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SCHOOLS' PROGRAMME

The IWLF Schools’ Programme has long been an imperative part of the Isle of Wight Literary Festival alongside its main programme. Reading and literacy are at the heart of what the festival is about; to create opportunities for our young island minds to access literary talent and be inspired. 

 

Year on year, the festival invites a carefully curated and diverse selection of authors covering age ranges of primary and secondary school age to deliver either assemblies, workshops or interactive sessions. Island schools host those authors or participate as a visitor to a ‘hub’ school on the Island. 

 

We are expanding our programme for 2024 in consultation with all the schools on the island. This year is set to be the largest programme we have ever held, with twenty plus primary schools and six secondary schools on the Island taking part. 

 

Our Schools Patron, award-winning author of The King’s Pants and The Queen’s Knickers Nicholas Allan, has designed a fantastic postcard for this year’s festival with the motto ‘Literature can change your life’, which will also be a giveaway to all the children attending the programme. 

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For 2024, we have welcomed a fresh logo and a new team of volunteers to head up the programme including former High Sheriff Dawn Haig-Thomas. Dawn spearheaded a hugely successful school readers campaign during her time in office, which continues today. 

 

Dawn said on joining the schools’ team, "The IWLF Schools' Programme brings leading authors into the Island's schools to develop a love of reading and storytelling in our young.  The passion the authors have for books is nothing short of contagious!  It takes just one book to ignite a passion for literature, enabling children to enter endless new worlds and become enlightened members of their society."

There is no charge to schools. The entire IWLF Schools’ Programme is generously funded by private benefactors and charitable donations who share the belief that a life long love of reading is one of the greatest gifts you can give a child. We all believe every childhood should be exposed to all the wonderful stories told and yet to come.   

 

The team’s aspiration for the future is to reach all children on the island to experience the inspiration of an author-delivered story or workshop.  

 

If you wish to support or have any enquiries, please contact 

schools@isleofwightliteraryfestival.com 

 

Please join us and share our journey on social media. 

2024 SCHOOLS' AUTHORS

Nicholas Allan is the author/illustrator of many best selling picture books, including The Queen’s Knickers, Father Christmas Needs A Wee, Where Willy Went and Jesus’ Christmas Party. His books are translates into twenty languages and winner of many awards, including a BAFTA, The Children’s Book Award, The Sheffield Book Award, and the Coventry Book Award for most loved picture book of the last twenty years. He is also the author of the picture book Hilltop Hospital, and wrote the episodes of the television series adapted from it. Hilltop Hospital has been shown in over forty countries. Jesus’ Christmas Party has become s standard schools musical available from Starshine Music. The Queen’s Knickers, Father Christmas Needs A Wee and The Giant Loo Roll are musicals on regular national tour. A new musical of the sequel to Father Christmas Needs A Wee, called Father Christmas Comes Up Trumps, begins this Autumn, ending with a West End run.

NICHOLAS ALLAN | PATRON

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"Becoming Patron of the Youth Programme gives me an opportunity to participate more fully in the growth of this unique festival while ensuring my regular visits to one of my favourite islands."

SCHOOLS' SPONSORS

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Privacy Policy, Cookies & Terms & Conditions

Registered Charity Number: 1164814

© Isle of Wight Literary Festival 2024

Northwood House | Ward Avenue
Cowes | Isle of Wight | PO31 9AZ

ABOUT
PROGRAMME
SPEAKERS

The free Schools' Programme is generously supported by private benefactors and donations, as well as the local Isle of Wight companies below. 

SCHOOLS' PATRON

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Nicholas Allan

Nicholas Allan is the author/illustrator of over thirty children’s books. Nicholas is also The Isle of Wight Literary Festival Schools' Patron. Many of his books are bestsellers, including The Queen’s KnickersFather Christmas Needs a WeeJesus’ Christmas PartyCinderella’s BumHeaven, and Where Willy Went.

His books have won awards and been translated into twenty languages.

 

www.nicholasallan.co.uk

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Marina Bennett

M.A. Bennett was born in the north of England to an English mother and a Venetian father. She loved history so much she studied it at two different universities. She also studied art and worked as an illustrator, an actress and a film reviewer. Now she has her dream job of being a writer and her books have been translated into more than 20 languages.  She also designed tour visuals for rock bands, including U2 and the Rolling Stones. Her first YA novel, S.T.A.G.S., was published in 2017 and was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2018.

 

Her bestselling S.T.A.G.S. is a twisty young adults thriller. MA BENNETT's bestselling STAGS series (STAGSDOGSFOXES and now TIGERS) - which is being developed for film - follows scholarship girl Greer to an exclusive boarding school where she discovers the Medievals, the dangerous and seductive clique who really run STAGS.

 

Against a backdrop of weekend retreats, bloodsports and Renaissance theatre, the STAGS books ooze atmosphere and menace. While DOGS draws on the discovery of a forbidden Elizabethan play, FOXES has sinister echoes of a Jacobean plot woven into its modern-day setting. In TIGERS, we move to colonial India and the terrible tiger hunts of the past.

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Jasbinder Bilan

Costa Award-winning children’s author Jasbinder Bilan was born on a farm in the foothills of the Himalayas. Her mum told her she was born in the stables, much to the rest of her family’s delight.  

When Jasbinder was one and a half her family moved to Nottingham, England where she grew up.  It was a big adjustment for them and they kept India alive by telling funny stories of their life on their farm with the grumpy camel and the mischievous monkey.   

In Jasbinder’s writing she creates magical and real worlds and tells gripping adventures inspired by her love of family and home, and of cities and wild places across the UK and India. 

 

Her debut children’s novel Asha And The Spirit Bird won the Times/Chicken House Prize, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, longlisted for the Jhalak Prize, shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize and won the Costa Children’s Book Award. Her second novel Tamarind And The Star Of Ishta was longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Prize and won the Indie Children's Book Award.  India, Incredible India was shortlisted in the Younger Non-Fiction category of the inaugural The Week Junior Book Awards.

 

www.jasbinderbilan.co.uk

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Lil Chase

Lil Chase has a first class degree in Creative Writing from London Metropolitan University and works as an Editor in London.

Having been a pub cook and even suffered a brief stint in Disneyland Paris, she settled on a career in her first love - telling stories.

Boys For Beginners started its life as a novel, written in pencil, complete with drawings, when Lil was just 11. Her writing has improved since then but her spelling has not. Lil has published 13 books. 

Lil lives with Stella - a fox crossed with a rat, who masquerades as a dog.

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Tracey Corderoy

Tracey Corderoy is a multi-award-winning British children's writer. She has published 76 books since 2010. Tracey grew up in South Wales, on a council estate firmly sandwiched between the steel and chemical works.

She’s a trained teacher, but now writes full time in an old damp cottage in a valley in the woods.

 

Her passion for nosing into other people’s ‘stories’ began in early childhood, thanks to an ancient set of encyclopaedias and a Ladybird copy of Cinderella.

 

Then one special teacher and many great librarians fed Tracey more and more books. Between their pages real magic started to happen. Impossible became plausible. Characters became friends. Boundaries became gates as slowly her world opened up. Books made her laugh, and cry, and think. They made her feel that maybe she could do things…

 

www.traceycorderoy.com

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Ian Dickens

175 years ago, Charles Dickens and his family spent three summer months on the Isle of Wight. While here, he was writing chapters of David Copperfield - his most autobiographical of novels. 

 

Ian Charles Dickens is a great-great grandson (and an Island resident) and has been bringing his illustrated talk on the rags to riches tale of Dickens’s life, to numerous Primary school classes across this anniversary year. 

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Natasha Farrant

I was about six years old when I first read a story independently, in a sunlit classroom of the Lycée Français in London’s Cromwell Road.  I remember clearly how the world around me fell away as I was transported into the pages of the book, to a castle garden in another country, another time.  From that moment, I only ever wanted to be a writer.

 

It took me a while. After leaving university, I went to work for a publishing company, got married, had children… I loved all of it, but a part of me still longed to write. I complained about this quite extensively, until one dear friend reminded me in a very no-nonsense way that “writers write”. In other words, to get on with it.

 

So I did.

 

The first book I wrote was published in 2008 by Transworld, a dual-time romance for grownups. It was followed by another grownup book in 2010, but since then I have written exclusively for children and young people. I love it because it brings me closest to that amazing thrill of magic I felt in that sunlit classroom when I first learned to read alone. I recently completed a course in oral storytelling as well, and I'm enjoying experimenting with that.

 

www.natashafarrant.com

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Simon Howes

Simon Howes lives in Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. He is a retired stockbroker and happily married with three children. 

 

In his 68th year against all the odds he rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, solo and completely unassisted from Europe to St. Lucia, a distance of over 5,300 kilometres. In the process Simon raised over £100,000 for the Isle of Wight Red Squirrel Trust without any corporate sponsorship.  He broke the record for a transatlantic solo row to St Lucia by 43 days. Simon also became the second oldest independent solo rower in history to row across any ocean on the planet.

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Phillip Kavvadias

Phillip is an author, playwright, poet, illustrator and screenwriter. In my day job I work on Sustainability, helping decarbonise world-wide supply chains. I also volunteer both in the writing community, as a key member of SCBWI, and my local community as a Scout Leader.

 

His book, Microraptor, is a fast-paced and funny adventure with an environmental twist, the first instalment of Kavvadias' exhilarating series sees two schoolchildren bring a microraptor back from extinction in the Alps.

www.philipkavvadias.com

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Stuart Lawrence

The Right Honourable Stuart Lawrence is a consultant, youth engagement specialist, coach and public speaker. He is also the younger brother of Stephen Lawrence, the British teenager murdered in a racially motivated attack in 1993.

 

Stuart has worked in graphics and design and has had a 15-year career as a secondary school teacher in southwest London. He has also worked for the Home Office and HMP Belmarsh.

 

Silence is Not an Option is Stuart’s first book (for readers aged 10 +) and is interspersed with reflections on his bother Stephen’s life and murder. Stuart talks about what he has learned from life and the tools that have helped him live positively and kept him moving forwards when times have been tough. From role models to self-control, failure to imagination, Stuart’s aim with this book is to use his own experience to help young people – to help all people – harness the good in themselves and in the world around them, using that fire of positivity to create change in their lives.

Stuart campaigns for racism awareness and devotes time to the promotion of Stephen Lawrence Day, on 22 April annually.

 

www.stuartalawrence.co.uk

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Neal Layton

Born in Chichester and now based on the south coast with his family, multi award-winning author and Illustrator Neal Layton works on a plethora of publications for children from his treasure filled studio on the Isle of Wight. 

 

A former student at Newcastle and Central St Martins, Neal has become an avid collector and compulsive scribbler, deftly combining a multitude of styles and techniques in colour and black and white, from pen and ink to collage and digital methods creating fresh and spontaneous illustrations for both fiction, non-fiction and novelty books.

 

With a clutch of awards under his belt including the prestigious Sheffield Children’s Book Prize Neal has been lucky enough to collaborate with some of the country’s best loved authors including Cressida Cowell, Andy Stanton and Michael Rosen. Neal is extremely passionate about conservation and inclusivity and this shines through in many of his recent author illustrated publications.

 

Well versed in discussing and demonstrating his work Neal is available for a variety of events from schools and bookshops to large scale festivals and conferences. You can find Neal on Instagram and Twitter for insightful sneak peeks, reviews and regular updates on new projects. 

 

The Tree. Home to a family of birds in their nest, squirrels in their drey and rabbits in their burrow. But what happens to the animals when a man and woman decide to cut it down and use it for their dream house? Can the tree be home to both the animals and the humans? A simple yet fun and distinctive picture book, with a strong environmental message about the importance of respecting animal habitats.

www.neallayton.co.uk

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Jenny McLachlan

I have always loved reading and I studied English at university just so that I could read a bit more.  Next I found my way into secondary teaching and discovered that I loved it too: I got to read more books, show off and hang out with very funny teenagers.  What a great job!

Teaching English also encouraged me to write.  Soon I had planned and started lots of different stories, but they were all abandoned and shoved to the back of a drawer.  Then, one day, the plot for Flirty Dancing came together; Bea’s story was so alive it was like a film running in my head and I knew it was a story I would finish.

Over the next few years, various exciting events distracted me from Flirty Dancing: I got married, travelled the world, was chased by an angry elephant (and a pack of dogs) and I had two babies.  While I was sitting on trains, swimming in the Outback and raising two crazy girls, I kept thinking about Bea, and her friends, Betty, Kat and Pearl, until I realised I had planned three more books.

In 2013, after attending the Winchester Writers’ Festival, I plucked up the courage to send Flirty Dancing to Julia Churchill, a brilliant children’s fiction agent at A.M. Heath.  With dazzling speed I was then signed by Bloomsbury to write the four books in the series.

www.jennymclachlan.com

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Christopher Stevens

Christopher Stevens began telling stories to his children and their friends more that 25 years ago and is never more complimented than when they are retold to him by these ‘children’, now in their twenties. His sense of adventure combined with this interest in history and passion for storytelling have culminated in him writing his children’s novels, ‘The Pirate Queen and Half-Plucked Chicken’ and ‘The Lost Uncle and the Elixir of Life’. Chris lives in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. 

 

Chris will be sharing ‘The Lost Uncle and the Elixir of Life’- When they stumble across a one-hundred-year-old journal detailing the disappearance of their Uncle Cecil, the Baldwin family set off for Sri Lanka in search of the truth. Has he gone in search of the butterfly flower with its magical healing powers? As the trail goes cold, so fate lends a helping hand, and what they discover is a land beyond their wildest dreams. But when things go horribly wrong, Charlie and Lizzie need to draw on all their courage; the fate of an entire civilization lies in their hands!

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Eloise Smith

In my former lives I’ve been an Olympian, triple Commonwealth fencing gold medallist, Oxford English graduate and award-winning executive creative director in advertising.

 

Now I’m a children’s author, following my wildest dream of all . . .

My first book draws on my experiences in fencing and film sets: Sister To A Star is a thrilling mystery about warring twins in a swash-buckling Hollywood movie.

 

My second book uses my understanding of high-level sport: Winner Takes Gold is a gripping adventure about sabotage on an elite gymnastics camp. 

In my spare time I relax by skiing, climbing, running and yoga. All while raising two boys who bring me more joy than all my dreams put together. 

 

www.eloisesmith.net

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Andy Stanton

Andy Stanton lives in North London. He studied English at Oxford but they kicked him out. He has been a film script reader, a cartoonist, an NHS lackey and lots of other things. He has many interests, but best of all he likes cartoons, books and music (even jazz).

One day he’d like to live in New York or Berlin or one of those places because he’s got fantasies of bohemia. His favourite expression is ‘Good evening’ and his favourite word is ‘captain’. Andy has now written more than one book, but less than twenty.

 

 

 

Mr Gum is a truly nasty old man. He’s absolutely grimsters. But this book’s not just about him. There’s also a little girl called Polly, an absolute winner called Friday O’Leary, an evil butcher, heroes and sweets and stuff, and a furry wobbler of a dog called Jake WHO MUST BE SAVED FROM TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE EVIL. Oh yes, it’s all happening in this book.

 

www.mrgum.co.uk

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Kev F Sutherland

Comic writer and artist Kev F Sutherland's work has appeared everywhere from Beano to Marvel (and most points inbetween). 

 

He began his career working on the kids comic Oink! and with strips in Viz. He was a leading light of the 90s humour comics scene, working for Gas, The Damage, Zit, Blag and others, and creating and editing UT and Bloody Hell. He devised and drew The Gladiators TV spin off comic, then worked on such titles as Red Dwarf Smegazine and Zig & Zag's Zogazine.

 

For Marvel he worked as an artist on Doctor Strange, Star Trek, Ghost Rider 2099, and Apocalypse 2099, and wrote Werewolf By Night. From 1999 - 2004 he was the producer of the UK's Comic Festival in Bristol.

 

Since 2003 he has been a regular contributor, both writing and drawing, for Beano comic and the Beano and Dandy annuals, and has adapted a series of stories for Bible Society.

 

His debut graphic novels, Findlay Macbeth, The Prince Of Denmark Street, and The Midsummer Night's Dream Team were published in 2020.

 

www.kevfcomicartist.com

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Yarrow Townsend

Yarrow Townsend spent her childhood among the moss, oak and heather of the New Forest. After working as a teacher, and then as a stablehand, Yarrow completed an MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, before returning to the forest to work for the RSPB. Always in search of ways to be closer to the outdoors, Yarrow now lives on a narrowboat, travelling the canals with her garden on the roof. The Map of Leaves is inspired by her life by the woods and the water, and by her own parents’ herb books.

 

In her publication The Map of Leaves, Orla has been on her own since Ma died, living in a woodshed by the river, with only her beloved garden for company.

It provides all she needs. But when sickness come to the land, Governor Atlas decrees that plants are the cause, and must be destroyed. 

Armed with her mother's book of remedies, Orla steals away on a river boat, setting off to discover the truth and save her garden. But she's not the only stowaway. Soon she, Idris and Ariana must navigate the rapids of the Inkwater to a poisonous place from which they may never return....

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