Children’s Book Festival 2011

FÉILE LEABHAR NA bPÁISTÍ 2011

Invites children and young people to EAT BOOKS during the month of October!

Children’s Books Festival 2011 is well underway, offering a tasty programme of Irish and international authors and illustrators during the entire month, designed to whet the appetite of young readers from toddlers to teens!

Activities are running in libraries, schools and arts centres throughout the month. With everything from readings by popular authors, to writing and illustration workshops, plus storytelling, quizzes and competitions – there are countless opportunities to enjoy books for every taste and palate!

This year’s programme includes a strong international flavour with authors Frank Cottrell Boyce (Millions) and William Hussey (The Witchfinder series), sharing their writing experiences at events nationwide. US author Tony DiTerlizzi (The Spiderwick Chronicles) already completed a very successful visit to Ireland, as did Tarzan author Andy Briggs. Ever popular, homegrown authors Sarah Webb (the Amy Green series), Judi Curtin (the Alice series) and Oisin McGann (The Wisdom of Dead Men) are joining forces to wow audiences at theatres, arts venues and libraries nationwide. Festival organisers Children’s Books Ireland are also delighted to announce that literary superstar Roddy Doyle will be making a one-off visit to Liberty Hall, Dublin to celebrate his new children’s title A Greyhound of a Girl.

Teen and young adult readers are very well catered for during this year’s festival. The man credited with creating young adult fiction, Melvin Burgess, will be at the Gutter Bookshop, Cow’s Lane on Tuesday 18th October from 6.30pm to launch his latest novel Kill All Enemies. Newcomer Ilsa J. Bick (Ashes) will be joining established Irish authors Peadar Ó Guilín (The Inferior, The Deserter) and Sarah Rees Brennan (Demon’s Lexicon Series) at the National Library of Ireland at 5.30pm on Friday 14th to discuss the emerging genre of dystopian fiction and its popularity amongst teen readers. All are welcome to these events, which like all festival events, are free of charge.

Also on the menu at libraries across Ireland are festival favourites such as Mary Arrigan (Esty’s Gold), the Fanzini Brother’s Comedy Circus Show, the National Print Museum workshops, Aubrey Flegg (Katie’s War, Wings over Delft), Celine Kiernan (The Moorehawke Trilogy) and Maeve Friel (Tiger Lily). They are joined by a raft of newly published talents, including Nita Fitzgerald (It’s Great Being Little), Paula Leyden (The Butterfly Heart) and Fionnuala MacCurtain (The Story of Thomas MacCurtain).

Long-standing festival partners Foras na Gaeilge, Poetry Ireland and the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency have again stepped in to help support the festival financially. CBI would like to recognise their continued support and celebrate the fact that these partners help maintain the festival as a truly national event.

2011 again sees the return of the incredibly popular O’Brien Press Cover Design Competition, which gives budding designers the opportunity to have their artwork featured on the cover of a professionally published book. To celebrate the fourth year of the O’Brien Press competition, Laureate na nÓg Siobhán Parkinson’s title Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows, a Witch (Maybe), first published in 1997, has been chosen for re-jacketing. The lucky winner will not only see their design gracing the shelves in their local library or bookshop, but will have their entire class invited to a glitzy awards ceremony and will win five sets of all Siobhán Parkinson’s O’Brien Press titles for their school! Aspiring writers also have the chance to enter a writing competition inspired by the festival poster, designed by acclaimed illustrator Niamh Sharkey (The Ravenous Beast, I’m a Happy Hugglewug).

As part of the Children’s Book Festival this October, Encyclopædia Britannica – the world-renowned online reference resource – is hosting two national competitions for students and library users aged 5 – 18. Irish learners will have the chance to win an exciting range of prizes for themselves and their schools by answering questions on the heritage of the Emerald Isle. The competition is located online at http://www.britannica.co.uk/press/2011-09-26.asp.

During this year’s festival, CBI will be asking children, parents, teachers, bookseller and librarians to nominate an Irish author or illustrator who they think deserves the title of Ireland’s second Laureate na nÓg. After two years as Laureate, May 2012 will see Siobhán Parkinson hand the title over to her successor. The unique honour will be awarded to an established and dynamic children’s writer or illustrator with an internationally recognized body of work for children. Further details can be found on the Laureate na nÓg website: http://www.childrenslaureate.ie.

With all this and much more happening during October, now is the time to start devouring some tasty books with the help of the 2011 Children’s Books Festival!

CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF SCHEDULED EVENTS NATIONWIDE

For further information contact:

Aoife Murray, CBI Programme Officer

Tel: +353 1 872 74 75

E-mail: aoife@childrensbooksireland.ie