A family book-festival day works best when the child’s interest comes first. Begin with one event they would enjoy, then build a manageable visit around its age guidance, venue and time. A well-chosen conversation or drawing session can be enough for a first outing. You do not need to turn it into a full day of tickets. This page brings together the children’s strands in our guides, keeps Bath’s separate autumn festival distinct from its spring literature festival, and links to the earlier programmes so you can see what each offered. Check the next official programme before promising a particular author.
Festivals with children’s programmes
London Children’s Literature Festival
London Children’s Literature Festival is held in Barnes, London, in June. Its official site announces 26–27 June 2027; the 2026 festival was held on 27–28 June. Use the official festival FAQ for the Barnes Green location, event age guidance and adult-ticket rules (checked 27 October 2026).
Bath Children’s Literature Festival
Bath’s children’s festival is separate from the spring Bath Literature Festival. The 2026 children’s edition ran from 25 September to 4 October; those dates describe that edition and do not confirm the next one. Use the official children’s festival website for the current programme and individual event guidance. The Bath visitor guide includes the difference between the two festivals and practical city information.
When planning a family visit, put the exact venue alongside the event time. A ticket for a session in one building does not tell you how long to allow before another elsewhere. If you need a buggy route, wheelchair space or companion ticket, ask the box office before choosing seats. Bath’s stay guide compares central Bath, Walcot and Bathwick, with room details to check directly.
Hay Festival
Hay’s spring festival offers a family strand within the wider programme. Explore the earlier children’s events to understand the range, then use the official next-edition programme for ages, admission and participating writers. Do not assume a favourite author from a previous year will appear again. Give the family’s essential event first place in the plan and leave room for eating, a break and the return to your accommodation.
The Hay stay guide compares Hay-on-Wye with Hereford and Brecon. A wider base changes the day because it adds a journey in both directions. Before choosing it, compare the bus or other transfer with the event finish. Check the timetable for your actual edition and date; the presence of a festival bus in an earlier year does not confirm the next service.
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh’s programme highlights include children’s and younger-reader conversations alongside the wider programme. Plan for the room and event you book, using the official information for age guidance. A family day might combine one session with a break, rather than several consecutive talks. If your children have different interests, decide in advance whether the adults will split up and where everyone will meet afterwards.
The festival’s access information describes support including a Quiet Space; check current details and contact the team if your visit depends on a facility. The Edinburgh guide links the organiser’s information, and its stay page compares areas for a longer visit. Check the room’s sleeping layout and the route back after your final session, not just the number of guests a search accepts.
Cheltenham Literature Festival
Cheltenham combines a children’s strand with a wider literature programme. Its earlier family highlights help you discover writers, while the next programme determines what you can book. Use the visitor guide to connect event choices with gardens, town venues, travel and access. Put the child’s main event into the day before choosing additional adult sessions.
For a shared trip, leave enough flexibility for one person to take a break without everyone losing the plan. Agree where to meet, keep tickets accessible and check the venue named on each booking. The Cheltenham stay guide helps compare a central base with wider options; ask the property about the specific family room, beds and arrival arrangements you need.
Oxford and Wigtown
Oxford’s past programme and Wigtown’s family highlights offer two further starting points. Compare the actual children’s sessions, not an assumption that every event at a broad festival suits all ages. Oxford’s city and college venues call for attention to the particular building and entrance. Wigtown’s onward travel needs checking before you decide which first and final sessions fit the visit.
For both, choose the travel and accommodation around the events you can comfortably attend. The Oxford and Wigtown stay pages link the area choices with the festival guides. Leave a margin for collecting bags and reaching the station or transfer. A family trip can be successful with one memorable session and time together afterwards.
Which event for which age?
| Age band | What to look for in a programme | Guided festivals and their 2026 audience guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 | Picture books and short interactive sessions; check the stated minimum age. | Edinburgh: Luna Loves the Festival (Age 3 to 5); ages 3–4 within this band. |
| 5–8 | Storytelling and activities with an age recommendation that includes your child. | Edinburgh: Luna Loves the Festival (Age 3 to 5) for age 5; Hay: Cressida Cowell (7+ years) for ages 7–8. |
| 9–12 | Longer stories, author conversations and workshops; check the event’s own guidance. | Hay: Rob Biddulph (8+ years); Hay: Cressida Cowell (7+ years). |
| Teens | Look for teenage or young-adult sessions and any age or content guidance. | Off the Shelf: Sue Black (Adults and 16+); an option for teens aged 16 and over, not younger teenagers. |
Read the organiser’s age recommendation for the individual session and its accompanying-adult rule before booking. A writer may produce books for more than one readership; their name alone does not settle whether a particular conversation suits your child. Ask about the format if it matters: listening to an interview, joining a workshop and taking part in an activity make different demands. Where the official programme gives no age guidance, contact the box office instead of guessing from a book cover.
For a family with siblings, compare the ages and interests separately. An event that fits one child may not fit another, and a family ticket description does not answer every question about supervision. Check whether each adult needs a ticket, how seating works and whether late admission is possible. Keep the reply with the booking so the day does not begin with an avoidable uncertainty at the door.
Plan the gaps as well as the sessions
Put food and toilet breaks into the day before adding another event. Check the festival’s own information for buggy storage, quiet spaces, food rules and access routes; provision varies by venue. If a facility is essential, ask about the exact room or site you will use. Leave space for a child who wants to browse, draw or simply stop for a while after listening. The aim is a visit they would like to repeat, not a tally of sessions attended.
Children’s and younger-reader authors in 2026
The following profiles link to past earlier festival events and suggested reading. They cover different readerships; inclusion here does not make every book or festival session suitable for every age. Follow the event’s own guidance when choosing a ticket.
Julia Donaldson
Julia Donaldson writes books that invite you to listen as well as look. Her rhymes, songs and stories are familiar to families who know the pleasure of joining in on a favourite line.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Henley Literary Festival, Oxford Literary Festival.
Michael Morpurgo
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.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Hay Festival, Henley Literary Festival, Oxford Literary Festival.
Michael Rosen
Michael Rosen’s books make room for the sound of language: a poem spoken aloud, the repeated rhythm of a picture book or words shared between generations.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Hay Festival, Oxford Literary Festival.
Cressida Cowell
Cressida Cowell makes fantasy adventures in words and pictures, an inviting combination for children who like inventing creatures as much as reading about them.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival.
Liz Pichon
Liz Pichon is the writer and illustrator behind Tom Gates, where a doodle can tell the joke as quickly as a line of text.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival, Henley Literary Festival.
Katie Kirby
Katie Kirby’s Lottie Brooks books turn the awkward business of growing up into something readers can laugh about together.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Henley Literary Festival, Oxford Literary Festival.
Joseph Coelho
Joseph Coelho makes words something to hear as well as something to read. His poetry, picture books and stories offer children several ways to meet a writer, from listening quietly to trying a rhyme aloud.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival, Henley Literary Festival, Wigtown Book Festival.
Rob Biddulph
Rob Biddulph makes stories to read, pictures to linger over and drawings children can try for themselves. A family festival visit can bring those pleasures together.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival, Henley Literary Festival, Stratford Literary Festival.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Frank Cottrell-Boyce writes stories in which an unlikely beginning opens a much bigger world. He also writes for screens and champions children’s reading.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival.
Katherine Rundell
Katherine Rundell writes adventures for readers who want to be carried somewhere extraordinary, and non-fiction for adults who love thinking about literature.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Jacqueline Wilson
Jacqueline Wilson’s characters let young readers be angry, hopeful, funny and determined, sometimes on the same page. Her events draw families discovering those voices and adults returning to books they grew up with.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Edinburgh International Book Festival, Ilkley Literature Festival.
M. G. Leonard
M. G. Leonard writes adventures for children who want a mystery, a creature or a journey to follow. Her books range from beetles and birds to trains and time travel.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival, Henley Literary Festival.
Holly Jackson
Holly Jackson writes mysteries that invite readers to follow the clues, distrust an answer and keep turning the pages.
Featured in the 2026 programme at Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Hay Festival.
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Family rooms and a base for the night
Compare the room itself before reserving: bed layout, bathroom, lift or stairs, check-in, breakfast and any parking you need. A search result for a family does not confirm every feature. Ask the property directly about essentials and retain its response. If staying outside the festival town, include the full daily transfer in the budget and timetable. For a first visit, fewer journeys may matter more to your family than adding an extra event.
Compare Bath rooms
Compare Hay rooms
Use the first-festival guide for a checklist and the festival comparison for a wider choice of settings and seasons. Accommodation links do not book event admission; festival tickets remain with the official box office.