Events for 12yrs and over

• Jenny Valentine

  

  Tuesday 27 May, 5.30pm, £4

  Valentine's debut novel, Finding Violet Park, won the Guardian Prize for Children's Fiction in 2007 and was widely celebrated for its raw, refreshing voice. Broken Soup is set to consolidate its author's reputation as a unique and compelling writer who can combine heart-rending tragedy, quirky characters and intriguing mystery with a masterly lightness of touch.

• Kevin Brooks, Ann Kelley and Mal Peet Real Nightmares

  

  Thursday 29 May, 11.30am, £4

  Brooks' latest, Black Rabbit Summer, takes five old friends through the worst night of their lives. Kelley's Costa Prize-winning The Bower Bird presents a heroine determined in the face of tragic adversity. Peet explores corruption and child slavery in his football mystery The Penalty. Paul Blezard talks to all three about their choice to examine the real terrors life can hold, and whether a happy ending is the responsibility of a writer for teens.

• Roderick Gordon & Brian Williams

  

  Tuesday 27 May, 1pm, £4

  We are thrilled to present Deeper, the gripping sequel to the international sensation Tunnels, which follows the brave heroes further into the heat and darkness of the Styx' sinister world. You heard about it here first.

  Click here for an underground reading...

Discover The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize 2008

The Guardian is announcing its longlist for their children’s fiction prize at Hay. There will definitely be some tiptop writers on the list (Allan Ahlberg and Jenny Valentine were on last year’s) and like the busy bees that we are here at Hay we couldn’t let this pass without having some fun. So, we’ve scheduled three events, blank at the moment, but as soon as the list is announced we’ll dash around and fill them with some of the nominated writers. You don’t know who will appear, we don’t know who will appear, but we do know this is your opportunity to hear about the hottest books of 2008 first.

The Longlist is:
Frank Cotrell Boyce for Cosmic
Siobhan Dowd for Bog Child
Jenny Downham for Before I Die
Tanya Landman for The Goldsmith's Daughter
Rhiannon Lassiter for Bad Blood
Anthony McGowan for The Knife that Killed Me
Patrick Ness for The knife of Never Letting Go