BookFest YA
A National Year of Reading programme
Author, teacher and facilitator Nicola Garrard leads BookFest YA - a celebration of young readers, imagination and the transformative
power of books for young people aged 11-17.
BookFest YA is a new Schools Programme, funded by Chichester City Council, offering a series of FREE, high-quality literary and creative events for secondary schools in Chichester in June/July 2026 to engage students in KS3 in reading and writing and mark the National Year of Reading.
First Chapter Writing Competition
This is a new Creative Writing Competition for young people aged 11-17 living in and around Chichester.
Have you got a story in your head? A hero, a world, a voice no one’s heard yet? This is your moment!
Write the opening chapter of one of the following: a Young Adult novel, a verse novel or graphic novel in any genre. No minimum words, but the maximum is 500.
Just the first chapter. Make us want more!
We warmly welcome creative entries from SEND young people, including recorded spoken word/poetry, scaffolded writing/poetry and found poems/stories.
Shortlisted writers will be invited to read their work at a special prize-giving evening at Chichester Assembly Rooms in September.
Winners will receive book voucher prizes and be published in the Chichester Observer!
Need some ideas? Have a look through these writing prompts and have a go!
How to enter:
Send us your stories by 31st July 2026.
Email your entry to nicola@childrensbookfest.org or hand in a paper copy to your school.
Remember to include your name, year group and the name of your secondary school, or give your parent/carer’s contact email if you’re homeschooled.
Please write FIRST CHAPTER COMPETITION ENTRY in the subject of your email.
Writing / Publishing Masterclass
Are you an aspiring author aged 11-17?
Join author Nicola Garrard for a FREE writing masterclass on Sunday 14th June at Chichester Free School.
Learn more about YA fiction: how are books written, edited and published?
Writing tips and tricks: learn about how writers choose point of view and create an original voice
Find out about careers in publishing: what jobs are out there? Where do you start? What can you do right now as a young person to build your CV?
Free places have been allocated to Chichester's secondary schools - so speak to your English teacher or librarian if you are interested.
Additional free places will be available for homeschooled young people on a first-come-first-served basis, so please contact nicola@childrensbookfest.org to book. Please write MASTERCLASS PLACE in the subject of your email.
Student Librarian Conference
The day will include:
Keynote talks from professional librarians
Guided tours of the University library - find out what it's like to be a university student!
Battle of the Books - what are your must-have books for every school library? Which books are flying off your shelves?
Inclusion, diversity and censorship discussion
Library Manifesto workshop
Budget Challenge and Action Planning
Energise your Library with games, competitions and challenges
A Student Librarian's Journey
An optional tour of the university
Are you a secondary school student librarian? Then you're already invited to the first ever BookFest YA Student Librarian Conference on Friday 12th June at Chichester University!
Meet other student librarians, senior county and university librarians and explore fun new ways to get your school reading.
Plus refreshments and networking opportunities! For more detailed information, check out our conference programme.
We are delighted to be bringing four renowned authors to four Chichester Secondary Schools this summer.
Our aim is to give students in participating schools the opportunity to:
meet multi-award-winning authors, hear them read from their novels and learn about how they became writers
become enthused about reading for pleasure and have the opportunity to take home a signed and dedicated copy of the author's latest book
become inspired towards careers in the arts, writing and publishing
School Visits
Bryony Thomson will be visiting Fordwater School.
Bryony graduated in 2016 with a Distinction from the MA Children's Book Illustration course at Cambridge School of Art.
Since then her work has been longlisted in the Klaus Flugge Award for best new illustrators (2019), Highly Commended in the Macmillan Prize (2016) and shortlisted in the Bridgeman Studio Award (2016).
Lucas Maxwell will be visiting Chichester Free School.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Canada, Lucas Maxwell grew up on Nintendo, comic books and D&D. He has been working in libraries for over 15 years and is passionate about providing safe and welcoming library spaces for everyone. In 2017 he was named the UK's School Librarian of the Year and in 2024 he was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to libraries and won the Times-Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition.
Tasneem Abdur-Rashid will be visiting Chichester High School.
Tasneem Abdur-Rashid is a British Bengali author from London and the writer of three adult novels. Her Carnegie-nominated YA debut, Odd Girl Out, was published by David Fickling Books in 2025 and has been shortlisted for the Warwickshire Teen Book, Awards, Redbridge Book Awards, and Branford Boase Award, amongst others. It has also been selected for the 2026 Read for Empathy Collection.
Patrice Lawrence will be visiting Bishop Luffa School.
Patrice Lawrence is an award-winning writer. Her debut YA novel, Orangeboy, won the Bookseller YA Prize and the Waterstones Prize for Older Children's Fiction and was shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award. Her subsequent novels have been much acclaimed and frequent visitors to prize lists including the Jhalak Children’s and Young Adult Prize 2021 and the YA Book Prize 2021. Needle (Barrington Stoke) was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2023 and winner of the 2023 Little Rebels Award.
First Chapter Writing Competition OPEN NOW!
First Chapter Writing Competition OPEN NOW!
