About this event
We are delighted to welcome one of the country’s best-loved authors and performance poets. Always entertaining and thought-provoking, Michael is celebrating his 80th year and a lifetime in poetry with a new collection and a national speaking tour.
Michael has published over 200 books for children and adults including The Sad Book with Quentin Blake – a meditation on bereavement after the loss of his son Eddie, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt illustrated by Helen Oxenbury and Many Different Kinds of Love: A Story of Life, Death and the NHS following his recovery from covid-induced coma.
Michael is also a popular broadcaster and presents BBC Radio 4’s acclaimed programme about language, “Word of Mouth.” Michael writes a monthly open “letter” to the Secretary of State for Education in The Guardian, where he critiques Government policy on schools from the standpoint of a parent. He visits schools, teachers’ conferences and university teacher training departments where he is in demand to give performances, workshops and keynote addresses. He also appears regularly at literary festivals all over the UK and Ireland.
Michael is currently Professor of Children’s Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London. He has received many honorary awards and was Children’s Laureate 2007-2009.
