National Storytelling Week 2026 concluded yesterday (8th February 2026), but the power of a strong narrative will always be important — and that’s why Candy Jar Books is giving away a free downloadable PDF, with numerous short stories and sample book chapters in!
Organised by the Society for Storytelling, National Storytelling Week ran from 31st January to 8th February, so as good an excuse as any to give away some great stories.
The PDF includes two stories that will be of particular interest to Doctor Who fans: the very first Lucy Wilson story by Sue Hampton, as originally published in The HAVOC Files 2 and starring the Brigadier’s granddaughter; and House of Giants, a Lethbridge-Stewart short story by Rick Cross, inspired by the William Hartnell era classic, Planet of Giants!
The free collection also includes an excerpt from The Phoenix and the Carpet by E. Nesbit, the much-loved sequel to Five Children and It, which features the mischievous Psammead; and a taste of the brand-new novel, Sissy Snagertooth and Phylis, a chaotic adventure that’s already earning rave praise. The book has been endorsed by Francesca Simon, author of Horrid Henry, who describes it as, “A madcap adventure in the spirit of a Beano comic, featuring the worst behaved dog since Gnasher.”
To download, simply click here, or paste the following URL into another tab of your browser: https://mcusercontent.com/f9de66b2dd0eadb2221a127e6/files/5d06a907-39d4-33ed-7ff8-51c08628b787/National_Storytelling.pdf
Candy Jar has also given an update about When I Say Run, Run!: The Patrick Troughton Years, an in-depth look behind-the-scenes of the Second Doctor era. Shaun Russell has edited the first half of the book, and it’s now being proofed. The publisher is also be printing the first page for signing by the author and artist today (Monday 9th February). Once signed, it will be inserted into the book during the binding process. Author, Tom Dexter is fine-tuning the final sections and plans to have them finished very soon, while Shaun works through the photos and editing the next section of the book over this week.
When I Say Run, Run!: The Patrick Troughton Years is available to pre-order now.
