{"id":10146,"date":"2026-05-21T07:58:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T07:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146"},"modified":"2026-05-21T15:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T15:52:18","slug":"passing-the-torch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146","title":{"rendered":"Passing the torch"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The<\/em> book publishing event of 2026 is one designed to bring a smile to all our faces. This September, Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler’s latest collaboration, Gruffalo Granny,<\/em> is set to take the book world by storm.<\/p>

It’s a reminder that, despite all the doom and gloom about children’s reading – and National Literacy Trust<\/a> figures show that the number of children and young people reading for pleasure is at its lowest level for years – the right story will always cut through.\u00a0<\/p>

It’s also a reminder that it’s\u00a0 beholden on all of us\u00a0 – parents, grandparents, extended family, the wider community –\u00a0 to pass on the singular pleasures of reading to the next generation, to nurture and encourage our children to feel the excitement and power of the written word.<\/p>

That\u2019s why we\u2019re so passionate about Monty Mini Fest<\/a>, our children\u2019s book festival that\u2019ll run for the second year this June. Working with the award-winning Welsh children\u2019s publisher, Firefly Press<\/a>, we\u2019ve assembled another brilliant line-up of authors for a lively day of story-telling and story-making.<\/p>

We\u2019ll start with a FREE session for the under 7s<\/a>, when local storytelling legends Georgia Dickinson and Cyndy Humphreys will share some favourite tales.<\/p>

Then Sharon Marie Jones<\/a> will take us on a witchy wander through her Grace-Ella\u00a0books. Prepare for lots of magical fun and games! \u00a0<\/p>

Next up is Rhiannon Oliver<\/a>, who will be sharing poems from Fresh<\/em> and encouraging her fans to write some poems of their own.<\/p>

There\u2019ll be the chance to meet author Emma Rea<\/a>, who\u2019ll be taking us all on a Venetian adventure.<\/p>

And, for older children and young adults, we\u2019re delighted to welcome Nicola Davies<\/a>, Children\u2019s Laureate Wales and author of the award-winning Skrimsli<\/em> books.<\/p>

There\u2019s something for all ages, so let\u2019s celebrate together the sheer pleasure of reading \u2013 and look to pass on the torch to the next generation of readers too. Grannies – Gruffalo or otherwise – are very welcome to join us.\u00a0<\/p>

The Jill Kibble Monty Mini Fest takes place on Sunday 13th<\/sup> June at Montgomery Activity Centre. <\/em><\/p>

Paid-for session cost \u00a35 for an adult and up to three children. Children over the age of 11 can come along to hear Nicola Davies unaccompanied and for free.<\/em><\/p>

There\u2019ll be a bookshop on site and children will be able to meet our authors and have their books signed by them. And, of course, there will be cake!<\/em><\/p>

Tickets are available online<\/a> or in person from The Montgomery Bookshop or Ivy House Caf\u00e9 in Montgomery.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The book publishing event of 2026 is one designed to bring a smile to all our faces. This September, Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler’s latest collaboration, Gruffalo Granny, is set to take the book world by storm. It’s a reminder that, despite all the doom and gloom about children’s reading – and National Literacy Trust …<\/p>\n

Passing the torch<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[196],"tags":[220,198,217,215,216,218,219],"class_list":["post-10146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-monty-lit-fest-2026","tag-childrens-book-festival","tag-childrens-laureate-wales","tag-emma-rea","tag-monty-mini-fest","tag-nicola-davies","tag-rhiannon-oliver","tag-sharon-marie-jones"],"yoast_head":"\nPassing the torch - Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join us for our children's book festival full of fun, story-telling and story-making.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Passing the torch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Join us for our children's book festival full of fun, story-telling and story-making.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/montylitfest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T07:58:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T15:52:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1264\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"505\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clare Grist Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@montylitfest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@montylitfest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Clare Grist Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Clare Grist Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/729cdaf0ef43a4bd5fdd957262da5168\"},\"headline\":\"Passing the torch\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T07:58:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-21T15:52:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146\"},\"wordCount\":432,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png\",\"keywords\":[\"children's book festival\",\"Children's Laureate Wales\",\"Emma Rea\",\"Monty Mini Fest\",\"Nicola Davies\",\"Rhiannon Oliver\",\"Sharon Marie Jones\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Monty Lit Fest 2026\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146\",\"name\":\"Passing the torch - Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-21T07:58:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-21T15:52:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Join us for our children's book festival full of fun, story-telling and story-making.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png\",\"width\":1264,\"height\":505},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Passing the torch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/\",\"name\":\"Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Monty Lit Fest\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MLF-Logo-with-dates.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MLF-Logo-with-dates.jpg\",\"width\":1758,\"height\":770,\"caption\":\"Monty Lit Fest\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/montylitfest\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/montylitfest\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/montylitfest\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/729cdaf0ef43a4bd5fdd957262da5168\",\"name\":\"Clare Grist Taylor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a60e83215293da2396619790810095507f68b8d548ff7f49b422fd1c0fb76cbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a60e83215293da2396619790810095507f68b8d548ff7f49b422fd1c0fb76cbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Clare Grist Taylor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Passing the torch - Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival","description":"Join us for our children's book festival full of fun, story-telling and story-making.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Passing the torch","og_description":"Join us for our children's book festival full of fun, story-telling and story-making.","og_url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146","og_site_name":"Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/montylitfest\/","article_published_time":"2026-05-21T07:58:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-21T15:52:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1264,"height":505,"url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Clare Grist Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@montylitfest","twitter_site":"@montylitfest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Clare Grist Taylor","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146"},"author":{"name":"Clare Grist Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/729cdaf0ef43a4bd5fdd957262da5168"},"headline":"Passing the torch","datePublished":"2026-05-21T07:58:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-21T15:52:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146"},"wordCount":432,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png","keywords":["children's book festival","Children's Laureate Wales","Emma Rea","Monty Mini Fest","Nicola Davies","Rhiannon Oliver","Sharon Marie Jones"],"articleSection":["Monty Lit Fest 2026"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146","url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146","name":"Passing the torch - Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png","datePublished":"2026-05-21T07:58:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-21T15:52:18+00:00","description":"Join us for our children's book festival full of fun, story-telling and story-making.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png","width":1264,"height":505},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?p=10146#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Passing the torch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/","name":"Monty Lit Fest - G\u0175yl Ll\u00ean Maldwyn, Montgomeryshire Literary Festival","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#organization","name":"Monty Lit Fest","url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MLF-Logo-with-dates.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MLF-Logo-with-dates.jpg","width":1758,"height":770,"caption":"Monty Lit Fest"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/montylitfest\/","https:\/\/x.com\/montylitfest","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/montylitfest\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/729cdaf0ef43a4bd5fdd957262da5168","name":"Clare Grist Taylor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a60e83215293da2396619790810095507f68b8d548ff7f49b422fd1c0fb76cbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a60e83215293da2396619790810095507f68b8d548ff7f49b422fd1c0fb76cbd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Clare Grist Taylor"},"url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/?author=6"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mini-Fest-blog.png","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10146"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10188,"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10146\/revisions\/10188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montylitfest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}