Fun for all the family!

Primadonna is a new, inclusive and diverse family-friendly festival in Suffolk. It will celebrate brilliant writing by women and authors from the margins, creating a joyous and accessible experience with the best live music, films, comedy and food. Its packed programme will include interviews, panels, spoken-word performances and workshops. Our policy is not to have separate kids’ areas because, for some of us, weekends are a great opportunity to hang out with our children. Instead, the whole festival is designed to be child-friendly, and young people are welcome at all daytime events. However, there are also some special treats reserved exclusively for our younger festival-goers… Konnie Huq, one of Britain’s most loved presenters – she was Blue Peter’s longest-serving female presenter from 1997-2008 and since then has gone on to present shows including The Xtra Factor, King of the Nerds and London Talking – has signed a three-book deal for a children’s series, based on the exploits of her hero Cookie. Konnie will talk about Cookie, who is inspired by her own London Bangladeshi background, her love of science, and her being a bit of a nerd, and introduce the first title in the trilogy - Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World. Children’s illustrator Debbie Allwright (Mrs Vickers Knickers, Princess Swashbuckle, Dr Molly’s Medicine Case, The Witch With An Itch) will be adapting her most famous book The Night Pirates into a participatory art event. At the heart of her story are a bunch of girl pirates and their shipmate Tom, off on adventures with their own pirate ship. Debbie will invite children to identify their inner pirate and, in an extension to The Night Pirates story, populate an imaginary island with animals, trees, insects and perhaps people too. There is no telling what kind of (anti-)civilisation they will make! There will also be panels on young adult fiction, featuring writers Kit de Waal and Helen Thomas, and on getting published as a children’s writer. And the festival’s entertainment line-up will feature lots of family fun including Sandi Toksvig talking live onstage, Ada Campe’s surrealist comedy, lots of new music and films to suit all ages.