Step Into Stories

Step Into Stories is Bewdley Festival's annual children’s story festival. Every April, Bewdley Festival shares the joy of stories with families across the Wyre Forest and beyond, as we bring a host of children’s authors, poets, storytellers, illustrators and more to the town of Bewdley for one day of all-out celebration. It all began as the brainchild of local teacher Ruth Stevenson, who has created a one day world of wonder for children of all ages.

There's lots of individual events making up this one-day festival, which takes place in a variety of venues across Bewdley, bringing a real sense of fun and community to our town. Accessibility for our whole community is one of our key aims, so we host a mixture of paid and free events, with something for all ages - even the young at heart!

Step Into Stories 2026

Here's a snippet of our 2026 event:

Ruth's 24 hour Readathon!

In support of Stories Into Schools, Ruth completed a massive 24 hour Readathon, reading books from our visiting authors, and dropping into Social Media every hour to see who else had joined her, what they'd been reading and if they were still awake. Did you join in? Here's her appearances on Facebook during the day (and night!):

Ruth's update time	What book was Ruth reading?	View Ruth's update on Facebook	Ruth's update time	What book was Ruth reading?	View Ruth's update on Facebook
8am	Do Not EatThe Egg - Fiona Barker	click here	9pm	Midnight Treasure - Piers Torday	click here
9am	The World Between The Rain - Susan Cahill	click here	10pm	Midnight Treasure - Piers Torday	click here
10am	The World Between The Rain - Susan Cahill	click here	11pm	Midnight Treasure - Piers Torday	click here
11am	The World Between The Rain - Susan Cahill	click here	midnight	Midnight Treasure - Piers Torday	click here
midday	Blue Jellies & Strawberry - Attie Lime	click here	1am	Midnight Treasure - Piers Torday	click here
1pm	Postman Planets - Ben Davis	click here	2am	Midnight Treasure - Piers Torday	click here
2pm	Runaways - E. L. Norry	click here	3am	Serial Chillers - Jennifer Killick	click here
3pm	Runaways - E. L. Norry	click here	4am	Serial Chillers - Jennifer Killick	click here
4pm	Runaways - E. L. Norry	click here	5am	Serial Chillers - Jennifer Killick	click here
5pm	The Dragon Who Hates Poetry - Dommy B	click here	6am	Serial Chillers - Jennifer Killick	click here
6pm	Scream of the Whistle - Emily Randall Jones	click here	7am	Serial Chillers - Jennifer Killick	click here
7pm	Scream of the Whistle - Emily Randall Jones	click here	8am	It's a wrap!	click here
8pm	Scream of the Whistle - Emily Randall Jones	click here

BBC Hereford& Worcester Interview:

Ruth was also interviewed about the Readathon, and about the wider Step Into Stories day, by Malcolm Boyden of BBC Hereford & Worcester - you can hear her interview by clicking this image:

"What you're doing in Bewdley is fantastic at all levels!"

Tricksie Into Schools:

Tricksie the Festival Troll had a great time visiting lots of schools right across Wyre Forest, appearing at school assemblies and generally being rather naughty! To help Tricksie tell all the excited schoolchildren about about Step Into Stories he came along with a powerpoint show which you can see here:

Step into Stories 2026 School Assembly PowerPoint

Step into Stories 2026 School Assembly PDF

Step into Stories 2026 School Assembly Speaker Notes

Stories Into Schools:

Here at Step into Stories, we are passionate about inspiring the readers and writers of tomorrow. That's why we launched our Stories into Schools Programme, providing a free author/poet/illustrator/storyteller visit to each of the schools in Bewdley. There is something magical about meeting the person who created the world you have travelled to in your mind, and brought to life the characters that you have loved. And who knows - through their talks and workshops they may just have inspired the next generation of children's writers and storytellers!

Step Into Stories Day

And here's a few reminders of the day itself...

Step Into Stories Festival Timetable

The Music of Bewdley:

In the evening, the Mayor of Bewdley hosted a very special concert at St Anne's Church in Bewdley, linked to Step Into Stories. Performing at the concert were the winners of our Write Beat poetry competition, reading poems with a great beat inspired by everything going on around us - music, heartbeats, nature, trains, ticking clocks...

Step Into Stories Performers 2026:

And lastly, here's who came along to see us...