Page-turners for children and young adults at Literary Festival

Published On Wed 15 Oct 2014 by Grant Hill

The Dundee Literary Festival later this month will show how reading is child’s play with a series of events aimed at young booklovers.

Babies up to their first birthday are invited to bring their parents, carers and older siblings along for a ‘Bounce and Tickle’ party at 11am on Friday, 24th October when rhyme, songs and stories are guaranteed to keep little ones, and not so little ones, amused.

A Family Fun Morning of storytelling, face-painting, teddy bears picnics and other activities will take place from 9.30am-12pm the following morning. From 10am, storyteller, scientist and poet Emily Dodd will be reading from her first picture book, aimed at children aged 3-6. Pamela Butchart, author of ‘Baby Aliens Got My Teacher’, will have kids from the age of 7 upwards laughing out loud with stories and games based on the book from 11am.

‘Teen Thrillers’ will entertain 11-14-year-olds from 12pm on Saturday, 25th October, ‘Mind Blind’ is Lari Don’s first book for teen readers, while ‘Werewolf Parallel’ sees Roy Gill delve into the void between the human and demon worlds. Both authors will read from their work and answer questions from fans at the event.

All these events take place at Bonar Hall, Park Place, and are free but ticketed.

Talks by Kevin Barry (2pm on Thursday, 23rd October) and Kirsty Logan & Carys Bray (5pm on Saturday, 25th October) are also recommended for young adults. Tickets cost £3 for adults and £2 concession.

Director Anna Day said encouraging youngsters to read was vital to the Dundee Literary Festival.

“You’re never too young to learn the joy of storytelling, which is why we have events aimed at children in the first year of their life,” she said. “Research shows that being read to aids children’s development and leads to a love of reading, which obviously has so many benefits.

“We passionately believe that literary festivals are not just for grown-ups, that they should exist to introduce people to the joy of reading at an early age. We’re looking forward to welcoming our young visitors, and their parents.”

More than 60 workshops, talks, book signings, readings, walking tours and other events will be held during the Festival’s five-day run from 22nd to 26th October.. As a result, 2014 will be the biggest Dundee Literary Festival to date as sports, crime, comics, translation, poetry, comedy, music, politics, history and children’s books are all covered.

More information about this year’s programme, including the full line up and how to obtain tickets, can be found at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/literarydundee/.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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