Schools' competition!

Right from its conception, one of the key goals of Maidstone LitFest has been to instil a love of reading and books in the children of Maidstone and its surrounding boroughs. In creating our schools' programme we want to bring an exciting range of authors into schools to speak with children about their books.

MBC Cabinet Member for Communities, Leisure and Arts, Cllr Claudine Russell said: “The Maidstone Literary Festival is a great opportunity for schools to get involved, and the idea of an author visiting them to read with the children is so exciting.”

Research from the Department for Education shows that engaging children with reading from the beginning is one of the most important ways to make a difference to their life chances. A recent survey of young people revealed that 50% would be encouraged to read more after meeting an author.

Claudine continued: “We know that one of the best ways of encouraging children to pick up a book is to engage with them and this research proves that they are more likely to get reading after meeting an author, so I would encourage as many of our primary schools in the town to get involved now.” 

Participating schools could win a visit from top children’s authors such as Jack Meggitt-Phillips (The Beast and the Bethany series), Janelle McCurdy (Mia and the Lightcasters), Eve Wersocki-Morris (The Bird Singers and The Wildstorm Curse), A.M. Howell (The House of One Hundred Clocks and Mystery of the Night Watchers), Tọlá Okogwu (Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun), J.C. Clarke (Spellboda) or Gianna Pollero (Monster Doughnuts series).

The deadline to enter the draw is Friday 14 July and the winning schools will be announced on Monday 17 July. With author visits being limited, schools are encouraged to enter the draw now by emailing info@maidstonelitfest.org with the details of the school’s main contact for literacy and the preferred year group (KS2 only) to receive a visit from an author.