Hannah Gold worked in the film and magazine industries before taking time out to pursue her dream of writing.

The Last Bear is her middle-grade debut which became an instant classic and international bestseller on release in 2021. It has won the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Younger Readers and Overall Children's Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Best Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal as well as being The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week.

The Lost Whale is Hannah’s second middle-grade novel which tells an incredible story about the connection between a boy and a whale and the bond that sets them both free. It won the Stanford Travel Writing Award for Children's Book of the Year in 2023, and Hannah has been appointed an official ambassador of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

Hannah’s eagerly awaited new novel Finding Bear, the sequel to Hannah’s dazzling debut, will see April and Bear reunite in an unforgettable adventure publishing on the 28th of September, 2023. All novels are illustrated by renowned artist Levi Pinfold.

Registration for the festival opens on 4th September. Find out more here.