Annual Festival of Children’s Literature (2016-2024)
The Festival of Children’s Literature (otherwise known as Story Days) at Kestle Barton is an important event in our annual programme calendar. As a centre for contemporary arts we aim to educate and promote the arts for the benefit of the public, and to foster an appreciation of the arts. This is an event designed to further local childrens’ enjoyment of books and support the literacy programme of The Lizard primary schools (years 4 – 6).
The Festival of Children’s Literature usually takes place in May, and over the years has become a closed event specifically for the primary schools on The Lizard: Coverack, Manaccan, St. Keverne, Landewednack, Grade Ruan, Garras and Mullion. For two days of the year, Kestle Barton hosts over two hundred primary school students, and attending staff. They are sheltered from the rain and sun by colourful tents in our orchard and meadow, and make full run of the garden and open spaces.
The heart of our Festival is working with authors who have great reputations for excellence in children’s writing and illustrating, but also in presenting to children. We scour the nation for the best in these skills. Below is a list, by year, of our participating authors to date. This year the confirmed authors that we have invited to participate are: Jenny McLachlan, Fleur Hitchcock and newly published poet, Alex Wharton.
During the Story Days the children have a unique opportunity to spend the day in an alternative learning environment with the participating authors/illustrators who are there to excite the children about reading, writing, illustrating, and who can role-model and inspire career pathways for the future.
Each year, The Lizard primary schools are given the authors’ recent publications in advance of the Story Days so that everyone can familiarise themselves with the authors, and their work, before they actually meet. This gives teachers an opportunity to prepare for the visit and build excitement in their classes.
Head teachers agree on the value and write to tell us. One wrote, The impact of this day is not limited to the day itself but spreads across the year and years afterwards. It has impressed upon me the importance of children engaging with writers (new, new to them or much-loved) and has become a key part of our focus on reading as a whole school.
On the actual Story Days we have subsidised books for sale by the authors, who then eat their lunch while signing hundreds of books for their eager new fans.
Over the years the Festival of Children’s Literature has been generously supported by Arts Council England and, since 2022, the Cornwall Community Foundation.
