Free family festival of storytelling, illustration workshops and author talks inspired by the museum's exhibition 'Childhood in War'.
The Big Story Festival arrives at the Imperial War Museum on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October, running 10am to 6pm both days. It's a debut year for the festival, and the whole thing is built around the museum's major exhibition Childhood in War — the UK's first show devoted to the impact of conflict on young people from the First World War to the present day.
Across the two days, there's a mix of things you can just drop into and sessions you'll need to book. A giant colouring wall by A Line Art sits in the middle, and there are free drop-in storytelling activities, illustration workshops, 'Play and Sing' sessions for the younger ones, and guided tours of the galleries. The author talks are where the festival's war focus opens up for a younger audience: Dame Jacqueline Wilson speaks around her 2017 book Wave Me Goodbye, about a girl evacuated to the country in the Second World War, and award-winning wartime fiction writer Tom Palmer explains how he turns real history into stories like Armistice Runner, D-Day Dog and After the War. Sarah Gavron and Sophie Herxheimer are also on the line-up.
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It's free to attend, though the author talks and illustration workshops do require tickets. The festival runs 10am to 6pm on both Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October at IWM London, Lambeth Rd, SE1 6HZ.
