Leeds Storytelling Festival Launch with Kate Pankhurst

We have also released extra tickets for Kate Pankhurst's festival launch session, 11am-12noon at Central Library, where you'll unlock your inner SPORTS STAR and learn all about incredible women from the bestselling creator of the FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN series!

Kate will also be signing books and chatting about her work as part of an extra drop-in session, 1pm-2pm. No booking required.

11am-2pm - Historical trailblazers from the FANTASTICALLY GREAT WOMEN series will be brought to life by family theatre company Wrongsemble and wander around Central Library to speak to visitors and share their backstories. Also, LIVEwire will be offering surprise pop-up poetry performances on the staircases and among the bookshelves to inspire and entertain! No booking required.

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event recommended for children aged 6-11. Follow this link for tickets and info: Leeds Storytelling Festival Launch with Kate Pankhurst - TicketSource

How to Write Funny Fiction with Burhana Islam

Join the author of the hilarious Laugh Out Loud book series and the hugely popular Amazing Muslims Who Changed the World find out more about writing funny fiction. Plus, Burhana will read some extracts from her book and share her experiences of being a children's author.

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event recommended for children aged 7+. Follow this link for tickets and info: How to Write Funny Fiction with Burhana Islam - TicketSource

Old Gods, New Tricks with Ashley Thorpe

Join Ashley Thorpe, author of the action-packed middle grade adventure The Boy to Beat the Gods, for an event that explores how stories of old have evolved to make the new. Learn about how Ashley took inspiration from the incredible pantheon of Yoruba gods – the Orishas – and how it crosses over with mythology from across the world.

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event recommended for children aged 7+. Follow this link for tickets and info: Old Gods, New Tricks with Ashley Thorpe - TicketSource

Safiyyah's War with Hiba Noor Khan

Join award-winning author Hiba Noor Khan as she talks about her powerful middle-grade book, Safiyyah's War. War comes to the streets of Paris and Safiyyah’s life changes for ever. Her best friend’s family have fled, and the bombing makes her afraid to leave the mosque where she lives. But when her father is arrested by the Nazis for his secret Resistance work, it falls to Safiyyah to run the dangerous errands around the city.

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event recommended for children aged 8+. Follow this link for tickets and info: Safiyyah's War with Hiba Noor Khan - TicketSource

The Blanket Fort Club presents... Marshmallow Castles and Supersonic Parcels

This is an interactive, in-character storytelling workshop, where Snow and Ice, two imaginative characters stuck indoors on a rainy day with their friends, argue over what to create. In the end, they decide to build a blanket fort spaceship and embark on an adventure to an undiscovered planet. As the story unfolds, participants work together to construct the blanket fort, which becomes their vessel to launch into space.

The Blanket Fort Club is a sensory immersive theatre company. Our inclusive and accessible experiences are designed for 5 - 10 year olds and all children 5+ who would encounter barriers to access in traditional theatre experiences. 

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event. Follow this link for tickets and info: The Blanket Fort Club presents... Marshmallow Castles and Supersonic Parcels - TicketSource

Leeds Young Film on Tour

Enjoy a curated collection of short films to spark imaginations for young audiences. Taking place at various venues:

Wednesday 19th February, 1pm-2pm - Halton Library

Friday 21st February, 3pm-4pm - The Compton Centre Community Hub and Library

Saturday 22nd February, 1.30pm - Seacroft Community Hub and Library

A free family-friendly drop in event for all ages. No booking required. Leeds Young Film on Tour | Leeds Inspired

Wrongsemble presents... Stargazer (Digital Production)

"If you look to the sky and gaze at the stars you might find something wonderful..."

Meet Daphne Star aka ‘Stargazer’: YouTuber, Content Creator, Believer! There’s been a sighting of mysterious flying objects in the skies over her hometown of Leeds, and with your help she’s going to find that the truth really is out there! 
 
From the creators of HUMBUG, this digital production will beam you back to the Ministry of Make-believe to meet a host of new (and familiar) characters, accompanied by a Fact File of activities and clues to solve. 

A free family-friendly digital production for all ages, collect your pack from your nearest Leeds library during the festival and enjoy Stargazer from home.

Poetry for Parents: Maria Ferguson

This relaxed event is for parents with babies (pre-walkers). With grown-up poems about new parenthood (as well as life outside of that bubble), it's an opportunity to unwind and escape through the power of words. Maria Ferguson is a poet and multi-award-winning playwright whose second collection Swell is published by Penguin. Eloquent and uncompromising, Swell explores the triumphs and hardships of the journey to new motherhood – through pregnancy, miscarriage, birth, and beyond.

‘There is an honesty that is both heart-breaking and more hopeful than anything else I've read on this subject. She makes me weep and wonder in equal measure’ Hollie McNish

A pay-what-you-decide event for adults and their pre-walking babies. Follow this link for tickets and info: Poetry for Parents: Maria Ferguson - TicketSource

LIVEwire Showcase -
Polarbear and Testament

Steven Camden, aka Polarbear, is an acclaimed spoken word artist, YA novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Testament is a spoken word artist, rapper, theatre-maker, and world record-breaking human beatboxer! Alongside our feature acts will be school pupils from around Leeds who've participated in poetry workshops as part of our festival programme.

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event recommended for children and young people aged 10+. Follow this link for tickets and info: LIVEwire Showcase - Polarbear and Testament - TicketSource

Stories with Liv

Relaxed and engaging stories and songs with one of the city's favourite storytellers, Olivia Corbin-Phillip.

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event recommended for children under 5. Follow this link for tickets and info: Stories with Liv - TicketSource

Debutots Family Story Play

A storytime that is fun and educational that has a clear theme running right through it. Rhymes, games and songs all linked to our story so it feels joined up for the little ones to understand.

There's lots of multi-sensory fun for the little ones and opportunities for the big ones to take the lead and add their own creativity and knowledge to the story - a family event for all!

A pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event recommended for children under 5. Follow this link for tickets and info: Debutots Family Story Play - TicketSource 

Birdie the Bookworm - World Book Day Workshop

Birdie is a bookworm with a big imagination. She LOVES books but even more than that, she loves inventing stories and going on adventures in her head. Join her by sharing your ideas in this participatory storytelling performance to create a new and never-before-explored adventure where you can make your own story-inspired headdress. Delivered in partnership with the British Library. 

Do you have a cupboard full of unloved, outgrown fancy dress clothes? We are hoping to make World Book Day more affordable and sustainable this year by hosting costume swaps in some of our libraries. We are looking for donations of suitable fancy-dress costumes in good, clean condition. Donations can be dropped off with staff at any Leeds Library.

A free family-friendly event recommended for children aged 5-11. Follow this link for tickets and info: Birdie the Bookworm - World Book Day Workshop - TicketSource

World Book Day Gifting Hubs

Leeds Libraries are very excited be hosting three World Book Day Gifting Hubs in 2025, as part of the Leeds Storytelling Festival. Just bring along your World Book Day token and exchange it for a free book to keep forever!

Taking place at the following venues during their regular opening hours from Thursday 13th February until Saturday 22nd March:

The Compton Centre Community Hub and Library, 

Halton Library

Holt Park Community Hub and Library

Follow this link for more info: World Book Day Gifting Hubs | Leeds Inspired

Kate Pankhurst's Fantastically Great Trail

From February 14th to March 8th, you can attempt to complete Kate Pankhurst’s Fantastically Great Trail by visiting library zones across Leeds and collecting the letters on the Fantastically Great Women on display in the buildings listed in each zone. The letters will create a word linked to one of the women. When you have a complete word for one zone or more, email a picture to leeds.libraries@leeds.gov.uk by March 8th for the chance to win a prize. Zones win prizes! The trail sheets will be available at the start of the festival in all Leeds Libraries.

Leeds Storytelling Festival Activity Sheet

Also, look out for our new Leeds Storytelling activity sheet, available in all our libraries from the end of January. It features exclusive characters by Kate Pankhurst, and it has the festival logo to colour in, a crossword, a maze, and a poetry prompt. Two young poets who send us their completed poems will be selected and will receive a brilliant book bundle. So, make sure you grab an activity sheet in your local library and submit your poems by March 31st!

Kids Club

Kids Club is an exciting opportunity for children and families to try a new creative activity and meet others. Build, craft, write, draw and code a story at our regular Kids Club. Each session will have a different activity inspired by books and stories. 

FREE family-friendly event recommended for children aged 6+. Follow this link for tickets and info: Kids Club - TicketSource

Code Club

Start your coding adventure with Leeds Libraries!

You will discover our easy-to-follow projects which will help you to learn a variety of coding languages by making games, robots, animations, and websites in a supportive environment.

FREE family-friendly event recommended for children aged 7 to 11. Follow this link to find your nearest event and free tickets: Code Club - TicketSource

A hugely uplifting and full-of-heart picture book by CBeebies star George Webster and bestselling illustrator Tim Budgen! This is Me celebrates our differences and is perfect for every child and every family. It's a beautiful, heartfelt and positive story, with illustrations that are guaranteed to make you smile. This is Me will bring out the glow in everyone! Our differences make us special. We don't all have to be the same. Imagine how boring the world would be if everyone had the same name.

Destiny is so excited when her gran gives her a magic set! She loves trying new things and performing in front of her family. Gran suggests Destiny takes part in the community talent show. Destiny can't wait! But when Destiny goes to the rehearsal, the stage is very big and she realises there will be lots of people watching. Suddenly she feels very unsure and shy. Gran tells her not to worry and when they get home, Destiny uses her trusty sketchbook to doodle her ideas and work through her worries. Destiny draws and then makes herself a magic wand - if she had a real one, none of the tricks would go wrong and she wouldn't be nervous. But when Destiny tries it out, the wand really is magic! AMAZING!

Twelve-year-old Zhi Ging has always been an outcast. Until she receives an invitation to Hok Woh, an underwater school that offers her the chance to become immortal, and to finally belong. There, she battles in hair-raising boat races, meets ageshifting tutors and competes in thrilling trials.But there are rumours of a growing dark force . . . and students who fail the trials are disappearing. Can Zhi Ging uncover the truth before it's too late?The first in the unmissable magical fantasy series of 2024, set to take the world by storm.

Three years ago, Margot's life was turned upside down when her fiance, Harry, went missing in action on the Western Front. Worse, she was left with a devastating secret which threatened to ruin her life and destroy the reputation of her family. As a respectable vicar's daughter, Margot has had to guard that secret with great care ever since, no matter how much pain it causes her. Now it's Christmas 1919, and Margot's family is gathering back home in the vicarage for the first time since the end of the Great War. And miraculously Harry has returned, hoping to see Margot and rekindle their romance. Can Margot ever reveal the shocking truth to the only man she has ever loved?