Stellar line up of authors for Exeter's festival of writing for children

Michael Morpurgo, Andy Stanton, Francesca Simon and Darren Shan will be amongst the line up of top children’s authors taking part in Exeter’s festival of writing for and by young people during the October half term.

exetreme imagination takes place from 25 October to 1 November with a packed programme of author events, creative workshops, exhibitions and performances at venues across the city.

Andy Stanton, award-winning author of the Mr Gum series, will be sharing stories, jokes and true-life tales about being a writer. Babette Cole, author of over 70 books, including Princess Smartypants, Mommy Laid an Egg and Bad Habits will be talking about how she creates her characters, as well as reading stories and anecdotes.

Festival curator and Devon-based author, Mal Peet said: “exetreme imagination is a city-wide, multi-media, interactive festival for children of all ages. We have a stellar guest-list of writers, including some of the country's leading Young Adult authors as well as the wonderfully manic Andy Stanton and Darren Shan. But this is more than just another literary event. exetreme imagination aims to inspire young people to let their imaginations go wild, with fantastic opportunities to watch and participate in performances, visit exhibitions and take part in workshops about writing and illustrating. What better way to spend the half term holiday?

A theme of conflict runs through the festival, with some events linked to the First World War. Tom Palmer’s latest book, Over the Line is about one footballer’s experience of the First World War. During an event at Exeter library, Tom will be playing his popular Football Reading Game with a group of young people.

Michael Morpurgo will be giving a talk at Exeter Northcott Theatre, following a performance of An Elephant in the Garden, the new adaptation of his best-selling children’s novel set during the Second World War.

The theme of conflict will be extended to include the conflict for natural resources which will be explored through eco-poetry in a workshop run by CCANW.

During the festival, there will be events for all ages from 0 to 25, as well as some for adults. On Wednesday 29 October there will be a particular focus on teens, with the exetreme teen day when Darren Shan will be reading from and talking about Zom-B, his epic 12-book series about B Smith, a teenager who must learn to survive in a world of racism, zombies and darkness.

Darren said: “It’s a big, sprawling, vicious tale… a grisly piece of escapism, and a barbed look at the world in which we live. Each book in the series is short, fast-paced and bloody. A high body-count is guaranteed!”

Ellen Renner, author of the award-winning Castle of Shadows books and new young adult fantasy Tribute, will be leading a fantasy writing workshop for teens and adults. Exeter Library will host a number of events including a Q&A session with young adult author Beth Reekles, the festival’s Youth Curator, and a drama workshop exploring young adult literature. A discussion about violence in teenage fiction will be led by authors Anthony McGowan and Kevin Brooks, who was recently awarded The Carnegie medal, an annual award to the writer of an outstanding book for children.

As part of the festival, there will be a day of activities especially for families. The exetreme family fun day takes place on Saturday 1 November with author events, live story making, creative workshops and other shows and activities taking place across the city.

Debra Myhill exetreme imagination’s Director and Professor at the Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter said:
“We want to enthuse and inspire children and young people across Exeter, showcasing high quality writing for children, and fostering talent in writing by children and young people. We will be bringing great children’s authors and creative artists into schools, communities, and arts venues to work alongside children and young people, sharing their experiences as writers and engaging young people in the power of the written word.”

exetreme imagination takes place during the October half term from 25 October to 1 November at venues throughout Exeter. Further details and booking information are available at http://exetreme.org