Second West Cornwall Primary School Book Festival Celebrates Young Readers and Writers
The West Cornwall Primary School Book Festival, sponsored by the St Aubyn Foundation, returns for its second year. This eagerly anticipated event will take place on 16th July 2024 at Penwith College, bringing together young readers, writers, educators and authors to celebrate the joy of reading and storytelling.
The festival aims to inspire a love of literature among primary school students across west Cornwall. It will feature a variety of interactive activities, including author readings, writing and illustration workshops, book signings, and storytelling sessions. This year’s festival promises an enriching experience for all attendees, fostering creativity and a lifelong passion for books.
This year’s authors:
Nicholas Bowling – Nick is an author, musician, stand-up comic and former Latin teacher from Oxford. His critically acclaimed debut Witchborn, set in Elizabethan England, was published in 2017 by Chicken House, and was followed in 2019 by In the Shadow of Heroes, which was shortlisted for the Costa Children’s Award. He has subsequently written an adventure story entitled Song of the Far Isles and, most recently, a Gothic mystery, The Undying of Obedience Wellrest.
Vashti Hardy – Vashti is a hugely successful children’s author whose breathtaking fantasy novels are published across the world in several languages. Her debut Brightstorm was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize while her second, Wildspark, won the Blue Peter Book Award ‘Best Story’. The Brightstorm trilogy continues with Darkwhispers and Firesong. Vashti also writes the Harley Hitch series for younger readers, as well as the Griffin Gate series.
Lou Abercrombie – Lou is the author of two children’s books, Coming Up for Air and Fig Swims the World. Both celebrate her love of the water and are aimed at a 10+ readership.
Martin Brown – Martin is the wonderful cartoonist illustrator of the hugely successful Horrible Histories series. He has also written and illustrated the Lesser Spotted Animals series of books, full of obscure but brilliant beasts, and most recently the charming Nell and the Cave Bear.
“We are thrilled to support the West Cornwall Primary School Book Festival for the second year,” said Lady St Levan, St Aubyn Foundation. “Our goal is to nurture a love of reading and writing in children, providing them with opportunities to explore the limitless worlds that books can offer.”
Patrick Gale, Artistic Director, said: “This is a fantastic platform for encouraging young minds to engage with literature. We are grateful to the St Aubyn Foundation for their generous support, which enables us to bring this event to life and inspire the next generation of readers and writers.”
This year’s festival will also be supported by Seasalt Cornwall, who will be providing each child with a book voucher to exchange at the on-site bookshop run by The Edge of the World Bookshop in Penzance, enabling every child to go home with a free book at the end of the day.
Over 130 children from nine primary schools in Cornwall will be attending the Festival.
