We’re bringing award winning authors to Stroud to share their amazing stories with children and families in our community at the first ever Brimscombe Mill Kids Book Fest.
2026 has been designated the National Year of Reading and we’re joining a UK-wide campaign led by the National Literacy Trust to help more people rediscover the joy of reading and make it part of their everyday lives.
As with all our events our tickets are available on a paid and free basis.
Discover the full programme below.
Tickets now on sale
Book tickets for Friday 9th October events
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Storytelling session with Andy Hussey
Friday 9th Oct @ 10:00-10:30
UNDER 5s
Come along for a storytelling session with local author Andy Hussey. Young nature lovers will be inspired to explore the great outdoors and have their own adventure.
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Craft Table With Stroud Library
Friday 9th Oct @ 10:30-12:00
UNDER 5s.
Join Stroud Library at their craft table next to the play area. Make a mushroom bookmark to take home or decorate a matchbox, perfect for storing your smallest treasures.
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Poems With John Dougherty
Friday 9th Oct @ 16:30-17:15
5-10YRS
Join award-winning author and poet John Dougherty in The Sanctuary for a fun-filled and inspirational celebration of verse, silly stories and songs.
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Graphic Novel Workshop- Wren James
Friday 9th October @ 18:30-19:15
14+
Join Wren James for an interactive drawing workshop, learning the process of creating their debut graphic novel, The Victors: a funny and uplifting story.
Book tickets for Saturday 10th October events
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Unipiggle Magic Drawing Party with Hannah Shaw
Saturday 10th Oct @ 09:30-10:30
AGE 4-8YRS
Join Author and Illustrator Hannah Shaw for a Unipiggle magic drawing party, a guided illustration workshop and story telling where children will learn how to draw fun characters from Witch Emergency..
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Martha Lightfoot Illustration Workshop
Saturday 10th October @ 10:00-11:00
AGE 7+
Join illustrator Martha Lightfoot for a illustration workshop entitled Fly Me To The Moon. Come and immerse yourself in the magical world of animals in flight, and see where your drawings take you.
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Alex T Smith Presents Algernon Pickle in The Mystery At Odd-Doings House
Saturday 10th Oct @ 11:30-12:15
AGE 7+
Join multi award winning author Alex T Smith as he presents Algernon Pickle in his new book The Mystery at Odd-Doings House. Imagine if Hercule Poirot was a beaver... A fast-paced crime caper to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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Helen Peters presents A Cat Called Cobweb
Saturday 10th Oct @ 13:00-13:45
AGE 7-9YRS
Join author Helen Peters for a reading of the latest book in the Jasmine Green series. Children will enjoy an interactive quiz and learn all about her life growing up on a farm and the wonderful animals that have inspired her stories.
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Adventuremice with Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
Saturday 10th October @ 14:30-15:15
AGE 5-8YRS
Join storytelling legends Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre for a hilarious, action-packed, interactive celebration of Adventuremice: Of Mice and Mummies, the eighth book in their bestselling series.
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Jess Butterworth Creative Writing Workshop
Saturday 10th October @ 14:30-15:30
AGE 8+
Join award winning local author Jess Butterworth in a creative writing workshop inspired by one of her most popular books, When the Mountains Roared. Choose a wild setting for your character to travel to where they try to save an animal in danger!
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Onjali Raúf Presents The Boy At The Back Of The Class
Saturday 10th October @ 15:45-16:30
AGE 9+
Join award winning and best selling children’s author and activist Onjali Raúf. She will be giving engaging talk and reading of her popular book The Boy At The Back Of The Class.
Shop by Age Group
Perfect for Age 4-8
Friday 9th October at 16:30
Join award-winning author and poet John Dougherty for a fun-filled and inspirational celebration of verse.
Find out about the real rules of poetry; hear about the dreadful behaviour of the Man of Naughtiness; encounter the Ghosts of Grizzerley Grange, and more.
There’ll be poems silly and serious, a song or two, and a lot of laughter!
Ideal for 5-10 year olds.
Children must be accompanied by an adult and due to room capacity everyone must have a ticket. Please book a ticket for everyone in your party. There is a free option for children 1 year and under.
This session is £4.5 a person. As always we want this session to be accessible to all and there are free sessions for you to book on us.
Talk times 16:30-17:15. There will be a book signing next door in the main Mill building from 17:15 after the show.
Saturday 10th October at 09:30
Join Unipiggle Author and Illustrator Hannah Shaw for a Unipiggle magic drawing party.
Fun Unipiggle story session with Hannah Shaw
Draw-along - Hannah will show you how to draw some magical characters from the Unipiggle series.
Followed by a silly dance off and crafts for all.
Unipiggle books available to buy for signing or bring your unsigned copies along for Hannah to sign.
Dressing up encouraged - Magical creature or unicorn gear, sparkles or rainbows; anything that makes you feel magical!
Children must be accompanied by an adult and due to room capacity everyone must have a ticket. Please book a ticket for everyone in your party. There is a free option for children 1 year and under.
This session is £4.5 a person. As always we want this session to be accessible to all and there are free sessions for you to book on us.
Saturday 10th October at 14:30
Join storytelling legends Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre for a hilarious, action-packed celebration of Adventuremice: Of Mice and Mummies — the eighth book in their bestselling series.
Expect laugh-out-loud storytelling, live drawings, and a whirlwind journey to a secret island bursting with mouse sphinxes, ancient secrets, towering pyramids and non-stop adventure!
Ideal for 5-8 year olds.
Children must be accompanied by an adult and due to room capacity everyone must have a ticket. Please book a ticket for everyone in your party. There is a free option for children 1 year and under.
This session is £4.5 a person. As always we want this session to be accessible to all and there are free sessions for you to book on us.
Talk times 14:30-15:15. There will be a book signing next door in the main Mill building from 15:15 after the show.
Philip Reeve grew up in Brighton. He has been writing stories since he was five years old, but the first one to be published was Mortal Engines which won the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and Blue Peter Book Award, and was made into a blockbuster film. Philip has also provided cartoons and jokes for many books, including Horrible Histories, and written the magical Utterly Dark series.
Sarah McIntyre is easy to spot in her pointy glasses and hats. Sometimes she writes and draws picture books and comics herself, and sometimes she illustrates books for other people, including Giles Andreae, Alan MacDonald, Gillian Rogerson, Anne Cottringer and Claire Freedman.
When Philip and Sarah make books together, they both brainstorm the story ideas, then Philip writes them and Sarah illustrates them. But occasionally they swap roles for a bit. And they love dressing up.
Saturday 10th October at 11:30
Join multi award winning author Alex T Smith as he presents Algernon Pickle in his new book The Mystery at Odd-Doings House. Imagine if Hercule Poirot was a beaver... A fast-paced crime caper for readers aged 7+ with black and white illustrations.
Join the fun with Alex as he tells us about his work, reads from his new book, teaches us all how to draw one of his charcters. There will even be time for little Q&A.
Ideal for readers aged 7 and up.
Children must be accompanied by an adult and due to room capacity everyone must have a ticket. Please book a ticket for everyone in your party. There is a free option for children 1 year and under.
This session is £4.5 a person. As always we want this session to be accessible to all and there are free sessions for you to book on us.
Talk times 11:30-12:15. There will be a book signing next door in the main Mill building from 12:15 after the show.
Alex T. Smith is a multi award-winning illustrator and author celebrated for his bold graphic style, expressive characters and razor-sharp visual comedy. Best known as the creator of the hugely successful Claude series, Alex’s work is instantly recognisable - playful, confident and bursting with charm. He works across picture books, series fiction and covers, bringing humour and heart to every page while never losing sight of storytelling clarity. Alex’s illustrations are energetic, character-driven and effortless to follow, making him a firm favourite with publishers and young readers alike.
Ideal for 7+
Saturday 10th October at 13:00
Join author Helen Peters for a reading of the latest book in the Jasmine Green series, A Cat Called Cobweb, an interactive quiz and learn all about her life growing up on a farm and the wonderful animals that have inspired her stories.
Plus, you’ll even get the chance to have your questions answered in an author Q&A!
Perfect for early independent readers, animal-mad children, or as a way for children to connect with nature, this event is chock-full of real-life inspirations from the animal kingdom and PLENTY of interactive farmyard fun!
Ideal for 7-9 year olds.
Children must be accompanied by an adult and due to room capacity everyone must have a ticket. Please book a ticket for everyone in your party. There is a free option for children 1 year and under.
This session is £4.5 a person. As always we want this session to be accessible to all and there are free sessions for you to book on us.
Talk times 13:00-13:45. There will be a book signing next door in the main Mill building from 13:45 after the show.
Join in with our design your own book cover competition with Tom Percival with book voucher prizes.
As part of the festival we are also launching our book cover competition throughout the month of September. We would love children to use their creativity and imagination to design a book cover. Award winning author Tom Percival has set four different plot synopsis for our book titled ‘In Time’. Children can pick one and design a book cover- the more crazy the better!
Tom will be picking two winners in each category and each will receive a book voucher for Yellow Lighted Bookshop. Tom will be annoucing the winners at a special book festival launch party on Thursday 8th dinner.
Deadlines for submissions are 1st October. Click the button below to download the competition sheet or come by Brimscombe Mill and pick one up.
What makes our festival different
As part of the National Year of Reading, Brimscombe Mill Kids Book Fest is about making books, stories and authors accessible to as many children as possible.
We want to bring brilliant national and local authors to the Mill, so children and families in our District can experience the magic of a childrens book festival regardless of what they have in their pocket.
Working directly with schools, charities and community partners, we will make sure free and subsidised tickets reach children who would not ordinarily be able to access author events, creative workshops or literary festivals.
Our partners
Our local independent bookshop The Yellow Lighted Bookshop have supported us greatly on this project, they’ve connected us with all of our authors and we’re hugely grateful for their support in both organising and also hosting our book signings.
Wheatley Printers, Laura Kinsella Foundation, Stroud District Council and The Gloucestershire County Council through The Crisis Resilience fund have all helped us to make this festival as low cost and as accessible to everyone as possible.
Book Festival FAQs
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Brimscombe Mill Children’s Book Festival is a joyful, low-cost book festival for children and families near Stroud. The festival includes children’s author events, interactive storytelling, illustration workshops, creative activities, book signings, a book stall, a book swap, food, play and family fun from national and local authors for all ages.
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Brimscombe Mill Children’s Book Festival takes place from 8th -10th October at Brimscombe Mill.
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The festival is held at Brimscombe Mill, near Stroud in Gloucestershire. Events are held across the site in our Sanctuary Space and main cloisters area.
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Tickets for author events are £4.50 each and also available ‘on us'.’
Some activities may be free or drop-in. Please check individual event listings when booking.
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Yes, adults and children both need a ticket for booked author events because spaces are limited.
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The festival is designed for children and families, with events for a range of ages from babies and toddlers through to older children age 14+. Many of the main interactive events are especially suitable for children aged 4–8, with age guidance shown on each event listing.
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No. The festival is for children who already love books, and children who have not found their way into reading yet. Some events are author talks, while others are more active and playful, with drawing, quizzes, singing, storytelling and hands-on creative activities.
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Yes, booked author events have limited capacity and should be booked in advance., all people in the booking need a ticket including adults and babies. There will also be drop-in activities available during the festival that don’t need booking. Check individual listings.
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On site there is baby changing, an accessible toilet, disabled parking spaces and on site parking.
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Brimscombe Mill is a community hub with 4 shops on site, selling second hand children’s items to refurbished bikes, to preloved furniture and a pay as you can restaurant.
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The Long Table, pay as you can restaurant serve lunch everyday (closed on Sundays) from 12-2pm and for the rest of the day coffees, teas, cakes and cold drinks are available. They also have a licensed bar.
