Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival has announced a new partnership with Pontypridd Town Council, as the festival continues to expand and develop.

An annual fixture in the town’s events calendar since 2018, Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival is an event for children and families to celebrate books of all kinds. The festival draws in big names and local talent from the worlds of children’s fiction, non-fiction illustration and storytelling for a fun-filled weekend of events, talks and activities.

The investment by Pontypridd Town Council marks the beginning of an exciting period of growth for the festival, with the partnership enabling the festival to expand its offering by increasing the number of festival events and developing year-round activities with local schools and youth groups.

Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival Director, Cerith Mathias told us…….

“This is a hugely significant time for Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival.We’re delighted to have the support of Pontypridd Town Council, which will help us develop the festival even further, making it an even bigger and better annual event for the town.”

Thanks to the partnership with Pontypridd Town Council and the body’s commitment to the arts and culture in the area, Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival will develop a series of school events and visits from authors throughout the year, along with community events to encourage reading for fun. The festival will also expand its annual Christmas Books for Children Appeal, an initiative developed with Pontypridd Food Bank and Storyville Books, giving children newly released titles for Christmas.

The Town Council is also providing a new home for the festival, with a new office in Pontypridd’s revamped museum basement, which is being developed into a community hub.

Pontypridd Town Council Chief Executive is Tony Graham, he told us…..

“We’re delighted to enter a partnership with Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival. Pontypridd Town Council has a clear commitment to make a difference to the lives of children across Pontypridd and to promote the benefits of engaging with the arts and cultural events. Helping children foster a love for reading is an investment in future generations and can only benefit the wellbeing of our communities.”

Pontypridd Town Council has been a supporter of the festival  since its establishment, with the new partnership cementing the relationship.

Jeff Baxter is the Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival Operational Manager, he told us…..

“We are confident that the festival will grow into a significant event both in Pontypridd and the wider South Wales Valleys area and beyond. We passionately believe that the festival is part of a general revival of Pontypridd, especially in the arts and cultural sector and we’re excited about the future.”

The new partnership will get to work immediately, with details of a new bilingual writing competition for children being announced soon.

For updates from Pontypridd Children’s Book Festival, follow:

• Twitter: @pontykidsbooks
• Facebook: @pontykidsbooks
• Instagram: @pontykidsbookfest

For updates from Pontypridd Town Council, follow:

• Twitter: @ptc
• Facebook: @pontypriddtowncouncil
• Instagram: @pontypriddtowncouncil