South London’s children’s book festival in Herne Hill, which this year will be opened by Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, takes place from 30th January to 5th February 2023.
The festival will host leading lights across children’s literature, and centre stage for 2023 will be the ‘Stepping Into Stories Competition’, which invites children of all ages to tell their own stories, in any format, using this year’s theme, ‘All Aboard!’. The competition will celebrate many different kinds of storytelling media, including pictures, comics, rap, poetry, performance and songs.
The festival will really bring kids literature to life, by making literature fun, interactive and immersive and will include a range of activities from theatre performance bringing iconic kids literary heroes to life, poetry, drawing and sound-making performances.
Following another knockout festival in 2022, attended by over 2000 participants, the Stepping Into Stories Kids’ Lit Fest is back in Herne Hill for 2023! This week-long celebration of children’s books will unite leading lights from across children’s literature to share and celebrate story making in all its forms. There will be an inspirational public and schools programme running throughout the week with multi-award winning, best selling authors including Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho (Happy Here, Overheard In A Tower Block); SF Said (Tyger); AM Dassu (Fight Back); Rashmi Sirdeshpande (Never Let A Diplodocus Draw); Alex Wheatle MBE (Cane Warriors) and many more. The programme offers something for children of all ages, from picture books to teen and young adult fiction – as well as sessions for grown ups considering careers in the book industry! This will be the festival’s fourth year and puts Herne Hill firmly on the map for world class children’s literature.
Inclusivity underpins the festival, with a programme that celebrates the diversity of local communities and of the speakers taking part. This is reflected in the festival’s theme of ‘All Aboard’ for 2023. As noted by Mo O’Hara, children’s author and member of the festival management team, “the line up includes LGBTQ authors and illustrators; authors with disabilities; participants from diverse socio-economic backgrounds; and speakers who represent many different cultures, ethnicities and journeys through their works – just like London! Twelve local schools take part in the festival, including many from some of London’s most deprived wards and two for children with special educational needs. We want to make sure all children have access to amazing books and we aim to spark a life changing love of reading”.
With funding from Arts Council England and Aviva, concessions are available for all events to ensure that cost is never a barrier to people coming along.
Award winning author, AM Dassu, whose internationally acclaimed novel, Boy, Everywhere, was one of The Guardian’s and BookTrust’s Best Children’s Books of 2020, will return to Stepping Into Stories for the second time in 2023 and comments: “The Festival was so well organised and a real pleasure to be a part of. I was able to work with schools who ordinarily wouldn’t have the budget to invite me to deliver a workshop. It’s such an important festival and one I’m sure makes a huge difference to the community”.
Although the festival now features over 50 events across the week, involving some of the nation’s most highly regarded authors and illustrators, it was started entirely by and for the local community and is run by a small core team of creative women, all with various bookish hats on! Multi award winning children’s bookshop, Tales On Moon Lane, are also integral to the planning and delivery of the festival and provide book signings and sales throughout the week.
Centrestage for 2023 will be the ‘Stepping Into Stories Competition’, which invites children of all ages to tell their own stories, in any format, using this year’s theme, ‘All Aboard!’. The competition will celebrate many different kinds of storytelling media, including pictures, comics, rap, poetry, performance and songs.
Check website for venue information and event details: https://www.steppingintostories.org/public-programme
