IW Story Festival

23/07/2026

📚✨ Our Canterbury Trip! ✨📚

Elspeth and Hannah from IW Story Festival recently visited the Canterbury Children's Literature Festival! 🎉

The aim of the visit was to learn more about other festivals that share our passion for inspiring children through stories, exchange ideas, meet new authors and performers, and enjoy some new experiences. 💡📖

We had a fantastic time taking part in a wide range of activities, including:
🎭 Watching A Kidsummer Night's Dream
🧘 Storytelling Yoga
🌈 Story Time with Mama G
✏️ Drawing along with Thiago de Moraes
🎲 Bookish Board Games
🐵 Meeting Bunny and Monkey!

It was a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, gather lots of inspiration, and we're already looking forward to welcoming some of the people we met to the IW Story Festival next year! ❤️

A huge thank you to the team at the Canterbury Children's Literature Festival for making us feel so welcome. We had a brilliant time! 📚✨

You can find out more about their fantastic festival here:
https://www.facebook.com/p/Canterbury-Childrens-Literature-Festival

20/07/2026

📚✨ Calling all local authors, performers, storytellers and lovers of books! ✨📚

Are you passionate about stories? Do you write, perform, tell tales, or simply love bringing books to life? We'd love to hear from you! ❤️

The Isle of Wight Story Festival is looking for new (to us!) authors to join our 2027 Story Festival Author Forum. This is a fantastic opportunity to become part of our growing festival community, meet fellow creatives, and help inspire readers of all ages. 🌟📖

Interested? We'd love to chat!

📧 Email [email protected]
📝 Please mark your email FAO: Forum

Feel free to share this post and tag any local authors, storytellers, performers or book lovers who might be interested. Let's celebrate the Isle of Wight's wonderful creative community together! 💛📚✨

16/07/2026

🗺️ New Workshop: Fantasy Map Making! ✨

Get creative and learn two easy ways to design your own fantasy map with Kathryn Rossati! Perfect for writers, artists and anyone who loves world-building. 🌍🎨

https://youtu.be/tzXyGQJvGks

Have fun and don't forget to share your creations! 😊

Ever wanted to create your own fantasy world? In this workshop, Kat...

11/06/2026

📚✨ Join novelist and poet Kathryn Rossati for a fun and inspiring creative writing workshop – and enjoy an exclusive sneak peek at her forthcoming novel, Vampyr, Ghost, Assassin! 🧛👻🗡️

🎥 This pre-recorded virtual author visit is ideal for schools, home-educating families, and creative writing groups looking to spark imagination and build confidence in young writers.

🌟 Kathryn shares her journey as a writer, including her experiences as a neurodivergent author, and reads from her poetry collection, Little Tales: Poems for Kids. 📖 She then guides participants through a series of engaging creative writing activities, exploring how to tackle the dreaded blank page ✍️, discover fresh ideas 💡, and draw on personal experiences to bring writing prompts to life.

🚀 To round things off, Kathryn reads the opening chapter of her exciting new novel, Vampyr, Ghost, Assassin, due for release at the end of August 2026. 🎉

🔎 To find out more about Kathryn's books and explore her other creative writing workshops, visit her website: www.kathrynrossati.co.uk 🌐

https://youtu.be/H16JuWGLrE4

Join novelist and poet Kathryn Rossati for an engaging creative wri...

09/06/2026

📚✨ Congratulations to Isle of Wight author Kieran Larwood Author on being nominated for a prestigious children's literature award! 👏

Kieran, who is well known for his hugely popular children's books, continues to inspire young readers with his imaginative storytelling and unforgettable characters. 🌟📖

It's fantastic to see local talent receiving national recognition, and we're proud to celebrate another success story from the Isle of Wight. 🏝️❤️

Please join us in wishing Kieran the very best of luck! 🍀🤞✨

05/06/2026

🎨✨ Have you heard about Blank Canvas? ✨🎨
This fantastic show was created for Stories in Schools, and pupils from Oakfield, St Mary's and Dover Park have already had the chance to enjoy it! 🌟📚
If you missed it, don't worry – Blank Canvas will be performed this Saturday at 11am at The Department! 🎭🎉
If you're looking for something creative, inspiring and fun, it's well worth checking out.
Find out more here: https://department.byretail.net/menu/Live-Events/Blank-Canvas
🎨🖌️ See where a blank canvas can take you! ✨

Online ordering from Shademakers UK

28/05/2026

🎉✨ LOVE THE IW STORY FESTIVAL? WE’D LOVE YOUR INPUT! ✨🎉

We’re inviting a couple of Story Festival supporters to join us for a relaxed discussion workshop on the morning of Saturday 13th June in Newport ☕📖

The session will focus on ideas around future festival ticketing, and we’re keen to hear thoughts from people who attend and enjoy the event 💡😊

If you’d like to be part of the conversation and help shape future plans for the festival, please get in touch!

📧 Email: [email protected]
📌 Please mark your email FAO Hannah

Feel free to tag or share with anyone who might be interested 💛📚

21/05/2026

📚✨ Day 4 of Stories in Schools! ✨📚

What an incredible line-up of storytellers, poets, publishers, ghost guides and creative minds we’ve had inspiring young imaginations today! 🎉

📖 Molly Arbuthnott – London-based author crafting honest and gentle stories about empathy, teamwork and moral courage.
Follow Molly here:
https://www.instagram.com/molly_arbuthnott_books
https://www.facebook.com/mollyarbuthnottbooks

🐸 Paul Lyalls – mainland poet extraordinaire, published in over 50 collections, including Michael Rosen’s A-Z of the Very Best Children’s Poetry. His latest book is Words Are Frogs!

🍋 Lottie Begg – Isle of Wight writer, publisher and founder of Lemon Jelly Press, encouraging everyone to experiment with language and discover that every voice matters.
https://lottiebegg.com/

👻 Marc Tuckey – sharing spooky tales and guiding walkers around the Island’s haunted hotspots for nearly 30 years!

🦖 Sue Bailey – Isle of Wight storyteller who’s been spinning tales since dinosaurs roamed the earth… or so she says! 😉
https://www.facebook.com/storiesforall
https://www.instagram.com/suethatsanotherstory/

🎨 Department Joe Plum – author of Blank Canvas, taking readers on a vibrant and imaginative journey through art, creativity and inspiration from history’s greatest artists.
https://www.instagram.com/department_ryde/

A huge thank you to all our brilliant visitors for bringing stories, creativity and imagination to life in our schools today! 🌟📚

16/05/2026

🌟 More brilliant storytellers and authors are joining us for Stories in Schools next week! 📚✨

From fascinating history 🌍 and magical tales ✨ to shipwrecks ⚓, poetry ✍️ and award-winning illustration 🎨 — there’s so much for Island children to discover!

Joining us this year:
📖 Nazneen Ahmed Pathak – British Bangladeshi writer, artist and historian exploring stories of migration, history and identity

🌿 Holly Medland – Isle of Wight storyteller sharing interactive tales of history, nature and mysterious creatures

🎩 Ian Charles Dickens – bringing the extraordinary life story of Charles Dickens to life in a lively illustrated talk

⚓ Ian Vallance – maritime history expert, underwater exploration enthusiast and member of the Magic Circle ✨

🦜 Kathryn Rossati – Island novelist and poet writing for children and young adults, inspired by nature and creativity

🎨 Neal Layton – multi-award-winning author and illustrator who has worked with Michael Rosen and Cressida Cowell

We can’t wait for a week filled with imagination 🌈, creativity 🎭 and unforgettable stories ❤️