Settle Stories

🌍✨ Stories have the power to change the world. This November, Yorkshire Festival of Story returns with a week of unforgettable events – live in the Yorkshire Dales and streamed worldwide. From fearless folktales to voices of resistance, YFOS25 brings you storytellers, artists and changemakers who dare to imagine a different future. Be part of a global festival that’s already reached audiences on six continents. 🎟️ Book now and step into “Courage: Stories that change the world.” 📅 3rd - 9th November 2025 | In Settle & Online 👉 Follow us, share this trailer, and join the movement. #YFOS25 #StoriesThatChangeTheWorld #YorkshireFestivalOfStory #HybridFestival #ArtsThatMatter

Something special is waiting for you this June. ✨ Stories that stay with you. Moments that bring you closer to people you've never met. That sense of wonder you didn't know you needed on a Thursday evening. Our June events are live, and there's something for everyone, whether you're a lifelong story lover, a curious newcomer, or just someone who fancies something a little out of the ordinary. From the heart of the Yorkshire Dales to wherever you are in the world, join us for an extraordinary month of storytelling. 👉 See what's on and book your place: .uk/events/whats-on/ Spaces fill up fast, so have a look and grab yours. We'd love to see you there. #SettleStories #StoriesForEveryone #YorkshireDales #Storytelling #June #WhatsOn #LiveEvents

Last few tickets. Tonight. 7pm. Matthew Sturgess, The Silver Reserve, live at The Joinery in Settle. Classical guitar, layered loops, songs that take their time and arrive somewhere true. From just £5, in person or from your sofa online. The people already in those seats? They are going to have a very good evening indeed. Book yours before they're gone: 👉 .uk/whats-on-event/the-silver-reserve/

📖 Your Wednesday reminder is here! This Friday, we've got something wonderful waiting for your class - The Rainbow Serpent, a new free story for EYFS, KS1 and KS2. From 1pm on Friday 15th May, head to our #FridayStoryClub page and press play. A real storyteller, beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and pure magic - completely free, no strings attached. At 3pm, it's gone. So set that reminder! 🎉 👉 settlestories.org.uk/stories-for-schools/fridaystoryclub

Meet the person reading your child's story. ✨ We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Jonathan Douglas CBE, Chief Executive of the @literacy_trust , Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and Booker Prize Advisory Board member, is our judge for this year's Children's Story Competition. He's read thousands of stories. He knows a great one the moment it starts. And this summer, he could be reading yours. The theme is What I Love. 500 words. Ages 7 to 11. Deadline: 15th June. Every child who enters gets a certificate. The winner gets a £100 book token and the chance to have their story performed live to schools across the country by Sita Brand. The school with the most entries wins a term's subscription to Stories for Schools. Enter your child or your whole class right here: 👉 settlestories.org.uk/stories-for-schools/childrens-story-competition-2026/

Last chance to book: The Silver Reserve is this week. Stories from lives richly lived, shared in a space that's warm, welcoming, and genuinely unlike anything else. Places are going. Don't let this one slip by. 👉 settlestories.org.uk/whats-on-event/the-silver-reserve/

🎸 Some music you hear. Some music you feel. On 14th May, The Silver Reserve comes to The Joinery in Settle - and if you've never heard Matthew Sturgess play, you're in for something quite special. Delicate guitar. Layered atmospherics. Songs that take their time and find their way quietly, gently, completely under your skin. This is an evening for people who know that the best music doesn't shout - it simply sits with you, long after the last note fades. You can join us in person here in Settle, or tune in online from wherever you are. Either way, clear your Wednesday evening and give yourself this one. 🗓️ Wednesday 14th May | ⏰ 7pm–8:30pm | 📍 The Joinery, Settle (or online) 🎟️ Tickets from £5 Grab yours here 👉 .uk/whats-on-event/the-silver-reserve/

*Settle and the rest of the world!!* My next show is my first ever hybrid show which means anyone can join us live using the live stream link - it would be so great to be joined by people from further afield who wouldn’t otherwise be able to catch a show. It will be lovely to return to play in Settle… I’d opened for @heyheydellamae at @live_room_saltaire_vids a couple of years back and they’d said lovely things about my set so I’d asked them to put a word in at @settlevichall the next night on their tour….and before I asked they told me they already had!! 🙏 I think this helped me secure a slot opening for @theagilmore who then enjoyed it so much she asked me to join her on an extra date - back at @live_room_saltaire_vids again! Anyway, I’m grateful to both artists and @loubrennanmusic for the kind quotes in this video and excited to return to Settle to play a solo showcase of my own on Thursday. I have a set of favourites prepared, focusing mostly on narrative songwriting, derived from personal experiences, which I felt would fit best for a set for @settle.stories who promote the importance of storytelling as a means of connection, cultural preservation and empowerment - that’s my take on what they do anyway! 🫣 Tickets and further details are in my bio. I hope to see you there. 🙏🙏🙏 If you’re in Ripon, I also play a double headline with @the_drunk_astronomer on the 23rd of May - details and tickets on linktree (in bio). #livemusic #settlemusic #settlestories #alternativefolk #storytelling

Happy 100th birthday, Sir David Attenborough. 🌿 For a century, he has done what the very best storytellers do: looked at the world with wide-open eyes and invited us all to lean in a little closer. That same wonder lives in every classroom we visit. When children hear a story rooted in the natural world, something shifts. They ask bigger questions. They care more deeply. Stories have always been how we learn to love what matters. Here's to a man who understood that from the very beginning. #HappyBirthdaySirDavid #Storytelling #StoriesForSchools #NatureDays #SettleStories

,🐝 What happens when a bear wants honey but forgets to ask nicely? This World Bee Day, we're bringing Barnaby the Bear to life in a FREE live storytelling session for EYFS and KS1, and it's one your little ones won't want to miss. The Bear and the Bee is a gentle, joyful story about asking, listening, and doing better, told by a professional storyteller on 20th May at 1:30pm. No prep. No fuss. Just a wonderful story that slips beautifully into your school day and sparks conversations about empathy and respect that last long after it ends. 🍯 It's free. It's live. And spaces won't hang around. 👉 Book your class in here: .uk/whats-on-event/the-bear-and-the-bee-world-bee-day-event-for-eyfs-and-ks1/

If you love live music, a good night out, or lyrics that feel like poetry, then you've come to the right place. We're delighted to be welcoming @silverreserve to settle next week, and are very excited that the show will be both in person at the joinery, and livestreamed online, so you can watch from wherever you are. We'd love to have you along. You can book your tickets now via settlestories.org.uk.

📖 Your Wednesday reminder is here! This Friday, we've got something wonderful waiting for your class - The Chipped Cup, a new free story for KS1 and KS2. From 1pm on Friday 8th May, head to our #FridayStoryClub page and press play. A real storyteller, beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and pure magic - completely free, no strings attached. At 3pm, it's gone. So set that reminder! 🎉 👉 settlestories.org.uk/stories-for-schools/fridaystoryclub