Add a sprinkle of author magic to your World Book Day celebrations with one of the many live online author events available during World Book Day week 2024. From picture books to YA thrillers there is something for everyone, with plenty of opportunities for young writers to pick up top writing and illustration tips to help them create their own magical tales.

Monday 4th March

• Awesome AuthorFest: Award-winning author and illustrator Mini Grey, creator of classic favourites such as Traction Man and The Greatest Show on Earth, will be talking about her picture books, drawing live and sharing some top drawing tips – bring a pencil!
  • £150 per school (multiple classes can attend but should register individually).
  • Suitable for pupils aged 7-9.
• British Library and Seven Stories: Join Michael Rosen, Jasbinder Bilan and Allen Fatimaharan for an interactive workshop that will inspire students to cook up their own fairy tales. Listen to magical stories, explore the ingredients of tales from around the world and join in a live draw-along session before brainstorming ideas for your own fairy tale recipe.
  • Free
  • Suitable for ages 6-11
• Puffin Story Makers Show: Join best-selling authors Robin Stevens, Ed Vere and Dr Sheila Kanani for a World Book Day event packed with activities to encourage writing and reading for pleasure.
  • Free with registration.
  • Suitable for ages 6-12.
  • Teaching materials available.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Author Bernard Mensah introduces his debut novel Kwame’s Magic Quest: Rise of the Green Flame, an action-packed, fully-illustrated tale of magic, adventure and friendship to build reading confidence and stamina.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for pupils aged 7-11.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Join author Mina Ikemoto Ghosh for an introduction to kishotenketsu – a popular East Asian storytelling structure found in books, manga, anime and traditional theatre – using examples from Japanese media and the folk tales that inspired her debut novel Hyo the Hellmaker.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 11-14.

Tuesday 5th March

• Awesome AuthorFest: Get top tips on how to write a YA thriller with award-winning author Sue Wallman, author of Such a Good Liar and Dead Popular. Find out why she writes thrillers for young adults and take up her creative writing challenge for the chance to win a signed copy of her latest book Every Word A Lie.
  • £150 per school (multiple classes can attend but should register individually).
  • Suitable for ages 11-14.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Helen Rutter, award-winning author of the The Boy Who Made Everyone Laugh, introduces her latest book Reggie Houser Has the Power, the laugh-out-loud story of a boy with ADHD on a mission to learn mind control.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 7-11.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Join in some doodling fun with best-selling author-illustrator Liz Pichon and get a sneak peek at the new Tom Gates book coming out in May.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable ages 7-11.

Wednesday 6th March

• Awesome AuthorFest: Join in some dinosaur fun with award-wining author Rashmi Sirdeshpande as she talks about some of her best-selling picture books Never Show a T-Rex a Book and Never Let a Diplodocus Draw in an event that celebrates learning, reading, STEAM and art.
  • £150 per school (multiple classes can attend but should register individually).
  • Suitable for ages 3-7.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Discover the bonkers beasts of the sleepy village of Knobbly Bottom and get some top tips on how to create your own beast with author and comedy writer Emily-Jane Clark as she introduces Rise of the Zombie Pigs, the second book in her The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom series.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 7+.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Younger readers can join in some counting and drawing fun as Kael Tudor and Nicola Slater share their new picture book One Goose, Two Moose featuring an ice cream shop, two queues and one very bossy goose.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 3+.

Thursday 7th March

• Awesome AuthorFest: Celebrate World Book Day with a very special launch party for The Girl Who Wasn’t There, the brand-new book by the legendary Dame Jacqueline Wilson, who will also be sharing insights into how she creates her bestselling books and much-loved characters. All registered schools will be entered into a prize draw to win a selection of Jacqueline’s books, including The Girl Who Wasn’t There.
  • £150 per school (multiple classes can attend but should register individually).
  • Suitable for ages 7-11.
• ReadingZone Live:  Award-winning author Liz Flanagan shares extracts from her magical fantasy series Legends of the Sky and leads an interactive workshop where pupils can draw and write a story of their own featuring the magical creature of their dreams.
  • Free
  • Suitable for ages 7-11.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Test your pupils’ knowledge of the foul facts about life in the Roman army in the Big Rotten Roman Quiz, hosted by the author of the best-selling Horrible Histories series Terry Deary.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 7+.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Meet Nina Peanut, her BFF Brian and her stinky cat Les, stars of a brand-new graphic novel Nina Peanut is Amazing, and learn how to draw the characters with creator Sarah Bowie.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 7+.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Round off World Book Day with a gentle storytime and draw-along session with author and illustrator Raahat Kaduji as she shares her latest picture book I’m not Sleepy.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 3+
• The Children’s Bookshow: Author and illustrator Helen Stephens reads her stories and draws live as she shares how she creates her award-winning picture books, with opportunities to ask questions via the chat function.
  • £10 per log in.
  • Suitable for ages 4-7.
• The Children’s Bookshow: Celebrate 50 years of inspirational poetry and performances in this live digital broadcast of Michael Rosen’s Big 50 Years Show from the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.
  • £10 per log in.
  • Suitable for ages 7-11.
• Waterstones: Join author and illustrator John Patrick Green, creator of the InvestiGators graphic novel series and one of this year’s World Book Day authors, as he shares his writing and drawing tips and presents All Tide Up, his latest InvestiGators adventure.
  • Free
  • Suitable for ages 7-10.
• Waterstones: Discover fun facts about Norse mythology, learn how to design your own giant and get tips and tricks on how to create your own comics from Louie Stowell, creator of the Loki: A Bad God’s Guide series and one of this year’s World Book Day authors.
  • Free
  • Suitable for ages 7-11
• World Book Day/BBC Teach: Celebrate the joy of books, authors and reading for pleasure with interactive activities in a 30-minute World Book Day Live Lesson.
  • Free.
  • Suitable for ages 7-11.
  • Teaching materials available.
• World Book Day/National Literacy Trust: Are you ready for the Footy & Booky Quiz? Join in the fun of this online, interactive quiz featuring two rounds of football-themed and book-themed questions. Hosted by a top sports presenter with contributions from footballing heroes and authors.
  • Free with registration.
  • Suitable for ages 8-12.

Friday 8th March

• Awesome Authorfest: Join poet and former primary school teacher Matt Goodfellow, author of Let’s Chase Stars Together and The Final Year, for a fun, high-energy, interactive performance that will leave children excited and eager to write and perform their own work.
  • £150 per school (multiple classes can attend but should register individually).
  • Suitable for ages 9-12.
• Awesome AuthorFest: Step inside the pages of an incredible adventure with master storyteller David Farr as he talks about his books The Book of Stolen Dreams – inspired by the true story of his great aunt and uncle’s escape from 1930s Germany as unaccompanied children – and The Secret of the Blood-Red Key.
  • £150 per school (multiple classes can attend but should register individually).
  • Suitable for ages 9-12.
• Puffin Schools: Jen Carney, author and illustrator of the popular B.U.G. series introduces her new, laugh-out-loud title The Day My Dog Got Famous and shares her own author-illustrator journey in a hands-on session that includes a comic-making activity.
  • Free
  • Suitable for ages 8-12.
• ReadingZone Live: Get top tips on how to create suspense and write great thrillers with SJ Wills, author of the exciting new Bite Risk series.
  • Free
  • Suitable for ages 11+.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Celebrate International Women’s Day with a discussion about feminist YA fiction with authors Laura Wood and Polly Crosby. With an opportunity to ask Laura and Polly questions and learn how feminist themes influenced their books A Season for Scandal and This Tale is Forbidden.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 13+.
• Scholastic Schools Live: Join acclaimed illustrator Axel Scheffler for a magical session of storytelling and drawing, based on favourite books from Zog to his latest Treasury of Fairy Tales.
  • Free with registration, using the password WORLDBOOKDAY.
  • Suitable for ages 3+.

If none of the scheduled events are what you are looking for, don’t forget that Authors Live and ReadingZone all have libraries of recorded events and author interviews that you can access for free. And there are more resources to help you celebrate books and reading on the World Book Day entry on our Literacy Year calendar.

Happy World Book Day 2024!