LOVEREADING4KIDS AT HAY FESTIVAL MAY HALF TERM 23-31 May 2015     Lovereading4kids is delighted to announce that we have agreed a major sponsorship deal with Hay Festival which will include a dedicated Lovereading4kids Reading Zone, a series of talks and workshops for dyslexic/reluctant readers, collaborations with publishers to provide themed days, as well as sponsorship of four major children’s author events featuring Liz Pichon and Tom Gates, Malorie Blackman, James Dawson and Non Pratt, Holly Smale and Arabella Weir, and Chris Riddell. And We are eternally indebted to BookSpace who have lent us the coolest library furniture on the planet!   The Lovereading4kids Browse-A-Book-Zone will be situated in the Make and Take Tent in the HAY FEVER children’s area throughout the entire festival. It will be a fun and cool place for children and their families to chill out during breaks between ticketed events. There will be Lovereading4kids members of staff on hand to encourage children and parents to browse books, explore the website, register as members and recommend suitable books for age groups, ability and interest. Visiting authors, editors, publishers and reviewers will drop in to offer advice and guidance in their areas of expertise.  The Lovereading4kids Browse-A-Book-Zone will have special shelves to inspire a love of reading including books for Reluctant Readers, Dyslexia Friendly books, Great Books for Boys, Classics, Picture books and contemporary novels by age range and interest age. We will also be providing activity booklets, stickers, colouring sheets and giveaways. We will be organising several insightful and engaging workshops by dyslexia specialists, authors and publishers, (in association with Culture Step Wales, Barrington Stoke and Dyslexia Action), in the Scribblers Hut for children who are experiencing difficulties, to encourage, support and inspire a love of reading as well as sessions for teachers, parents and librarians on inspiring dyslexic and struggling readers, with 1:1 sessions available afterwards.   LIZ PICHON AND TOM GATES (23 May 11.30am) 7+ years Yes! No…(Maybe) Expert doodler, maker of excuses and hilarious storywriter Tom Gates is back in Yes! No…(Maybe), the eighth amazing instalment in this brilliant and multiple-award-winning series. Test your knowledge with Liz Pichon as she takes you on a tour of the brilliant and crazy world of Tom Gates – and learn how to doodle just like Tom.   MALORIE BLACKMAN, JAMES DAWSON AND NON PRATT (25 May 4pm) YA Love Hurts. An unmissable line-up of YA talent for your delectation.  In this session, guaranteed to be lively and engaging, the four fabulous writers range over many topics that concern their readers, including love – the subject of an anthology called Love Hurts, edited by Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman, to which James and Non have all contributed. Chaired by Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literary Trust.   HOLLY SMALE AND ARABELLA WEIR (28 May 11.30am) 10+ years Geek Girl and Tabitha Baird. Holly Smale, creator of the award-winning and bestselling Geek Girl books, talks about All That Glitters, the latest in the series starring accident-prone heroine Harriet Manners. She is joined by actress, writer and comedian Arabella Weir whose novel The Endless Trials of Tabitha Baird, second in the series, has also recently been published. A lively and irreverent discussion guaranteed.   CHRIS RIDDELL (30 May 4.30pm) 8+ years Wildly inventive and richly entertaining, Chris Riddell is the genius behind a vast range of children’s books that children and adults will revisit time and time again.  There’s Alienography, the Ottoline and Goth Girls series, and for older readers, The Graveyard Book, and The Sleeper and the Spindle, written by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Chris.  He also illustrated The Edge Chronicles and Russell Brand’s Pied Piper of Hamelin.  He has twice won the coveted Greenaway medal and still manages to produce political cartoons for The Observer. See him in action in a live drawing tour around the wonderful world of Chris Riddell.   For more information and to book tickets visit www.hayfestival.com/wales/hayfever