The UK'S largest children’s literature festival returns on Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 June 2025 for its 11th year with a star-studded line up.

'Delightful, imaginative, innovative - and beautifully organised.'  Dame Jacqueline Wilson

‘London’s most innovative literature festival for children’  The Richmond magazine

‘NUMBER ONE for family fun in London’ Urban Explorer

'London now has a world class children's book festival'  SF Said 

Barnes becomes the children's books capital of the UK once more when the Barnes Children's Literature Festival returns on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June with more than 100 inspiring events, workshops and performances for young book fans and their families.

Bestselling children's author, David Walliams, who will appear at the festival for the first time; Cressida Cowell, the superstar creator of the How to Train Your Dragon books and Hollywood film series and the book rapping sensation, MC Grammar, star of Sky Kids' hit show Wonder Raps, are just a few of the big names on their way to beautiful Barnes Pond.

Festival favourite, Axel Scheffler illustrator of The Gruffalo, returns to the festival for his 11th appearance! Million-selling former NHS doctor, Adam Kay with Henry Paker will have the kids in stitches. CBeebies superstar Andy 'Dinosaur Adventures' Day and Steven Lenton; the funniest brother-sister duo, Green Wing comedian Steven and Anita Mangan, will appear among so many more.

Barnes is always committed to programming a few special treats that audiences are unlikely to see elsewhere and this year this includes the first children's festival appearance by internationally bestselling crime writer Janice Hallett (The Appeal etc) with her debut children's title, A Box Full of Murders and an appearance from Global TED talker Gavin Pretor-Pinney with Cloudspotting for Beginners.

There will be plenty of fun for graphic novel and comic fans too from the creator of the hilarious Grimwood series AND the Festival's 2025 poster, Nadia Shireen; the author illustrator of the smash hit Loki series, Louie Stowell; Marvel artist, RAMZEE and the BAFTA-award winning, The Brothers McLeod. 

Katie Kirby, creator of much-loved Lottie Brooks series; Jasbinder Bilan and recent Waterstones Book of the Month author, M.G. Leonard, will all talk about their new books for children aged 8+. 

Festival media partners The Week Junior return with their thought-provoking workshop for young journalists which sold out in ten minutes in 2024, and a brand-new event - the Great Debate – will offer a chance for children to polish their debating skills with advice from the magazine’s journalists. 

There will be Manga illustration masterclasses with Chie Kutsuwada and the skateboard drawing club with cult artist Ed Syder where every child designs their own skate board to take home.

Children can also get involved in creative writing, comedy, art and craft, puppetry, live music, film, clay-mazing workshops with Aardman Animations, and there are lots of free things to do too including LEGO, chess, yoga, pop up performances and circus acts. 

Last year Barnes Children’s Literature Festival saw book sales of £30,000 over the public weekend and sold 10,000 tickets to just over 100 events. 

Amanda Brettargh, Festival director said “In eleven years we've grown from a conversation at the school gate to become the UK's largest dedicated children's book festival.  As well as celebrating all our favourite authors and illustrators, we're always pushing the boundaries of traditional literature festivals to create more space for the family-friendliest fun.  It's what keeps us going - and growing! Because every year we discover all these brilliant new books, or we'll see an event that has gone down a storm somewhere else, and we'll think 'oh they're just going to love that!' It's the best job in the world!”  

Tickets for the public festival will go on sale on Saturday 26 April and this year's Festival will be launched by award-winning and bestselling Australian author Andy Griffiths at Richmond Theatre as part of his UK tour - the ultimate Festival kick-off event!

The full programme is available on the website and you can purchase tickets at www.barneskidslitfest.org

But before the public programme takes place, the Festival opens with its London Primary Schools Programme: 12 days of free events for state school pupils all over the capital starting at Twickenham Stadium on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 May, followed by the Soho Theatre Walthamstow (21 May), Genesis Cinema in Bethnal Green (22 May), Battersea Arts Centre (4 June), The Lyric Hammersmith (5 June), The Beck Theatre in Hayes (6th June), The Rose Theatre in Kingston (9 June), Wandsworth Civic Centre (12 June), and The Questors Theatre in Ealing (16 June) and Barnes (17 & 18 June.).  It will provide over 21,000 free places this year. 

This year the Schools’ Programme includes both our current and former Children's Laureates, Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Joseph Coelho, Carnegie Medallist Katya Balen, the British Book Award winner SF Said, the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Prize winner, Serena Patel, the UK Librarian’s Association Book Award winner Jeffrey Boakye, BookTrust Writer in Residence Patrice Lawrence, the Children’s Poetry Prize winner, Matt Goodfellow and Professor Peter Lantos, Holocaust survivor and educator, among many, many others.

*** There's a chance to win a bundle of books by the guest authors and illustrators of the Barnes Children's Literature Festival - hop over to our competitions page to find out more!

www.barneskidslitfest.org

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