Canterbury Children's Literature Festival

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Canterbury Children's Literature Festival

Encouraging the enjoyment and kindling the joy of reading - Bringing Authors and Illustrators to the heart of Canterbury.

Help us to encourage children to find the pleasure of reading

15/06/2026

We're really looking forward to our two amazing festival events happening at The Little Green Bookshop during this year's festival!

Race around the world with Nat Harrison on Saturday 11th July, creating your own amazing adventure stories, exploring travel and adventure and finding out all about how Nat created her own twist on a very famous story.

Then, join Robert Tregoning on Sunday 12th July for A Celebration of Families, complete with storytime, a drawalong, and the chance to be part of an all singing, all dancing show!

Tickets are pay as you feel, and can be booked through the festival website.

14/06/2026

We are collecting graphic novels for children and teens to be given out as part of our schools and youth group programme at this year's festival. We've already had a couple of generous donations, but we would love to be able to give as many as possible out to local people. If you have any graphic novels, in good condition, that need a new home, please get in touch by DM or by emailing [email protected] to arrange collection.

Spread the word and help us get amazing stories into children's hands and homes!

11/06/2026

We have some fantastic drop in events happening during this year's festival, and we'd love to see you!

On Saturday 11th July, drop in to see us at from 11am - 1pm for our Children's (& YA) Book Swap. Bring along a book or two (or more!) you no longer want and swap them for some new additions to your bookshelves. We'll have books for all ages and we welcome everyone to pop in for a few minutes, or stay a while and read your new books.

From 1.30pm we'll be running Bookish Board Games in the same space. We'll have book related and story based board and card games running, with games for all ages from 3 up to teens led by our friendly and knowledgeable volunteers.

Up at , you can drop in to help to Turn Your City Wild at 11.30am. For this one, you will need a park entry ticket or a Wildwood membership, and then you can make the most of the crafts events running there as well as this fun, collaborative chance to contribute to a cityscape with your art skills.

On Sunday 12th July at The Beaney, we will have a drop in session of our Canterbury Storymakers events which is starting at the Medieval Pageant the weekend before. We would love to see you between 12 and 2pm to help you create amazing stories of Canterbury!

Head to our website to find out more about all of these drop in sessions and book tickets for the rest of the festival!

10/06/2026

Such a pleasure for Bex and Rhys to spend a little time with the wonderful Rotary Club of Canterbury UK, sharing a little about the background of , the plans for this year and indeed the plans for the future.

Rotary have been one of our key supporters, both this year and last, kindly assisting with a donation towards the running of the festival, and with providing volunteers - your generosity is really appreciated and we wouldn't be where we are today without it.

08/06/2026

We know how amazing and essential reading together is, that's why we've joined forces with our wonderful festival patron Lucy Strange in an exciting new project to help inspire connection and joy through highlighting how absolutely lifechanging reading to your kids can be. The first step of this is our special Fathers Day challenge to you all!

Enter our 'Read With your Dad' (or step-dad, uncle, older brother etc etc) competition - take a picture of you reading together (books can be held up to faces if preferred), and/or share your favourite thing about reading together & the books you're enjoying at the moment with us. Email your entries to [email protected] by the end of June to be in with a chance to win a bundle of Lucy's brilliant books, signed by the author herself!

05/06/2026

Calling all local schools!

Due to a couple of late cancellations we have some amazing FREE visits from authors on offer for you to book.

The amazing Eve Wersocki Morris has an afternoon session on Wednesday 8th July available, all about mystery stories.

On Friday 10th July, Lisa Williamson has a perfect event for Years 5-8 around her Bigg School series, focusing on the joys and trials of moving from primary to secondary schools.

Head to our website to book events!

03/06/2026

Come along to the beautiful (secret) room at on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July for some brilliant events!

Meet bestselling frenemies Bunny and Monkey as they visit Canterbury, get your photo taken and pick up your free copy of The Phoenix comic. You can also join in with some Bunny and Monkey crafts and learn to draw them! This event is kindly supported by and

Did you know that having someone read to you or tell you stories is incredibly good for your happiness levels? Join the brilliant for a fun and engaging Storytime on Sunday 12th July.

Both events are pay as you feel and you can book them now on our website. Tag your friends, and help us spread the word about the 2nd annual Canterbury Children's Literature Festival! Its going to be amazing.

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25/05/2026

We'll be starting off Saturday 11th July with some galactic hilarity with the Cosmic Cadets! Join at for a fun-filled event followed by a book signing

An interactive, imagination-fuelled workshop inspired by Cosmic Cadets, Ryan Crawford's colourfully illustrated adventure series.

This highly interactive workshop is designed to engage budding young writers and illustrators, by sharing Ryan's journey from being a kid who loved games and imagination to becoming a published author today. Children will explore how to find brilliant ideas everywhere – from funny moments to the things we love. Ryan will also show participants that every real-life experience can be described and transformed into an imaginative story.

Recommended for budding artists aged 6+, and their grown ups!

Browse the programme and book tickets for this and lots of other amazing events on our website.

16/05/2026

We cannot wait for Storytelling Yoga, a brand new addition to this year's festival programme!

Did you know that yoga not only helps your mental health, but actually makes your brain work better? According to Harvard Health, "When you do yoga, your brain cells develop new connections, and changes occur in brain structure as well as function, resulting in improved cognitive skills such as learning and memory. Yoga strengthens parts of the brain that play a key role in memory, attention, awareness, thought, and language."

The lovely Keely of will be running two sessions for anyone who wants to get moving and explore the wonderful world of stories in a new way. Designed for ages 3-7, older and younger children are welcome to come along too and enjoy a session of joyful stories and movement, with all equipment provided and no prior knowledge necessary!

All children must be accompanied by an adult, and there will be tea, coffee and a book stall to browse for adults who don't want to join in with the yoga.

Sessions are 3.30pm on Saturday 11th and 10am on Sunday 12th July, and you can book through our website

Address

Canterbury

Website

https://www.canterburykidslitfest.co.uk/

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