Over 3,000 Manchester pupils came face-to-face with children's authors and get top tips on writing books during two-week literary festival

Over 3,000 Manchester pupils came face-to-face with children's authors in March in a celebration of diversity, getting top tips along the way directly from authors on writing books and telling stories, during a two-week 'See Myself in Books' literary festival in the city that has just ended.

The fortnight saw an incredible 13 authors visit 35 primary schools and seven high schools in the city, to deliver a total of 25 in-person workshop sessions and one virtual on-line workshop, that together have given 3,035 children and young people the chance to meet some of their favourite authors and to quiz them about writing books, the stories they tell, and how to become an author. Established and organised by Read Manchester - a partnership between the city council and the National Literacy Trust (NLT) - the 'See Myself in Books Festival' first took place in the city last year (2025) with the aim of introducing children and young people to books that reflect their own cultures, identities and experiences.

It is a celebration of reading for pleasure and at the same time inspiring children to discover books with diverse characters they can truly relate to. 

The festival's origins come off the back of research by the NLT that having access to diverse books could help provide a boost to reading enjoyment, with almost 1 in 3 (31.5%) children and young people saying that having books that represent them would make them want to read more, but over half of children (53.1%) saying they experience difficulties finding books with characters or people like them.

With Manchester schools reflecting such a rich and vibrant mix of cultures and identities, this makes representation in children's books even more important for youngsters in the city and ensuring children and young people have access to a wide range of authors and books with characters they can truly relate to.

Alongside the festival therefore, Read Manchester curated two unique sets of 'See Myself in Books' book collections promoting ethnic diversity and neurodiversity, with collections distributed so far to more than 50 primary schools, and to local district libraries across the city.

One author whose work featured in these book collections is award-winning author Rashmi Sirdespande.

Two of Rashmi's books feature on Read Manchester's collection of diverse books that are being rolled out to the city's schools to help encourage more children to pick up books and develop a life-long love of reading. 

The celebrated author took time out from writing her latest book to visit pupils at Saviour Primary School in Collyhurst, where Year 5 and 6 pupils made the most of her visit to find out more about the art of writing and how to be an author by subjecting her to a rigorous round of questions about her stories, how she writes, and Rashmi's own journey to becoming a published children's author. 

Author Rashmi Sirdespande said: "See Myself in Books is everything. A real celebration of books that reflect the richly diverse backgrounds of readers. If we’re serious about bringing children back to reading, we have to get serious about offering them books they can connect with - books that let them see themselves as the star in all kinds of stories (true and fictional!)."

This year's 'See Myself in Books Festival' with its celebration of diversity in books and stories for children and young people, took place as the city encuraged everyone of all ages, from the city's youngest readers to its oldest, to get involved in the National Year of Reading.