Mr Dilly Meets – Free Virtual Author Events for Primary Schools
Inspiring Reading, Writing, and Creativity in Classrooms Nationwide
Over 600,000 primary school children in more than 7,000 schools have already experienced the magic of Mr Dilly Meets — fun, free, and inspirational live virtual author visits beamed straight into classrooms across the UK.
These exciting online events bring the wonderful world of children’s books, authors, poets, and illustrators to life through lively chat, engaging read-alouds, draw-alongs, and more. Each live stream event celebrates creativity in a colourful, energetic way that encourages reading for pleasure, inspires curiosity, and supports literacy learning — with a huge burst of laughter and fun along the way.
All events stream via the Mr Dilly website, embedded via YouTube — no downloads, sign-ins, or special software required.
For over four years, Mr Dilly Meets has been an integral part of many schools’ reading and literacy programmes, making Mr Dilly Meets a perfect partner in the nationwide drive to encourage and celebrate reading through the National Year of Reading 2026 and beyond.
With a packed calendar of new events each term, Mr Dilly Meets continues to grow as one of the the UK’s leading free virtual author programme for schools.
Why Schools Love Mr Dilly Meets
FREE to join – accessible for all schools, no matter the budget
Live interaction with celebrated children’s authors, poets, and illustrators
Inspires reading for pleasure and supports creative writing in the classroom
Curriculum-linked – from literacy to cross-curricular themes like myths, STEM, and the environment
Flexible and easy to access – join live from your classroom with a single link
Memorable experiences – lively, funny, and packed with ideas children remember long after the session
Replay available – most events include replay access for flexible classroom use
🎥 Want to catch up on past Mr Dilly Meets? See the full archive on our Past Events page (updating - coming soon)— watch author live streams anytime, on demand.
Upcoming Mr Dilly Meets – Free, Fun & Inspirational Virtual Author Visits for Primary School
Mr Dilly Meets: The Great Summer Story Show | KS2 & Lower KS3
Tuesday 23 June • 11:00am BST
KS2–Lower KS3 • FREE
Watch live or on-demand (7-day replay)
Run time: approx. 1 hour 20 mins
Join Mr Dilly for The Great Summer Story Show — a fun, fast-moving end-of-term livestream packed with brilliant books, big imagination and plenty of story inspiration.
From Victorian time travel and reluctant vampires to magic wishes, midsummer mysteries, enchanted woods and summer-camp drama, this special event celebrates the many different kinds of stories children might want to dive into next.
With lively author chats, short readings, quick-fire story moments and creative prompts, it’s a great way to inspire reading for pleasure before the summer holidays.
Featuring
⏳ Josh Lacey — Time Travel Twins: The Victorian Revolution
A fast-paced adventure as twins Scarlett and Thomas travel back to Victorian London.
🧛 Louise Austin — Alex Abbott is Undead
A fang-tastically funny diary-style adventure about an ordinary kid accidentally turned into a vampire.
✨ Clemency Brown — Wishbound
A magical adventure about friendship, freedom and a world where wishes are bought and sold.
🕵️ Lucy Strange — Murder on a Midsummer Night
A cosy midsummer mystery full of secrets, poison, puzzles and young detectives.
🌳 Andy Shepherd — The Wood Where Stories Sing
A magical, nature-filled adventure full of wonder, wildness and imagination.
📓 Maddie Frost — Really Rubie: A Diary
A laugh-out-loud summer-camp story packed with friendship, drama and doodles.
What to Expect
• Live author interviews and short readings
• A summer mix of mystery, magic, comedy, adventure and friendship
• Quick-fire author moments and story games
• Creative prompts pupils can take back into their own writing
• Plenty of ideas to inspire summer reading
Why Take Part?
✔ Perfect end-of-term reading inspiration
✔ Encourages reading for pleasure before the summer holidays
✔ Introduces pupils to a wide range of genres and story styles
✔ Great for confident and reluctant readers alike
✔ Helps children discover what kind of stories they might enjoy next
Mr Dilly Meets: Gill Sims: Lila Mackay Live! | KS3
Opens Monday 6 July • 9:00am BST
KS3 • FREE
Watch anytime on-demand until Friday 17 July • 3:00pm BST
Run time: approx. 50 mins
Join Mr Dilly and Sunday Times bestselling author Gill Sims for Lila Mackay Live! A funny, honest and relatable on-demand author event for KS3 pupils.
Best known for her bestselling Why Mummy books, Gill is now writing diary-style stories for young teen readers — packed with friendship, family, crushes, embarrassment, misunderstandings and the huge drama of feeling completely misunderstood.
This special stream is ideal for schools looking for an entertaining end-of-term event that encourages reading for pleasure, sparks discussion and explores how writers turn everyday teenage life into funny, believable fiction.
Featuring Gill taking about…
📚 Lila Mackay is Very Misunderstood
Fourteen-year-old Emily discovers her mum’s old diary and meets Lila Mackay — a nineties teenager who was also very misunderstood.
📚 Lila Mackay Finds Life Very Unfair
Emily faces heartbreak, friendship fallouts and more family drama, while Lila’s old diaries reveal that teenage life has always been messy, emotional and full of misunderstandings.
What to Expect
• Author interview with Gill Sims
• Short readings from the Lila Mackay books
• Pupil questions answered
• Then vs Now — teenage life in the 1990s compared with life today
• Cringe or Catastrophe? — awkward friendship, family and school-life scenarios
• Diary Doodle Challenge — a quick creative prompt inspired by the books
Why Take Part?
✔ Encourages reading for pleasure at KS3
✔ Great for fans of funny, diary-style fiction
✔ Supports creative writing through diary voice and character perspective
✔ Opens up discussion around friendship, family, feelings and growing up
✔ Flexible on-demand access for busy end-of-term timetables