When is National Storytelling Week?
In 2027, we will be celebrating National Storytelling Week from Saturday 30 January to Sunday 7 February.
What is the theme for National Storytelling Week in 2027?
The theme for National Storytelling Week 2027 is Every story has a place and every place has a story.
Storytelling is deeply connected to place. Across the world, stories have grown from the landscapes, rivers, mountains, towns and communities where people live, helping them to understand their surroundings and their place within them. Stories connected to place help us to imagine whole new worlds, realms and possibilities.
Whether we share them aloud, write them in books or illustrate them, stories are everywhere, waiting for us to bring them to life. Through this project, pupils will explore how places can inspire characters, adventures and stories of their own.
Our classroom activities span early years, primary and secondary, and we’d love you to take part in all elements for your phase.
Every story has a place and every place has a story. Where will your stories take you?
What is National Storytelling Week?
Created by Society for Storytelling, this fantastic annual event is a joyful celebration of the power of sharing stories. Stories teach us about the world; they allow us to step into someone else’s shoes and feel empathy; they help us to relax and escape and they can help develop essential literacy skills.
National Storytelling Week is a celebration of oral storytelling, reading and writing for pleasure. At a time when research shows that young people’s writing and reading enjoyment levels remain persistently low, National Storytelling Week has never been more important.
This year, our exciting storytelling project is supported by Amazon.
Taking part in National Storytelling Week 2027
Step 1 (Early Years to age 14): Sign up for the National Storytelling Week workshops and watch videos:
We will host an interactive video for Early Years and three interactive virtual workshops for ages 5 to 14 with expert storytellers for UK schools and home educators. Please sign up for the workshops below:
Step 2 (Early Years to age 14): Download teacher resource packs
Our virtual workshops are supported by resources to help you deliver exciting storytelling projects for children from Early Years, Primary (KS1/KS2, P2-7) and Secondary phases (KS3, S1-3). The workshops and resources aim to promote a love of storytelling, reading and writing whilst also meeting national curriculum requirements. These resources will be going live in early December.
Following our National Storytelling Week activity in 2026, our resource materials were shortlisted in the Teach Primary Awards 2026, celebrating the very best in educational resources.
Step 3 (ages 5 to 14): Submit to anthology
Pupils have the opportunity to submit their writing for inclusion in a special anthology created by the National Literacy Trust and supported by Amazon.
The anthology will celebrate the storytelling of children across the UK. We will accept submissions from pupils in KS1-KS3 (P2-P7/S1-S3).
Prizes
- Winning pupils' writing will be published in a special National Storytelling Week anthology. They will receive a printed copy of the anthology as well as a copy for their school.
- All schools who submit writing will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a bundle of books.
Guidelines and submission information will be available on this page soon.
Get in touch
Please email young.writers@literacytrust.org.uk for any support or questions
What teachers told us last year
"All the children enjoyed the sessions but the reluctant readers and writers joined in the storytelling sessions enthusiastically. They felt empowered and energised as they could achieve success."
"All children regardless of background found it relatable, engaging and were able to take something away from it to support their own learning."
"Giving an excuse to have a whole week of storytelling- it was brilliant! The practitioner guidance really helped some of our less confident staff, everyone got involved and will definitely be doing this more regularly moving forward."
"There was a child who did not enjoy writing and felt as though she was not good enough. After the live session, we wrote our own poems and without any hesitation, she wrote a few lines and even read them out to the class."