Activities for Kids

Create your own Drawings & Stories led by Fighting Words NI 

Drop-in - no need to book

Friday 10 June  - 1.00 - 4.00pm

Saturday 11 June - 10.00 - 11.00am

Sunday 12 June  - 10.00 - 2.00pm

Click here for more information. 

During the first weekend of the Belfast Book Festival, we are delighted to be joined by author, illustrator and current Children’s Writing Fellow NI, Paul Howard, alongside the writing mentors at Fighting Words NI for a weekend of readings, workshops, and conversations 

Bring the little'uns along for a drop-in to the studio to create your own drawings and stories with the help of writing mentors at Fighting Words NI. 

Storytelling & Illustration workshop

Ages 5-8 years

Booking recommended - Click here to book your spot

Saturday 11 June - 2.00 - 3.00pm

Sunday 12 June - 2.00pm - 3.00pm 

Click here for more information. 

During the first weekend of the Belfast Book Festival, we are delighted to be joined by author, illustrator and current Children’s Writing Fellow NI, Paul Howard, alongside the writing mentors at Fighting Words NI for a weekend of readings, workshops, and conversations 

Come along and join us for afternoon of storytelling and illustration with the help of writing mentors at Fighting Words NI.   

Activities for grown-up kids

Draw-off 

Saturday 11 June 

12.00 - 1.00 pm 

8+ years

Free to attend - Click here to book your spot

Paul will be joined by some of his fellow illustrator friends to embark on a 'draw-off'. Watch as they each battle it out to create characters and stories from the cues provided by the audience. 

Schools Activity

As part of our with school, we are delighted that Paul will be joined by students from Methody College Belfast on Friday morning for a session including readings and drawing.  

Paul Howard is an award-winning children’s author and illustrator, best known for illustrating Jill Tomlinson’s classic The Owl Who was Afraid of the Dark and The Burpee Bears, a new picture book series from Joe Wicks. He has collaborated with some of the greats of children’s literature such as Allan Ahlberg, Michael Rosen, Anne Fine, Trish Cooke, Martin Waddell and John Boyne, and won numerous awards including a Blue Peter Award for The Bravest Ever Bear and The Primary English Award for The Year in the City. He publishes his own young fiction and picture books, most recently 1,2, BOO! for Bloomsbury. In January 2022 he was appointed as Children’s Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland. The Fellowship was created as part of Queen’s University and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's (ACNI) joint ten-year Seamus Heaney Legacy project supported by the Atlantic Philanthropies.

Fighting Words NI is a creative writing centre for children and young people. Since 2015 they have been a force for creativity in Belfast and beyond, providing over 9,000 creative writing opportunities for schools and young writers ages 6-18: that’s hundreds of Storymaking Workshops for classes of all ages, scores of Write Club meetings, and dozens of special projects – all supported by their amazing volunteer mentors.