Looking for an activity for next week’s half term? Fretting averted: World Book Day and World Book Night may have come and gone, but our handpicked selection of events for book fiends will fill your upcoming bank holiday weekend and half term week.
- Friday 22 May - Sunday 24 May: Greenwich Book Festival
Just in case the beautiful naval sites from Greenwich weren’t enough to entice you, the first ever Greenwich Book Festival will be taking place this weekend, hosted by the University of Greenwich.
Talent includes Alastair Watson hosting The Dinosaur That Pooped A Show, as well as Salvatore Rubbino (A Walk in London) and Steven Butler (The Diary of Dennis the Menace), who will be delivering special performances and readings of their books.
- Friday 22 May - Sunday 31 May - Bristol: Moomin Mania
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of Tove Jansson’s wonderful Finnish book series The Moomins, Bristol’s Watershed will be holding Moomin Mania.
The 10-day long event will celebrate this ageless classic and bring together fans old and new! Make Your Own Moomins workshops, screenings of the new Moomins on the Riviera film, snacks and large stuffed Moomins will ensure you escape to Moominvalley.
- Saturday 23 May - Oxford: Discworld Weekend
The Story Museum is a proud oddity: this self-proclaimed “unusual museum” hosts events for the whole family and will be running a mix of activities tailored for the half-term break.
It is dedicating this weekend to remembering the late fantasy writer Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series. The dark and mystical world of Pratchett will be brought to life with readings by Stephen Briggs (the voice of the Discworld audiobooks) and evening events such as the Murder A Curry dress up quiz night.
- Saturday 23 May - Liverpool: Meet Cathy Cassidy
This year marks 150 years of Alice in Wonderland. Cathy Cassidy collaborated on a modern adaptation to the classic tale and will be present at Waterstones Liverpool to meet and greet her readers. Drop in from 1pm to get a signed copy of her latest book, Looking Glass Girl (Penguin).
- Monday 25 May - Sunday 31 May - London: Discover Children’s Story Centre
Stratford’s Discover Children’s Story Centre is dedicating half term to Oliver Jeffers’ stories and distinct watercolour illustrations. The workshops will take place throughout the week and be divided in two age groups: three+ and six+, with storytelling-focused activities for the younger ones and crafts for those six and above.
- Tuesday 26 May - London: Fowl Play at Puppet Barge Theatre
Looking for a different form of entertainment? Little Venice’s Puppet Theatre Barge will be showcasing Fowl Play, a puppet show about a group of animals in the farm and the tantalising new addition to the family: a fowl. This exciting narrative delivered with hand-carved puppets brings a pastoral edge to London and will appeal to animal lovers, from age three.
- Wednesday 27 May - Great Missenden: Bilious Twit beards
The Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire is a testament to one of the greatest voices of British children’s literature to this day. A wide range of events is running throughout late May, so do check the full programme.
Bilious Twit beards will enable each child to create beard masks based on their favourite character from Roald Dahl’s many personages and worlds. Strongly recommended to children five and older who like to muck in and create their own designs.
- Thursday 28 May - Salisbury: Alice in Wonderland Tea Party
Come revisit Alice’s magical reverie with this unique Alice in Wonderland tea party at Waterstones Salisbury. The event will take place from 3-5pm and is likely to be extremely popular (who wouldn’t want to drink tea like The Hatter?), so it’s worth getting down early and browsing prior!
- Friday 29 May - London: Bouncing Cats and Boom Boom Pups
This special one-off event at the Roundhouse (Camden) brings together spoken word, hip hop and graffiti under one same roof. The event is part of the The Last Word Festival, and will have spoken word artist and writer Maxwell Golden as the MC of this interactive event open to the whole family.
- Saturday 30 May - Cardiff: The Wizard of Oz
L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz takes to the stage, at Cardiff’s New Theatre. With characters as eccentric as they are endearing you can now re-live Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Tinman and Toto’s unexpected adventure to Emerald City with a pair of fresh eyes all over again.
Don’t forget to check your local bookshops’ events pages. Waterstones, Blackwell’s, and Foyles, plus countless independent bookshops across the country regularly host authors and literary events – and not just during half term!
