Professional storyteller Martin Maudsley, who is based in Bridport, will be at the Electric Palace on the last day of the festival, on Saturday 9 November at 9.30am.

Martin has worked alongside The Lost Words Dorset campaign to provide free copies of the spellbinding book by author Rob MacFarlane and illustrator Jackie Morris into local schools, hospices and community groups. He has also been running creative storytelling workshops for primary school classes and memory cafes with funding from the Stepping into Nature programme in Dorset.

For the last year, Martin has also been researching and retelling folktales and local legends featuring the same nature words and themes celebrated in the book. The Lost Stories, animated with music and participation, include magical tales such as who is King of the Birds, how Raven brought the ride to the sea and why brambles have thorns.

For this special, one-off performance at the festival, he will be bringing the Lost Stories to life on stage alongside large-screen projections of the vibrant and vivid illustrations from the Lost Words book.

Martin said: “I’m thrilled that Bridport Literary Festival is highlighting The Lost Words as an important book that champions the value of the natural world and the power of language for children. I’m really looking forward to weaving my own words around the spell of magical pictures that Jackie Morris has conjured onto the pages of the book.”