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Ages 9+

Award-winning children’s writer Kevin Crossley-Holland, dressed as Merlin, talks to the festival’s consultant director of the young people’s programme, Nicolette Jones, about the history of the wizard.

Merlin was a magician, shape-changer, and prophet who could foretell the future. He steered the birth and destiny of King Arthur, and has lived for centuries through British and European stories, from medieval myths to modern classics such as thoise by Crossley-Holland. His literary descendants include Tolkien’s Gandalf, Terry Pratchett’s Rincewind and J K Rowling’s Dumbledore, not to mention Harry Potter, the boy wizard.

Crossley-Holland was transformed into Merlin for The Story Museum’s forthcoming 26 Characters exhibition about favourite fictional folk. He becomes Merlin once again to talk about the arch-enchanter and his famous deeds.Crossley-Holland is author of the Arthur trilogy, The Seeing Stone, King of the Middle March, and At the Crossing Places. The trilogy, set in medieval times, blends the story of young Arthur de Caldicot with the tales and exploits of his legendary namesake King Arthur.

Crossley-Holland is a poet and multi-award-winning author. The Arthur trilogy has been translated into 25 languages. The Seeing Stone won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the Smarties Prize Bronze Medal, and the Tir na n-Og Award. He has translated Beowulf from the Anglo-Saxon and has published retellings of traditional tales including The Penguin Book of Norse Myths and British Folk Tales. He won the Carnegie Medal in 1985 for Storm and was shortlisted for the 2008 Carnegie Medal for Gatty’s Tale.

This event is held in association with the Story Museum Oxford.