menu will be rotated between sessions on a daily basis.

9–12 years – children must be accompanied

Chris Riddell

Alienography 2: Tips For Tiny Tyrants

Colin The Alien explains his top tips for intergalactic domination with the help of the award-winning illustrator and political cartoonist.

Duration 45 mins.

5+ years

Geekhood And Geek Girl

Former actor Andy Robb and former model Holly Smale are seriously geeky at heart. Hear about their books Geekhood and Geek Girl and discover where you figure on the geek spectrum.

Duration 45 mins.

9+ years

Rainbow Magic

Get out your wings and come dressed as a fairy for storytelling and lots of activities with the fairy queen.

Duration 45 mins. 

6+ years

Also see event HF69

Michael Morpurgo

The master storyteller and creator of War Horse tells us how true stories and real life secrets inspire his fiction, including his latest novel A Medal for Leroy.

Duration 60 mins.

9+ years

CJ Skuse & Matt Whyman

Zombies AND Cannibals

Two blackly comic writers talk about a zombie romcom, Dead Romantic, and a family where it’s really weird if you are not a cannibal, The Savages. Fans of Charlie Brooker and Warm Bodies, this is one for you.

Supposing you’re fed up of romantic rejection and you happen to have a chemistry genius friend? Would you think about making your own dead boyfriend? In Dead Romantic, two friends decide to have a go. Cue the best ZomRomCom around. CJ Skuse has a black and biting streak of comedy in all her fiction – Pretty Bad Things was great and Rockoholic was even better. Dead Romantic is her best yet.

Also on stage is Matt Whyman, author of the highly acclaimed Boy Kills Man, among other books. Matt is an agony uncle for Bliss and Radio 1, and he has written a darkly comic novel called The Savages. If your family were cannibals, would you really bring home a vegetarian boyfriend? Even one as handsome and charming as Jack? Probably not. Is this the first Cannibal RomCom?

CJ and Matt are bound to have a lot in common. If you like your comedy black, you’ll enjoy this one.

Duration 45 mins.

12+ years

Steve Cole

Magic Ink

Hear all about Magic Ink, the brand-new comic strip adventure from the madcap mind of Steve Cole, bestselling author of Astrosaurs, Cows In Action and Slime Squad.

Duration 45 mins.

8+ years

Tracey Corderoy

I Want My Mummy

Not even Arthur’s dragon suit and favourite toy can cheer him up when he is separated from his mummy for the first time. Luckily help is at hand…

Duration 45 mins.

4+ years 

See also event HF59

Kitchen Academy Workshop 18

Join us in making Mini Spanish Omelettes, Welsh Sushi, Giant Chocolate Waffles, Sicilian Chicken and No Bake Cheesecakes. The menu will be rotated between sessions on a daily basis.

5–8 years – children must be accompanied