Million-selling author Kes Gray has been added to the line-up for the Isle of Wight Story Festival, which will take place in February 2027.
Returning to Quay Arts from Thursday, 18th February to Saturday, 20th February, the Isle of Wight Story Festival will celebrate all forms of storytelling, from theatre to music to novels.
Topping the bill for 2027 will be Jamie Smart, the comic artist best known for his Bunny Vs. Monkey graphic novels, and announced earlier this week, Kes Gray, who has sold more than 3million copies of his Oi Frog books, which are primarily aimed at young children.
Kes will be returning to the festival, after a sold out appearance in 2024, to speak about the lesser known, but hilarious stories he has written.
Also announced are local authors Holly Medland, Andrew Lee and Andrew Clemson, who join the previously confirmed Chitra Soundar and Kieran Larwood.
Away from the books, Treehouse Theatre will present The Elves and the Shoemaker, an immersive, interactive, exciting peep into a cosy little workshop, where kindly shoemakers have gone to bed, sadly leaving their very last piece of shoe leather out on the bench.
Illustrator Neal Layton, who has collaborated with celebrated author Michael Rosen, will talk about Bing, Bang… and BOING, an exhilarating, rhythmic reading of his exciting new collaboration with author Andy Stanton, best known for his Mr. Gum books.
Speaking about the additions to the lineup, Story Festival co-organiser Sue Bailey said:
“It’s great to see more names added to the lineup for the IW Story Festival. Kes Gray is such a funny and entertaining author of brilliant books and with him and Neal Layton’s Bing Bang Boing, it’s going to be a fun festival. The IW Story Festival is not only about authors, it is much more interactive. From learning how to draw graphic novels, to joining in with stories about trolls, we cannot wait for February!”
In a first for the festival, to make the event as affordable as possible for families, tickets for almost all of the IW Story Festival events have been capped at £3 plus a booking fee, with Jamie Smart’s Newport Minster talk capped at £5 plus booking fee.
Tickets are available from Quay Arts Box office and IWStoryFestival.com
