About Joseph Coelho's Fairy Tales Gone Bad
A very special opportunity to join Joseph Coelho OBE as he delves into his Fairy Tales Gone Bad series, illustrated by Freya Hartas.
Discover how Cinderella became Zombierella and fell in love with a vampire prince. Find new ways to create your own Fairy Tales Gone Bad and even how to write a story using just ten words.
Get ready for wordplay, creative inspiration and gruesome tales.
Please note if you have a ticket to our Family Festival: Happily Ever After you do not need a separate ticket for this event.
Why not visit Fairy Tales our new family friendly exhibition as part of your visit to the Library. There you can see Freya Hartas' sketchbooks for Zombierella.
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Joseph Coelho
Joseph Coelho OBE, is a multi-award-winning children’s author and playwright.
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His YA Story Told in Poems: The Girl Who Became A Tree’ was shortlisted for The 2021 Carnegie Medal and received a special mention from the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2021. He has written plays for Little Angel Theatre, Tutti Frutti Productions, Polka Theatre and The Unicorn Theatre amongst others. He is two-time winner of the Indie Book Awards (2019 & 2022) with picture books If All The World Were... and My Beautiful Voice respectively (illustrated by Allison Colpoys). His poetry collection Werewolf Club Rules (illustrated by John O'leary) won the 2015 CLIPPA Poetry Award. His plays for adults have received a special commendation from the Verity Bargate Award and been longlisted for the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition. He won the 2024 Carnegie Medal for writing with The Boy Lost In The Maze (illustrated by Kate Milner) and was Waterstones Children's Laureate 2022 – 2024.
Family activities at the Library
We have lots of free family events and workshops in London and West Yorkshire. Spaces can fill up quickly, so please book ahead.
You can also pick up a Family Trail from the Information Desk to help you explore the Library further, and visit our free Treasures Gallery.
Food and drink
Families are welcome at all of the Library’s cafés and restaurants. The Terrace Café on the first floor has lots of seating (including an outdoor terrace for sunny days). Highchairs are available in the Terrace Café and the Upper Ground Floor Café, subject to availability.
Families with children may also bring their own food to eat outside on the Piazza or in our public spaces, and there are water fountains that can be used to refill water bottles across the building. Please do not consume food or drink inside the exhibition galleries.
Baby-feeding
Parents are welcome to breastfeed or bottle-feed anywhere in the Library. Please ask a member of Library staff if you would like help finding a quieter space.
Please note that we cannot heat bottles or baby food in our cafés and restaurants.
Bags, cloakrooms and lockers
Our cloakroom and digital lockers are free to use, located on the Lower Ground Floor with step-free access. Please note our cloakroom is closed on Sundays, but you can still use our lockers. View more information on our bags and luggage restrictions.
Baby-changing and toilets
There are baby-changing stations available in the following toilets:
- in the men's and women's toilets on the Lower Ground Floor, near the cloakroom
- in the women's toilets near Reader Registration on the Upper Ground Floor
- in the men's and women's toilets in the Terrace Café on the First Floor
- in the men's and women's toilets in the Knowledge Centre.
Accessible toilets can be found on all floors. The nearest Changing Places toilet is at King's Cross station.
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