Bradford: Sir Lenny Henry for World Book Day event

Sir Lenny Henry will be entertaining students as part of World Book Day in Bradford next month.

The celebration has been organised for school pupils in the city by the Bradford Literature Festival (BLF).

It is the first of their events for 2023 ahead of the ten-day festival which runs from 24 June.

The comedian and author will also be joined by picture book author and illustrator Sophy Henn at the Alhambra Theatre on 2 March.

Sir Lenny Henry is best-known as a comedian and as a co-founder of Comic Relief, he also campaigns for diversity on television and has written two young adult fantasies.

When asked why he had wanted to write for children, he said: "Children of every age need to see themselves in the stories they love".

Others taking part in the Bradford event include Jacob Mitchell, aka 'MC Grammar', who will be rapping about linguistics and BLF's story master Gav Cross will bring stories to life for students.

BLF is regarded as one of the north's largest literature festivals and in December 2022 it was awarded Arts Council funding of over £1m a year until 2026.

It also operates an ethical ticketing policy, which will apply at the event at the Alhambra, which offers free or discounted tickets to those who would otherwise be unable to attend.