A Somerset arts festival is set to welcome a celebrated literary voice.
Somerset Art Works (SAW) has announced award-winning children’s author Jasbinder Bilan as the young people’s patron for this year’s Somerset Art Weeks Festival, which runs from Saturday, September 19, to Sunday, October 4.
Ms Bilan, who won the Costa Children’s Book Award in 2019 for Asha and the Spirit Bird, is known for her use of magical realism and stories inspired by her Indian heritage.
She said: "I love creating magical worlds and cracking adventures inspired by the natural world.
"As a girl, I always loved writing - I can’t remember a time when I didn’t invent stories, but I never imagined that one day I’d write a story that would be published."
This year’s festival theme, Cultural Connections, celebrates Somerset’s history and diversity, with Ms Bilan contributing to a family-focused programme of creative events and workshops.
Carol Carey, creative director at Somerset Art Works, said: "It is so exciting to have Jasbinder as our young people’s patron, with her passion for storytelling and natural connection with children and sparking their imaginations.
"The festival includes a rich and exciting family-friendly programme, which Jasbinder will be an integral part of."
She said the festival emphasises the power of creativity to unite people of all ages, offering activities designed to be enjoyed together and remembered across generations.
Ms Carey said: "Early engagement shapes habits for a lifetime and builds support for arts and culture in the future."
Somerset Art Weeks Festival is a free county-wide arts event featuring exhibitions, events and activities across approximately 100 venues.
It regularly attracts more than 20,000 visitors.
Ms Bilan will help shape the festival’s family offering, which this year includes six dedicated workshops alongside talks, demonstrations, and have-a-go sessions.
She said: "The seeds of my writing were sown with an image that kept popping into my head.
"I couldn't shake this image away, so I began to take my family memories and twist them into a magical story."
She described her writing process as "think-writing" and shared her love of starting each story with a special notebook with plain paper so she can draw, stick interesting things into it, and be messy.
Ms Bilan said: "The family-friendly events at the Somerset Art Weeks Festival provide a platform to create - ideas, stories, art - anything that fires the imagination, and I am proud to be part of this extraordinary journey."
She is set to release a new book, Girl With A Sabretooth Tiger, in October.
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