Retelling Tales with Joseph Coelho, Juno Dawson & Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Old stories collide with new in the most recent novels from these prize-winning authors. Be prepared to fall down the rabbit hole with Juno Dawson’s Wonderland, which catapults you into a radical retelling of the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland story.

In The Girl Who Became a Tree, Joseph Coelho weaves the ancient legend of Daphne through a highly original verse story about a teenager who discovers a hidden world in her local library.

In her debut for young adults, The Deathless Girls, Kiran Millwood Hargrave resurrects the gothic tale of Dracula to tell the story of his two brides, whose legends have been buried until now.

Three incredible retellings from three outstanding authors: join them to hear more about why they were compelled to revamp classic tales for today’s readers.

This is a live event, with an author Q&A.

Book Festival News

Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival Celebrating the 2024 Book Festival
Monday 26 August

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

John Agard & Piet Grobler: A Poem for Our Planet John Agard & Piet Grobler: A Poem for Our Planet Join poet John Agard for a trip into the colourful jungle, with a reading from his glorious new picture book, where you get to meet a playful Coyote and leave with a powerful message about saving our planet. This book is packed with beautiful language… YA Book Prize Award Ceremony YA Book Prize Award Ceremony We are thrilled to be working with The Bookseller to host this year’s YA Book Prize. Come and meet the shortlisted authors: Adiba Jaigirdar, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Simon James Green, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Krystal Sutherland, Manjeet Man, Natasha… Eilidh Muldoon: Sandy Toes and Inky Fingers Eilidh Muldoon: Sandy Toes and Inky Fingers From beautiful sandy beaches and flower-laden machair to dramatic cliffs and sea stacks (with just a few puffins thrown in!) The Scottish Coastal Colouring Book is the perfect way to celebrate the beauty of Scotland’s coastline in this year of staycations… Alastair Chisholm & Elle McNicoll: Can Robots Be Friends? Alastair Chisholm & Elle McNicoll: Can Robots Be Friends? The future is coming, and it DEFINITELY includes Artificial Intelligence. But how do we know whether we will be friends with these robots? Will they think or feel things like we do? In their incredible new novels Alastair Chisholm, with Adam-2, and Elle… Magical Adventures with Abi Elphinstone Magical Adventures with Abi Elphinstone From living with the Kazakh Eagle Hunters in Mongolia to conjuring up secret kingdoms in her writing shed, Abi Elphinstone talks about the real-life adventures and accidental daydreams behind her books and shows you how easy it is to leap into stories of… Happy Here with Dean Atta, Patrice Lawrence & Yomi Sode Happy Here with Dean Atta, Patrice Lawrence & Yomi Sode Join us for the launch of Happy Here, a brilliant new anthology of stories from Black British authors and illustrators. On the panel we welcome three of the writers who have contributed their heartfelt stories, for an event exploring the themes of joy… Picturing Tomorrow with Nadine Kaadan Picturing Tomorrow with Nadine Kaadan For Yazan, life has changed quickly – his friends are gone, his parents are too busy watching the news to take him to the park, and he does not know when he will get out to play again. But Yazan is being brave and remembering there is always tomorrow… Dugie the Dinosaur: An Interactive Sensory Event for People with Learning Disabilities Dugie the Dinosaur: An Interactive Sensory Event for People with Learning Disabilities Stomp, stamp and growl along in this immersive sensory event created specially for people of all ages with learning disabilities. Authors Anne and Steve Brusatte have been working with inclusive arts specialists The Arts End of Somewhere and the PAMIS Art… Flash Forward with Femi Fadugba, Ben Oliver & Jonathan Stroud Flash Forward with Femi Fadugba, Ben Oliver & Jonathan Stroud Fictionalising the future can be a brilliant way to help us reflect on and process uncomfortable issues in the present day, and in this event you get to meet three authors who help you to do just that. From a world where climate disaster has transformed… Leave the Land of the Living with Melinda Salisbury & V E Schwab Leave the Land of the Living with Melinda Salisbury & V E Schwab In her number one Sunday Times bestseller, Gallant, V E Schwab tells the darkly magical tale of a young woman caught between the world and its shadows. In Her Dark Wings, three-time Carnegie-nominated author Melinda Salisbury takes us to the edge of the…