After the huge success of the inaugural Bath Festival of Children’s Literature in 2007, organisers announce a second programme of excitingly bookish events for children and families with star name authors, illustrators, poets and storytellers…

Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo, Meg Cabot, Shirley Hughes, Axel Scheffler, Charlie Higson, Cornelia Funke, Harry Hill, Allan Ahlberg, Martin Brown, Diana Wynne Jones, Robert Muchamore, Michelle Paver, Meg Rosoff and Annette & Nick Butterworth are just some of the confirmed guests lined-up for the 10-day festival of children’s literature in September.

The 2007 festival reached almost 20,000 children and families across its’ public and schools programmes, and organisers have devised a line-up of events for the National Year of Reading that they hope will attract audiences that will surpass last years’ attendance figures.

The stars of the fiction world are again out in force with big name authors such as Michael Morpurgo, Charlie Higson, Diana Wynne Jones, Theresa Breslin, Sally Gardner, Meg Rosoff, Marcus Sedgwick, Joe Craig, Roderick Gordon & Brian Williams, Viv French, F.E. Higgins, Steve Cole, Sally Nicholls and Ally Kennan all making debut appearances. Michael Morpurgo will be recording a special edition of Radio 4’s Bookclub programme with James Naughtie for transmission just after the festival has finished.

With current Children’s Laureate, Michael Rosen, opening the festival on Friday 19th September, the rest of the 2008 programme reflects greater opportunity for many of the UK’s most talented poets to shine including Tony Mitton, Judith Nicholls, Matt Harvey and John Foster. Local Bath author Allan Ahlberg will also be at the festival with an event celebrating his Collected Poems.

Illustrators take centre stage in 2008, too. Shirley Hughes is just one of the headline guest artists, featuring in a rare event where she will be talking about her career and latest picture book. She is joined by the likes of Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler, Simon Bartram, Korky Paul, Ben Cort, Martin Brown – illustrator of Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories, Katherine Holabird (Angelina Ballerina), Mick Inkpen – who will be helping celebrate Kipper’s 18th Birthday, Kristina Stevenson, 2008’s cover artist David Roberts, Tony De Saulles, Jackie Morris, Clare Beaton, Caroline Jayne Church, Joe Berger and Margaret Chamberlain. Barrie Appleby, from The Beano, will be drawing Dennis the Menace, too. A special event on Monday 22nd September supports the Big Picture! Campaign with a panel event featuring Michael Foreman, Anthony Browne, Mini Grey and Polly Dunbar.

Several international authors will visit Bath this year. They include bestselling German fantasy author Cornelia Funke, whose novel Inkheart is soon to be released as a major Hollywood film starring Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren, top teenage star author Meg Cabot, Rick Riordan, Morris Gleitzman and debut fantasy author Sarah Prineas.

The line-up for 2008 also includes a number of events tied in with popular film and TV book adaptations. The festival welcomes Dakota Blue Richards, young actress and star of The Golden Compass, some Charlie & Lola TV Storybook story sessions and a hugely exciting You Can Draw Star Wars Clone Wars event. Doctor Who Night is back too. Friday 26th September sees a whole evening of events dedicated to the last of the Time Lords and featuring stars from the TV series and writers from the range of novels that accompany it.

Tickets For the 2008 Bath Festival of Children’s Literature go on sale at 10am on Monday, July 21st.

Ticket Hotline number: 01225 463362, or visit www.bathkidslitfest.co.uk for more details or to join the festival mailing list.