Doncaster Storytelling Festival returns for 2023 with 'Incredible Journeys' theme

Celebrating the theme “Incredible Journeys” on the 100th anniversary of the Flying Scotsman, the festival is run by the National Literacy Trust’s Doncaster Stories and aims to engage and entertain children and families across Doncaster, with a jam-packed schedule of author events and workshops, and over 2,000 books to give away.

The festival launches Thursday 1 June, with a virtual author event featuring one of the most beloved duos in children’s literature, Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman, the author and illustrator behind The Flying Scotsman and the Best Birthday Ever, as well as a huge book giveaway at Sandall Beat Woods, hosted by Doncaster Stories’ network of volunteer Literacy Champions.

Phil Sheppard, Project Manager for the National Literacy Trust in Doncaster, said: “Our research has shown that 1 in 10 children from Yorkshire and the Humber do not own a book at home and over half don’t enjoy reading.

"Reading for pleasure can have a huge impact on literacy levels, and we want the Doncaster Storytelling Festival to help as many children as possible to fall in love with reading.

"Higher literacy levels in Doncaster can help children to do well in school, open up more opportunities in the job market, and even improve their mental wellbeing.

“This year marks the Doncaster Storytelling Festival’s third year, and we hope that the experiences we are able to provide – meeting authors and illustrators, taking part in creative workshops, and being able to take home books of their very own – will spark a love of reading that will last a life time, and can be shared with friends and family.”

The flagship event for Doncaster Storytelling Festival, featuring a Q&A with Sam Sedgman, author of the bestselling Adventures on Trains series, and Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday, who will be discussing some record-breaking incredible journeys, will take place at Cast Theatre on 14 June, with 23 schools in attendance.

Throughout the month, schools across the city have been invited to a variety of additional in-person and virtual workshops with authors whose stories have been inspired by incredible journeys, such as P.G. Bell’s Trains to Impossible Places, and G.M. Linton’s Windrush story, My name is Sunshine Simpson.

There are also two poetry workshops for schools with children’s author and poet Paul Cookson, and an illustration workshop open to the public with illustrator Liz Million, the artist behind One Fat Cat, and Be Quiet, Belinda!

The full schedule of events is available to view on the Doncaster Stories website, with activities and resources around the theme of Incredible Journeys being shared on the Doncaster Stories Facebook page, for families to take part in at home.

The Doncaster Storytelling Festival is generously sponsored by: Unite the Union, VolkerRail, and Rhomberg Sersa.

To find out more about the National Literacy Trust in Doncaster, Doncaster Stories, and the work it is doing to help raise literacy levels across the community, visit www.doncasterstories.org.uk, follow the Facebook page facebook.com/DoncasterStories, or email [email protected].