Seven students from Taunton School International recently attended The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, a world-renowned festival featuring new authors and literary greats. We attended a talk from three young authors, where they discussed their debut young adult novels. This was undoubtedly the highlight of the day. The authors talked about how they came up with the idea for their novels, the process of writing and publishing, and what inspired them to write for young adults. There was a great deal of discussion, which gave the students a better understanding of how authors create stories, how the publishing industry works, and the hard work and dedication that goes into the creative process. It was inspiring to hear the stories surrounding the authors’ work. Students then had the opportunity to purchase signed copies of the three books.

We had the chance to explore the festival site and enjoy some shopping in the town. The festival had several different stages and a large bookshop. In town they enjoyed a lovely autumn afternoon exploring the local weekend flea market and coffee shops.

In summary, we thoroughly enjoyed the day. It was a perfect opportunity for our students to experience a unique cultural event and to broaden their literary knowledge, which will hopefully encourage them to read more widely in future.