Frank Cottrell-Boyce, screenwriter for film and TV, award-winning novelist and the current Children’s Laureate returns to The Children’s Media Conference (CMC) to deliver the Opening Keynote on 8 July 2025. Frank is the first keynote speaker to return to CMC, having spoken brilliantly in 2013 about his unique role as writer on the London Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony.
CMC has invited Frank in recognition of his unique contribution to the lives of children and young people, his passionate support of the people who make content for them and his razor-sharp observations on creativity, culture, content and the young. Exactly one year into his Laureateship Frank will reflect on the troubling times we live in and how the children’s media community can step up to the challenges and still shake things up for kids.
Greg Childs OBE, Editorial Director at CMC expressed his particular enthusiasm for Frank Cottrell-Boyce opening the Children’s Media Conference in 2025:
In times like these, when the children’s media business is full of uncertainties, and the world itself seems a colder, darker place, Frank’s clear-sighted humanity and passion for bringing the best to young people is what we need to inspire us to shake off the blues and keep going. Because the kids need us to.
Award-winning author and screenwriter, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, is the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024-2026. He is the author of Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth, The Astounding Broccoli Boy, Cosmic, Framed, and Millions, the last of which was a New York Times bestseller and was made into a movie by Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle.
His books have won, or been nominated for, numerous awards including the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award. Frank is also a screenwriter, having penned the scripts for a number of feature films including 24 Hour Party People and Millions as well as the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
CMC’s 2025 event will include a packed schedule of masterclasses and panels tackling the urgent issues facing the children’s media industry and young audiences. The conference’s sessions and networking events will take place at the Showroom Cinema, the City Hall and other venues in Sheffield.
After the conference delegates will have access to the entire event on video with complete coverage of all the topics explored in Sheffield, including research insights in “Understanding Kids”, the ever-popular practical strand “The Art of…”, “Inclusivity Now” panels which offer deep understanding of the routes to diversity and inclusion, and a new strand “Digital Discussions” with insights into how to work with the platforms where kids are consuming their content.
The range of speakers will be enhanced by a new influx of international guests including broadcasters, producers and distributors from Europe, Canada and the USA, who will also attend the CMC International Exchange one-day market on Tuesday 8 July – live again in Sheffield Town Hall.
Tickets for CMC 2025 are now on sale, with the Early Bird discount open to all until 6 May. Details on registration and delegate pass rates are available at www.thechildrensmediaconference.com
