The Phoenix comic and the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (LICAF) are delighted to announce the Phoenix Fest 2025 guests heading to Bowness-on-Windermere during this year’s Festival weekend, including Jess Bradley, Neil Cameron and Jamie Smart.
The creators are heading to heart of the Lake District this autumn as part of an exciting new partnership, as, for the first time ever, Phoenix Fest – the UK’s best-loved children’s comics festival – will join LICAF for a weekend of storytelling, creativity, and comic fun in Bowness-on-Windermere, from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th September 2025.
Tickets for Phoenix Fest events will be sold separately from LICAF’s general Festival Pass, and will go on sale at 8.00pm on Tuesday 1st July 2025.
Presented by The Phoenix comic, and organised by LICAF, Phoenix Fest 2025 will host a special line-up of live events designed especially for children and families. These unique events will feature a wide range of creators from The Phoenix bringing the comics, characters, and stories to life through interactive shows, drawing workshops, comic signings and general Phoenixyness!
Held annually, Phoenix Fest has become a sell-out celebration of children’s comics and children’s comic creators. Guests this year include Jamie Smart, creator of the best-selling Bunny vs Monkey and Looshkin; Neill Cameron, creator of Mega Robo Bros, Donut Squad and How to Make Awesome Comics; James Turner, artist on Clatters & Bump and writer of Toby and the Pixies and Star Cat; Jess Bradley, the artist and writer of Squid Bits and Ravi and Jess; Sam Davies, the writer and artist of Tooth and Claw Academy for Magical Creatures; Zak Simmonds-Hurn, the artist of Legacy, Dragon Guard and Know Your Monsters; Abby Bulmer, the artist behind Doggo, Earth Protection Force and more; Emily Kimbell, the artist and co-writer behind Thingamajigs; Rob Deas, the writer and artist of Fawn and Troy Trailblazer; Marc Jackson, the writer and artist behind Duck Dare; Jonathan Barrett, the writer of Fates & Fortunesand Doggo; Joe Brady, the writer of The Island with No Name, Susie + Brad, Tosh's Island and No Country (Book Two is called No Refuge); Tom Fickling, the writer of Legacy; Will Fickling, writer of The Pack, Dragon Guard, Doggo and Legacy; Ned Page, writer of Doggo; plus writer Daniel Kimbell, and character artist Siobhan McKenna.
Partnering with LICAF to bring the festival to the Lakes opens up an exciting new chapter for the festival – giving young comics fans in the North of England the chance to take part in a brilliant, immersive comics experience that’s previously been too far away for many to attend.
“We’re thrilled by the range of Phoenix comic guests heading to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival this year for this special Phoenix comic tie-in event, says LICAF director Julie Tait. “This further boosts our ongoing work promoting comics among younger readers, alongside the regular Festival.”
• Tickets for the Phoenix Fest sessions will go on sale at 8.00pm on Tuesday July 1st 2025
Further details, including the full line-up and event updates will be available via www.comicartfestival.com and thephoenixcomic.co.uk/phoenix-fest
• Festival Passes for the rest of LICAF 2025 are available now
Meet The Phoenix Fest Guests
Jamie is the artist and writer of the #1 best-selling series Bunny vs Monkey, which has sold over 2 million books. He is also the creator of Looshkin, Megalomaniacs, Flember and Battle Suit Bea. Jamie Smart was named Illustrator of the Year at the British Book Awards 2024 and won Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year for Bunny vs Monkey: Multiverse Mix-up. His latest comic, Hero Slam, has just debuted in The Phoenix comic.
Jonathan Barrett
Jonathan is a regular contributor of the Phoenix, including the author of Fates & Fortunes. He lives in Oxford and enjoys carving intricate, beautiful pumpkins.
Joe Brady
Joe is the writer of The Island with No Name, Susie + Brad, Tosh’s Island and No Country (Book Two is called No Refuge). He is Deputy Editor of The Phoenix and has also written Izzy Newton: Kid Billionaire and Claire: Justice Ninja.
Jess is the illustrator and writer of Squid Bits and Ravi and Jess, which appear weekly in The Phoenix comic. Jess works from her home studio and likes drawing in her sketchbooks, reading, playing video games and watching cartoons with her son.
Abby is the artist behind Doggo, Earth Protection Force, and Claire: Justice Ninja, all of which have appeared in The Phoenix. Abby works as a freelance cartoonist and is based in Manchester. She works across comics, book illustration and animation.
Neill is a comics writer and illustrator and creator of the best-selling Donut Squad and the award-winning Mega Robo Bros graphic novel series. He is also the author/illustrator of the popular middle-grade novels Freddy vs School, Freddy and the New Kid and Freddy the Superstar. He is a frequent contributor to the UK weekly children’s comic The Phoenix.
Sam is a writer and illustrator based in Oxford, UK She is the creator of Tooth and Claw Acadamy for Magical Creatures, which appears frequently in The Phoenix Comic. Sam is also well-known online for Stutterhug, an ongoing collection of short silent comics for soft creatures of all ages, and her graphic novel series Hex Vet.
Rob is the creator of Fawn and Legends of Olympus which appear in The Phoenix comic. He is an award-winning UK comic artist with over 18 years’ experience in the UK comic industry. Rob is also the primary artist and series editor for the weekly drawing tutorial series The Phoenix Comic Club and the artist for The Valhalla Protocol.
Tom Fickling
Tom is the writer of Legacy.
Will Fickling
Will is the writer of The Pack, Dragon Guard, Doggo and Legacy
Zak is an artist, best known for his work on Legacy, Dragon Guard and Know Your Monsters, all of which appear in The Phoenix. Zak is also the illustrator behind the Phoenix Fest mascot, Ember.
Marc is a cartoonist based on Macclesfield and the founder/director of Macc-Pow! Comics festival, now in its 10th year. He is the creator of many comics, including Duck Dare and Donald Dogsbody in The Phoenix.
Daniel Kimbell
Daniel is the writer of Thingamajigs, which appears regularly in The Phoenix Comic.
Emily is the artist and co-writer behind Thingamajigs which appears in The Phoenix comic. She began her career in animation as a background artist and designer on children’s TV shows and point-and-click adventure games. She now works in children’s books and comics.
Siobhan McKenna
Siobhan is the character artist behind the popular puzzle series Pandora in Puzzlevale. She works as a creator and editor at The Phoenix comic. Outside of The Phoenix she illustrates and creates cute merch. She also has a dog called Gizmo.
Ned Page
Ned is writer of Doggo.
James is the writer and artist of Clatters & Bump and the writer of Toby and the Pixies, and Star Cat. All of which appear in The Phoenix Comic. James is an award-winning cartoonist, who has 15 years of experience working in TV and film.
• Tickets for the Phoenix Fest sessions will go on sale at 8.00pm on Tuesday July 1st 2025
Further details, including the full line-up and event updates will be available via www.comicartfestival.com and thephoenixcomic.co.uk/phoenix-fest
• Festival Passes for the rest of LICAF 2025 are available now
