GIBUNCO
GIBRALTAR INTERNATIONAL
LITERARY FESTIVAL

A major programme of events for children and young people is at the heart of this year’s Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival.

Pupils from local schools have been invited to a series of events in John Mackintosh Hall. All festival events for children and young people are sponsored by the John Mackintosh Educational Trust.

Authors appearing include Joanne Harris, the acclaimed author of Chocolat. Harris will talk about her Runemarks series of novels. The novels, Runemarks and its sequel Runelight, are fantasies set in a world that is similar to ours but has been shaped by Viking invaders rather than the Romans.

Award-winning children’s writer Kevin Crossley-Holland, pictured above right, asks what history is and why it matters so much that many authors write historical fiction. Crossley-Holland will talk about some of the best examples of historical novelists writing for children before going on to explain his own passion for the medieval age. He will introduce his own Arthur trilogy, The Seeing Stone, King of the Middle March, and At the Crossing Places.

Shakespeare is a core theme of the events for young people. Actor and writer Ben Crystal will introduce Shakespeare to an audience of school children. Crystal will talk about Shakespeare’s time and the theatre of that age, and about his writing and style. There will be opportunities for youngsters to get on their feet and get involved.

Ben Crystal’s father, David, a celebrated linguist, will talk about Shaklespeare’s language with particular reference to texts being studied by school children in Gibraltar including Macbeth, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest.

Broadcaster Hardeep Singh Kohli, a runner-up in the first series of BBC Masterchef, will bring some fun and entertainment to the serious business of food. School children are being invited to bring along some ingredients for him to cook.

An entertaining look at the stories of history, natural history, and sport will also be provided by the popular science writer Christopher Lloyd, pictured above left. Lloyd’s presentations, featuring his wallbooks and his coat of many pockets, are extremely popular in schools and at literary festivals across the UK. He will also be doing four free public events a day on Saturday and Sunday at the Gibraltar International Literary Festival featuring the What on Earth? books on history; science and engineering; natural history;  and sport.