ILKLEY Literature Festival is renowned for its prestigious literary line-up, and young bookworms can also expect to see some of the country’s best children’s authors during this year’s event.

Designed for young minds aged three to 12, there’s a host of free drop-in family events, book trails, interactive storytelling and writing workshops on offer.

The Children’s Festival runs alongside the flagship Ilkley Literature Festival from Saturday, October 12 to Sunday, October 20.

If you’ve ever been stumped by a child’s questions on where does space end, BBC Four’s Sky at Night presenter Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock comes to the rescue. Dr Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System offers children aged eight plus a fascinating insight into the Universe

From stars in their eyes to adventures closer to Earth, Conn Iggulden follows up his huge bestseller, The Dangerous Book for Boys, with Doubly Dangerous! The new compendium provides a treasure-trove of adventurous activities designed to inspire children and families to switch off their telly and go and do something more interesting instead.

Clare Balding will talk about her popular pony adventures with The Racehorse Who Learned to Dance, and Andy Stanton – the award-winning bestselling author of the Mr Gum series - promises an afternoon of ludicrous characters and outrageous escapades.

Erica Morris, Acting Director of Ilkley Literature Festival, said: “Our Children’s Festival is always a treat. Books and words are a gateway into different worlds and this is particularly demonstrated this year as many events explore space and discovery, inspired by the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing. Whether our authors switch on future space scientists or inspire young adventurers, our line up aims to match children’s bottomless curiosity and sense of wonder.”

The packed programme also invites children to see how they measure up to ginormous deadly dinosaurs, puts their detective skills to the test with Fabio the Flamingo Detective, and introduces them to the mischief of Bad Nana. Children can also dive into Ted Hughes’ classic tale The Iron Man with the illustrator of a stunning new edition, Chris Mould.

Ilkley Literature Festival also has a packed programme of events aimed at young people aged 12 to 18 from Friday, October 4 to Sunday October 20.

From meeting acclaimed authors, taking part in creative writing workshops or becoming a journalist for the day, this age group can also join workshops to learn how to Make a Podcast in a Day, Scriptwriting and Improvised Poetry and Music.

Budding authors can also join a workshop presented by YA novelist Liz Hyder, whose exciting debut novel Bearmouth has been widely praised by critics, to learn the techniques for building fictional worlds.

Theatre director, Chris Singleton, will show young people how to find their stage presence using theatrical performance techniques. The Ilkley Literature Festival Apprentice Poet in Residence, Genevieve Carver, will host a music and poetry workshop where youngsters have the opportunity to create poems in response to music and perform them with musicians.

Bestselling author of the Geek Girl series, Holly Smale, also talks about her latest romantic comedy, Happy Girl Lucky.

Erica Morris, Acting Director of Ilkley Literature Festival, added: “As well as offering young people the chance to meet authors like Holly Smale, we have a fantastic range of workshops and activities to help them develop their own writing talents. Whether it’s creating a podcast or learning how to perform in poetry slams, our events aim to nurture and inspire the next generation of poets, novelists and performers.”

The full programme is available at http://www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk/families-young-people/childrens-festival