Michael Morpurgo’s stories travel from a child’s reading to a theatre, a shared performance or an adult’s memory of a place. His festival year brought animal stories and a farm memoir to the stage. A family following his fiction and a reader interested in the life behind it had different conversations to enjoy.
Morpurgo writes children’s novels, plays and work for performance and music. He served as Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005, and his best-known horse story reached a wider audience through the National Theatre’s adaptation. That range means a listener may arrive through a book read at home, a production seen on stage or a story shared with a class.
Animals and the ways people treat them recur through his writing. His retelling of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty was published in February 2026. The horse’s perspective connects that classic with his own fiction, giving readers a way to think about how a storyteller invites us to see through another creature’s eyes.
Hodder Press published his latest book on 17 September 2026. It is a memoir of life on a Devon farm, a setting connected with the rural stories that readers know from his work. With Clare he founded Farms for City Children, linking his professional work around reading and education with the experience of rural life. The memoir offers adult readers another way to encounter the places behind the stories.
Where to start with their books
Kensuke’s Kingdom
A boy washed onto a Pacific island must find a way to survive, then discovers that someone else is bringing him food and water. The adventure opens into a story of trust and friendship, a good choice for readers who enjoy wondering how two people learn to understand each other.
Private Peaceful
Tommo looks back over his family and village during twenty-four hours at the front in the First World War. The memories give the war story a personal centre, making this a different reading experience from a voyage or animal adventure.
Shadow
A boy in Afghanistan finds a constant companion in a springer spaniel, then has to find the courage to leave as danger grows around them. Start here if the bond between a child and an animal is what draws you to Morpurgo’s stories.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre hosted the retelling on 21 March. At Hay on 25 May, he spoke with Clare Balding on the Discovery Stage about the classic and its connections with War Horse. Hay recommended that conversation for readers aged eight and above.
For a reader who had met him through children’s fiction, hearing the memoir discussed with his fellow speaker offered another kind of encounter. For a family interested in a story told through an animal, the earlier retelling had a clear appeal of its own. The programme allowed both interests to find a place during the year.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
Choose the session with your whole group in mind. An adult interested in memoir and a child keen to hear about an animal story may not want the same afternoon, even when they love the same writer. Discuss what each person is looking forward to before buying tickets.
If you read aloud together, revisit a short passage before the outing and let the child say what they noticed about the animal or narrator. Afterwards, leave time to talk without rushing to another event. A story can stay with a family long after the journey home, especially when everyone has room for their own response.
Cottrell-Boyce wrote the screenplay for an animated adaptation of one of Morpurgo’s novels and offers another conversation about childhood and stories.
Which festivals featured Michael Morpurgo in 2026?
The 2026 programmes featured Michael Morpurgo at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Hay Festival, Henley Literary Festival, Oxford Literary Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Were the conversations suitable for families?
Use the festival links on Michael Morpurgo’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
Which story should we read before seeing him?
Use the festival links on Michael Morpurgo’s profile for the event’s own ticket and audience guidance.
How can I book tickets to hear Michael Morpurgo?
Buy through the host festival’s official box office. Ask about seating and access support before paying, and make sure the session suits everyone in your group. The linked festival guide covers the rest of the outing, including your base and journey to the venue.
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