The Big Malarkey Festival is Hull’s children’s literature festival, held on a colourful tented site in East Park.

The first festival was delivered in 2017 as part of Hull UK City of Culture 2017. Nearly 8000 people came to the park to meet writers, illustrators, poets, performers and puppet-makers, and try their hand at all kinds of practical activities.

The Big Malarkey is brought to you by Hull Libraries:  a unique resource for the city, visited by over 900,000 people each year, we are proud to provide an inspiring service to children and young people, schools and families.

We offer:

  • A wide-ranging programme for schools – free to all member of Hull Schools Library Service
  • A fabulous weekend for all the family to enjoy their favourite stories and discover new ones

The festival is one of many initiatives promoting reading for pleasure and encouraging curiosity, learning and creativity – visit Hull Libraries’ website for more info.

The Big Malarkey Festival 2023 / Film by Pinzel Productions

The Big Malarkey Festival 2022 / Film by Myriad Films

The Big Malarkey Festival 2021 / Film by DA Creative Studio

The Big Malarkey Festival 2018 / Film by our festival sponsor KCOM

“Lovely event! My boys loved it! The kids came with school and wanted to come back. Thank you!”