Events for Children and Young People

Drop in for this open-air performance with puppets, music and songs, for humans of all ages. A world premiere by Keith Temple, the show is created in tandem with music and art students at Kidderminster College.

Pod, the wilful Jack Russell terrier, has no idea that he’s a dog. Thanks to his scatter-brained owner, he’s grown up thinking he’s human… until a new addition to the family – Ella, the no-nonsense guinea pig – sets him straight on a few things. Pod begins to realise it’s not at all bad being a four-legged creature…

Join us for an afternoon with the much-loved Dame Jacqueline Wilson. Discover how she started her writing career, how she created some of her best-loved characters including Tracy Beaker and Hetty Feather, and hear all about her new book, a funny, heartwarming story returning to the world of Daisy and Lily.

Daisy and her sister are excited about going on holiday. But Lily uses a wheelchair, which can make trips to the seaside tricky. Especially with all that sand! Will Daisy, Lily and their neighbour’s dog Scruff get their ice cream-filled dream holiday and maybe even have a Seaside Sleepover?

Please note: there will be no book signing after this event but printed bookplates will be available from the Festival Bookshop.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then he’ll begin… Settle in for a thrilling adventure from long ago, brimming with monsters, madness and gruesome humour, told by the Festival’s favourite storyteller Daniel Morden. Conall was once a hero of the people, but he has left behind his thieving ways – until three strangers come to his door and he reluctantly agrees to One Last Job, with predictably disastrous results! One part Homer’s Odyssey, one part anxiety dream, The Thief’s Tale is proof of the power of a great tale well told.

Join award-winning author Elle McNicoll for a conversation to launch her new YA book, Wish You Were Her. Book Lovers meets You’ve Got Mail in this enemies-to-lovers romance. Elle will share her thoughts on diving into Young Adult fiction, cosy romance, experiencing fandom and normalising neurodiversity.

Elle’s debut novel A Kind of Spark won the Blue Peter Book Award, the Overall Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and Blackwell’s Book of 2020. She is twice Carnegie nominated, and was shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Awards 2020, the Branford Boase Award and the Little Rebels Award.

Return to Wonderland with Anna James (author of the Pages & Co series) as she presents her enchanted new tale, Alice with a Why. This interactive event features Mad Hatters, White Rabbits and some brand new faces, too, in a celebration of Lewis Carroll’s beloved original as it marks its 160th anniversary year.

Alyce – with a Y – lives with her grandmother, the original Alice, having lost her father during the great war. When a mysterious invitation to a tea party hits her square in the face, Alyce realises her grandmother’s strange stories of a place called Wonderland might have some truth to them after all. But the land Alyce finds herself in feels different to the Wonderland of her grandmother’s stories – how can she find her way back home?

“Everyone’s favourite pantomime dame,” (according to Metro) is heading to Hay Festival to celebrate her first picture book. Influenced by a childhood seeing pantos, Oh Yes I Am! explores the magic of pantomime and how it can make the world a brighter place. Join award-winning panto professional Mama G for an hour of panto fun, find out what it takes to be a panto dame, discover panto’s weird and wacky history, hear some really bad jokes and share your sparkle and shine with everyone!

Step into the story with now>press>play! In between events, try out this immersive audio adventure for all the family. Hear every sound, move with the action and feel the magic of storytelling come alive around you.

Your Mum’s flowers are wilting in the summer sun and you’re too hot to water them. There’s a strange clock on the wall that doesn’t tell the time, but instead tells what season it is. Surely if you could change the hand to winter, then it wouldn’t be so hot? But be careful what you wish for!

Professor Robert Winston leads a scientific journey through human history, featuring fascinating facts, innovative inventions and daring discoveries. Learn how accidents have led to some of the greatest findings we’ve ever seen, and how anybody who dares to dream can be successful. Have you ever been asked when writing was invented? Or how electricity works?

Robert covers it all – from evolution and the first tools to exploring microchips and the internet. If you’re constantly asking ‘how’ and ‘why’ things happen, this event is for you, as he’ll be on hand with (almost) all the answers to the questions that even adults find tricky!

Rajiv has feelings for everything. He can feel confident. He can feel happy. He can feel silly. But today, he feels angry and he doesn’t know why. With the help of his father, he sets out on a journey to make sense of his feelings. It is a journey that will take him to a park, up into the branches of a tree, and all the way to the stars…

Join award-winning non-binary storyteller Niall to share this heartwarming story about understanding and embracing big emotions. Through captivating narrative and an engaging art activity, we’ll explore the beauty of self-expression and the magic of feelings.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to draw along in this event.

The author of Inkheart and Dragon Rider, Cornelia Funke shares the magic in her new and exciting mystery set in the heart of New York City. Come and hear how Caspia’s summer in the city is transformed when she discovers a bundle of letters containing ten botanical riddles. She sets out to solve the riddles and, as she does, she meets friends she could never have imagined and discovers that anywhere can feel like home, if you are brave enough to put down new roots.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Look out for the Scavenger Trail around the Festival site, inspired by Cornelia Funke’s The Green Kingdom.

Step into the story with now>press>play! In between events, try out this immersive audio adventure for all the family. Hear every sound, move with the action and feel the magic of storytelling come alive around you.

After weeks going hungry in your stone house, you’re desperate to join your dad and sister, Etta, out on the hunt. But the hunt party is attacked by wolves, and in the confusion you and Etta get lost and discover a house made of wood. What other new technologies do these people possess, and how will they lead you back to your dad?

Join Queen of Historical Fiction Emma Carroll (Secrets of a Sun King, When We Were Warriors) as she introduces the magical world of her new novel. In The Houdini Inheritance, two children in the 1920s find themselves dragged into the seedy world of American amusement parks in the service of the world’s greatest escapologist…

Discover everything there is to know about the world-famous escape artist Harry Houdini and his suitcase full of secrets, and pick up tips on how to fire your imagination and write your own stories.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Join Dr Punam Krishan, NHS GP and media medic (BBC Morning Live), to find out all about your body! Discover the maze that is the brain, the power of your muscles and the magic behind the gut – and how they are all connected. You’ll be invited to submit your questions to Punam ahead of time, and go on a head-to-toe tour of the human body.

Celebrate big decisions and messy relationships with Dean Atta as he launches his new coming-of-age novel-in-verse I Can’t Even Think Straight. Kai and his best friend Matt made a promise to each other to stay in the closet. Matt isn’t ready to come out, but Kai wants nothing more than to write his own story. He decides it’s time to break his promise…

Dean Atta has been named as ‘one of poetry’s greatest modern voices’ (Gay Times). His first novel The Black Flamingo was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the CILIP Carnegie Medal, the Jhalak Prize and the YA Book Prize.

Join Lizzie Lomax, this year’s Hay Festival Illustrator in Residence, at the mural wall in the Family Garden to create a big nature mural. The collage will be inspired by the natural environment around Hay Festival, including the River Wye and the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), local animals, insects and birds. All materials are provided, just bring your imagination.

Lizzie Lomax creates through made and found textures, drawing and collage, to create playful, bright and accessible illustrations. She is also co-founder and co-editor of Seed Magazeen – a magazine for kids who care about the environment.

Save the date… for a killer wedding! Award-nominated BookTokkers Busayo Matuluko and Kemi Ayorinde bring the vibe, discussing Busayo’s slick and addictive mystery thriller ’Til Death celebrating the nuances and dramas of Nigerian family and culture. Busayo will break down all the elements of a gripping mystery as they guide you through building the perfect ‘whodunnit’. Bring your best plot twists and red herrings, and join in the conversation.

In ’Til Death, true-crime-obsessed Lara is heading to Lagos for her cousin Dérin’s wedding. It’s going to be a holiday filled with glitzy dress-fittings and glamorous parties. But everything isn’t perfect in Dérin’s world. Lara puts her sleuthing knowledge to work – and soon she’s uncovering a web of secrets and malicious crimes…

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Children’s writer Onjali Q Raúf celebrates a hidden army of young carers in this event, as she shares her Wales-set novel The Letter with the Golden Stamp.

The book introduces Audrey, who lives in Swansea and is keeping a big secret: she’s the sole carer for her increasingly sick mother, as well as for her two younger siblings. Oh, and she’s also a seasoned thief…

When a new neighbour threatens Audrey’s world, she must go on an adventure to save her family.

The Letter with the Golden Stamp delves into the fears and hopes of young carers everywhere, and looks at the invisible sources of kindness knocking on all our doors.

Raúf gives young attendees to this event an insight into the challenges faced by carers, explains her storytelling process, and provides an uplifting look at how we can all be there for each other.

Join award-winning children’s novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave (The Girl of Ink & Stars, Julia and the Shark) as she celebrates the next book in her unmissable Geomancer trilogy, which began with In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen.

Kiran takes us on a journey through her creativity, to discover the real woodlands and earth magic that lie at the heart of her stories. You’ll marvel at Celtic rainforests, talking root systems, ambitious arctic foxes and ancient Greenland sharks. And you’ll leave feeling inspired by the world around you and ready to create your own tales.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Join international storyteller Jan Blake, djembe player Mohamed Gueye and musicians from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for an interactive performance of Ananse and the Monkeys.

Ananse needs some money to buy food, so makes some hats to sell, but on his way to the market some monkeys steal them! Can Ananse outwit the monkeys to get his precious hats back?

Award-winning author, playwright and screenwriter Alex Wheatle kicks off this event with an introduction to his gripping new book, a powerful tale of family, friendship and football. He’ll discuss his work with writer Ashley Hickson-Lovence, from his life experiences and how they have shaped his writing, to his bestselling Crongton books, soon to appear as a new drama series on BBC iPlayer.

In The Girl With the Red Boots, aspiring footballer Kadeen’s beloved older brother is tragically killed and she identifies the shooter – a dangerous crime lord. Sent away from Jamaica to stay with her strict Aunt Mel in London, Kadeen must lie low. Can she pursue her love of football without attracting the crime lord’s attention?

Join international storyteller Jan Blake, djembe player Mohamed Gueye and musicians from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for an interactive performance of Ananse and the Monkeys.

Ananse needs some money to buy food, so makes some hats to sell, but on his way to the market some monkeys steal them! Can Ananse outwit the monkeys to get his precious hats back?

An unmissable, wild family game show with acclaimed French comedian Marcel Lucont, in which kids get to be pests, politicians and pétomanes (Google it) in order to be crowned the most awful child. See what happens when international insouciance meets infantile exuberance. A huge hit at Edinburgh Fringe and many other festivals, the award-winning comic channels his acerbic humour and quickfire wit into a series of tasks for the younger generation, which is every bit as entertaining for adults as it is for children. Très funny!

Superstar author and illustrator Rob Biddulph is coming to share more #DrawWithRob activities with us at Hay Festival! In this fun-packed session, you can join in live with his draw-along. He’ll share tips using illustrations from his Peanut Jones trilogy, fizzing with magic, danger, friendship and art, and from Fantastic Food.

His latest Draw With Rob book, Fantastic Food takes a spin round everything we love to munch on. Cupcakes, pizza, fruit and ice cream?! Dive into the delicious world of food, with easy-to-follow drawing instructions that are perfect for all the family.

Please bring your own sketchbook and pencils to this event.

How do we write ourselves into the world at a time of domestic and global political upheaval? Do we own the pen we write with? Set in the context of award-winning poet and author Joelle Taylor’s literary career – from back street bars to Sydney Opera House – these questions will form the spine of a talk focusing on how marginalised writers and performers can create work and, ultimately, a career.

Join Joelle in one of this Hay Festival series of sessions delivered by inspiring producers and practitioners from the creative industries, giving their insights, experience and advice on progression in their field.

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.

Join author Hannah Gold on a thrilling Arctic adventure, as she introduces us to the sequel to The Last Bear (winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2022 and Blue Peter Book Award 2022). Pull on your rainbow snow boots and travel across icy glaciers, cross dangerous fjords, take a husky ride, be dazzled by the Northern Lights and best of all, come face to face with the most adorable tiny polar bear cub.

In this immersive event, perfect for animal lovers, you’ll encounter quizzes, jawdropping Arctic facts and breathtaking adventure guaranteed to leave you inspired! The only question is… are you ready to find Bear?

Please bring your own notebook and pen to this event.