The Bath Children's Literature Festival (also known as Bath Kids' Lit Fest) is an annual book festival held in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

aimed at children's books. The festival features a variety of authors, poets, illustrators and storytellers. It typically lasts ten days in September, spanning two weekends. Various events are organised in the city during this time, as well as events at local schools in the central week. The BBC have called the largest event of its type in Europe. The Festival has been organised by John and Gill McLay since its creation in 2007. The Festival has attracted a wealth of popular and talented guests, including the

Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field". The rol ...

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is an English children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster, activist, and academic, who is a professor of children's literature in the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths ...

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (' Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for tackling realistic topics such as adoption and divorce. Since her debut novel in 1969, ...

, Chris Riddell, Cressida Cowell and

Alice Oseman Alice May Oseman (born 16 October 1994) is an English author and illustrator of young adult fiction. She secured her first publishing deal at 17 and published her first novel ''Solitaire'' in 2014. Her novels include ''Radio Silence'', ''I Was ...

History

The Bath Children's Literature Festival was founded in 2007 by John and Gill McLay, who run a literary agency, and are the festival's artistic directors. In 2024 the BBC called the festival the largest event of its type in Europe. The festival typically last ten days in September, spanning two weekends, and in 2024 involved more than 80 events. The 2015 event featured

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then, he has also acted in films, on television and in stage productions, including n ...

and new Children's Laureate Chris Riddell. In 2022, Alice Oseman,

Juno Dawson Juno Dawson (born 10 July 1981) is an English author of young adult fiction and non-fiction. Dawson's notable works include '' This Book Is Gay'', ''Mind Your Head'', ''Margot & Me'', ''The Gender Games'', ''Clean'', ''Meat Market'', and the ser ...

Richard Ayoade Richard Ayoade ( ; born 23 May 1977) is a British comedian, actor, writer, director and presenter. He played the role of socially awkward IT technician Maurice Moss in Channel 4 sitcom ''The IT Crowd'' (2006–2013), for which he won the 2014 Br ...

, illustrator Tor Freeman and

Rosie Jones Rosie Luisa Jones (born 24 June 1990) is a British comedian, writer and actress. After starting her career as a writer on panel shows, she went on to appear as a guest on '' The Last Leg'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdo ...

all appeared. The 2024 festival began with a giveaway of a thousand books to local children, hosted by author

Katherine Rundell Katherine Rundell (born 10 July 1987) is an English author and academic. She is the author of ''Impossible Creatures'', named Waterstones Book of the Year for 2023. She is also the author of ''Rooftoppers'', which in 2015 won both the overall ...

. Organisers planned to give away five thousand books during the course of the festival. Other featured authors included Michael Rosen, Cressida Cowell, Rob Biddulph, and Jacqueline Wilson, who has appeared at multiple of the Bath festivals over the years. In 2025 the festival announced a new collaboration with

Longleat Longleat is a stately home about west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. Longleat is set in of parkl ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://bathfestivals.org.uk/childrens-literature/ Children's festivals in the United Kingdom Festivals in Bath, Somerset Literary festivals in England