The A Town Explores A Book 2025 book choice is Gideon Mantell’s scientific paper naming the Iguanodon in 1825. Gideon Mantell presented this paper at the Royal Society.

Gideon Mantell’s research

The Natural History Museum collection includes some of the teeth that Gideon and Mary Ann Mantell found that led Gideon to name the dinosaur Iguanodon in his paper presented at

Phil Hadland is a palaeobiologist and local expert on geology and palaeontology heritage in the Hastings area. He is the festival’s co-planner, working with the ATEAB Funds team.


Phil is a

The small unincorporated community team behind the A Town Explores A Book festival are a lively and imaginative team of dedicated volunteers who make the book choice.

The team aim to

Marking the bicentenary of the naming of the Iguanodon, the Royal Society grants permission for an A Town Explores A Book 2025 edition of palaeontologist Gideon Mantell’s paper in which

All young writers who entered the A Town Explores A Book 2024 Creative Writing Competition are commended for their lively, imaginative writing themed on trains. Our sparkling award event on

Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC’s Platform Panel Project at St Leonards Warrior Square Station raises awareness of local railway history.

Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC’s Platform Panel Project at St Leonards Warrior Square Station raises awareness of local railway history.

Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC’s Platform Panel Project at St Leonards Warrior Square Station raises awareness of local railway history.

The 2024 festival has now closed. Creative responses to E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children were originated by Bohemia Creative Quarter, Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, Four Courts Connect, Hastings and Bexhill Mencap’s

The festival opens Saturday 30th March 2024 in St Leonards-on-Sea with the Kings Road street party, the opening of the Platform Panel project at St Leonards Warrior Square station and

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre CIC have begun their automata-making workshops in schools as part of the 8 Ways to Connect festival schools engagement programme.

The A Town Explores A Book 2024 sketch assemblies are under way with the team’s musicians, Cai and Sam.

The team are eagerly awaiting news of funding for artists from Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities and heritage whom the festival are honoured to work with.

A Town Explores A Book is a reader-led festival. We are excited that #MakingItHappen funding has been granted through Hastings Voluntary Action for the Four Courts high rise neighbourhood to

The St Leonards-on-Sea’s community and festival visitors are exploring E. Nesbit’s I905 book and have a number of editions of “The Railway Children” to choose from. The festival book choice

Three trains sped core team members from St Leonards-on-Sea to the National Railway Museum at York and back for a research day in December.

The A Town Explores A Book ‘8 Ways to Connect’ schools engagement programme innovates PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) learning within literacy.

Hastings and Bexhill Mencap’s Active Arts service users plan to highlight key moments from The Railway Children in their festival pop-up museum adjacent to St Leonards Warrior Square Station

Our introductory school activity invites a whole school community to sketch as they listen to a member of the festival team announce the book choice and share core themes…

We are delighted to partner with Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in 2024 to offer automata-making workshops to primary school aged children as one of the ‘8 Ways to Connect’ schools engagement

The festival team is delighted to announce that Southeastern Communities Rail partnership CIC will become one of two major project partners in the 2024 festival exploring book choice The Railway

Discover which 12 young writers are prize winners this year, with competition judges Yasmin Aishah and Maya Coombs reading the shortlisted entries

We invited schools to create their own bunting designs inspired by this year’s book. Explore this animated showcase of pupils’ work…

Artists Ruby Colley and Hannah Collisson have been working with students at local secondary schools to write new songs on the theme of adventure

A Town Explores A Book runs throughout the Spring school holiday. Here is a round-up of family activities during the festival!

A Town Explores A Book festival centres the voices of those who have experienced barriers to accessing heritage literature in traditional educational settings

One of the school engagement projects this March has been a brush stroke exploration. Water colourist Susan Miller has been working with 200 school children exploring Mary Seacole’s adventures through