What a busy book month it’s been!
Great to have writer extraordinaire Eoin Colfer announced as the new Irish Children’s Laureate and author Marie Louise Fitzpatrick winning the CBI Children’s Book of the Year award.
Congrats to all!
National Famine Commemoration 11th May 2014
This year’s National Famine Commemoration will be held in Strokestown Park House (home of the National Irish Famine Museum) Roscommon on Sunday 11th May 2014 at 2.30pm.
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Jimmy Deenihan will attend the ceremony, which is open to the public. There will be music, readings and poetry and the laying of a wreath to remember the many victims of Ireland’s Great Famine.
There is a full programme of events which includes a Famine Walk and a Children’s Soup Kitchen Workshop on Saturday 10th May in Strokestown.
It is so important for all of us to remember the Great Irish Famine and the generations of people who died and emigrated during those tragic times.
Strokestown Park Irish Famine Museum
Competition for budding writers aged 8-16
HarperCollins Children’s Publishers UK are looking for a wonderful story by a young writer aged 8-16 for this very special book which will come out later this year. If you write the winning story you will be really lucky as world famous illustrator, Niamh Sharkey, will illustrate your story which will be the twelfth story in the book along with stories by eleven Irish authors including Eoin Colfer, Derek Landy, Roddy Doyle, Michael Scott, Judi Curtin and myself. The money raised from the book is going to Fighting Words. It is an amazing opportunity for any of you young writers! So grab the chance and get writing! Check out how to enter here.
Literary lunches and lambs…
What a busy few weeks! Although I’m up to my eyes researching and writing my new book, I’ve been travelling all over the place doing lovely book things. First a few days in London with my editors and publishers and my agent Caroline. Then back to Dublin and what a treat chatting to the wonderful ladies in ‘The Yacht Club’ Book Club about their favourite books at the packed out Writers Lunch held in The Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire! Donal Ryan, Catherine Dunne, Martina Devlin and Paul Carson were among the writers talking at the event.
I celebrated IBBY Book Day at Cabra Library with a group from a nearby school. I was also in beautiful Westport at Scoil Phadraig talking to their pupils with pupils from Holy Trinity N.S. joining in the fun. In the afternoon I went to Lankill School, a small rural school which is surrounded by stone walls, hawthorn bushes, sheep and their lambs where I talked to the boys and girls there about my books and writing.
Reading Champions
What a great turn out for the launch of Reading Champions in Pearse Street Library in Dublin.
Lots of writers, librarians, sports people and readers came along to promote books and reading. We all had to bring along a copy of our favourite book so I opted for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods. The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn, presented us with medals for promoting reading.
More information on this initiative is available here.
