Children Secondary

The River Wye is under threat from pollution and environmental collapse. Become a River Wye Protector in this mixed media workshop, and design your own River Warrior to help preserve the magnificent Wye. All materials are provided.

Take flight with 2023 YA Book Prize winner Danielle Jawando in this creative writing and poetry session based on her latest YA novel, If My Words Had Wings. With plenty of interaction and top tips from a pro-writer, you’ll learn how to develop, hone and craft your authentic voice within your writing.

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

Design your own character for a protest poster supporting the protection of the River Wye. Work with mixed media and printmaking techniques to create your poster. All materials are provided.

There’s a place where all the strangest stories began… Prepare to be swept away to a land beyond your wildest imagination by master storyteller Katherine Rundell (The Explorer) as she unveils her epic new fantasy series Impossible Creatures.

Follow Christopher, Mal and a baby griffin on their urgent quest across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, a secret place in our world where all the creatures of myth still live and thrive. Discover dragons small enough to perch on your thumb, winged horses, gold-horned hares that salute the brave, and chaotic green talking squirrels. Imagine pitting your wits against sphinxes, swooping out over the sea in a flying coat – and uncover the secret at the heart of the islands that threatens the creatures’ survival, and the world itself.

“I wish I had better parents!” Barry said, a third time. And then suddenly the entire room started to shake… Indulge in some epic wish-fulfilment with acclaimed author, comedian and screenwriter David Baddiel as he celebrates the ten-year anniversary of his debut children’s book The Parent Agency. Imagine the perks of a world where children can choose their parents, and get a sneak peek into some new bonus chapters from The Parent Agency musical stage adaptation, which is currently in the making. David talks to actress and comedian Carrie Quinlan.

You are enough. You are interesting. Tell your story. Everybody can write. In this creative writing workshop Laura Dockrill, celebrated author of You Are a Story, shows how creativity can be your most valuable tool in living life your way. She opens the way to self-care, imagination and finding the stories that only you can tell. Whether you want to write for yourself or put your work out into the world, writing is for everyone.

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

How did we get here, and where are we heading? Soak up some ideas from the globally-renowned artist and bestselling author Oliver Jeffers as he discusses his new picture book, Begin Again: The Story of How We Got Here and Where We Might Go. This powerful and thought-provoking visual examination of the state of the world builds upon Jeffers’ artistic exploration of humankind’s impact on itself and on our planet.

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

Take a deep dive into your own imagination to find treasures and passions that only poetry and song can reveal. You’ll practise creating original lyrics in this interactive event with singer, author and songwriter Casi Wyn. Casi is a familiar face in Wales, having composed original musical and lyrical works for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Sinfonia Cymru. She was the previous Bardd Plant Cymru, and is Creative Director of Codi Pais, a magazine and independent publisher that platforms new and diverse voices in Wales.

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

You are enough. You are interesting. Tell your story. Everybody can write. In this creative writing workshop Laura Dockrill, celebrated author of You Are a Story, shows how creativity can be your most valuable tool in living life your way. She opens the way to self-care, imagination and finding the stories that only you can tell. Whether you want to write for yourself or put your work out into the world, writing is for everyone.

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

Delve into the secret world of wizardry with psychologist and Member of the Inner Magic Circle Professor Richard Wiseman. He reveals how learning magic tricks can boost your confidence, social skills, creativity, happiness and much, much more. Experience the world’s greatest optical illusions, have fun discovering how to perform magic, uncover the secret science of sorcery, and find out how to transform a tea towel into a chicken!

Ruchira Gupta tells the courageous story of a young girl in India who faces being sold into the sex trade by her father to repay his loans. After a chance meeting with a kung fu instructor, 14-year-old Heera realises there is another way – using her body to protect herself and those she loves. So when her best friend from school goes missing, Heera embarks on a daring rescue mission that will take her all the way to New York.

Gupta is founder-president of Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an anti-sex trafficking organisation that has helped thousands of girls and women in India leave a life of forced prostitution. She is a social justice activist, feminist campaigner, Emmy Award-winning documentarian and professor at New York University who has dedicated her life to creating a world where no child is bought or sold. I Kick and I Fly is her debut novel.

Do you ever get stuck for a story idea, or when you’ve started writing quickly run out of steam? Author Emma Carroll (The Somerset Tsunami, The Week at World’s End) shares tips on how to fire your imagination in this fun, interactive workshop, searching out potential ideas and inspirations to encourage you to keep writing. You’ll consider how the unique experience of being you can be useful when writing, as well as trying out some short exercises to warm up your creativity so you’re ready to put pen to paper.

Unlock the mystic art of curse writing in this hands-on ‘invocations’ workshop, where you’ll craft personalised spells with Krystal Sutherland, inspired by the witchy world of The Invocations. Join the bestselling author for an enchanting session of creativity and magic, and leave with your own bespoke curse. No humans are harmed in the making of this curse!

Please bring your own notebook and pen or pencil to this event.

Do you ever get stuck for a story idea, or when you’ve started writing quickly run out of steam? Author Emma Carroll (The Somerset Tsunami, The Week at World’s End) shares tips on how to fire your imagination in this fun, interactive workshop, searching out potential ideas and inspirations to encourage you to keep writing. You’ll consider how the unique experience of being you can be useful when writing, as well as trying out some short exercises to warm up your creativity so you’re ready to put pen to paper.

Join Nathanael Lessore for an interactive, laugh-out-loud workshop-style event. Nathanael’s breakout debut Steady for This introduces us to wannabe rapper MC Growls. When a livestream practice goes horribly wrong Growls has to prove his talents, not just to the school but to himself. The King of Nothing is Nathanael’s latest book, which celebrates boyhood and is inspired by his own experience of the joys and challenges of growing up as a working-class person of colour.