The Children’s Books Festival 2011 will offer a tasty programme of Irish and international authors and illustrators during the month of October, designed to whet the appetite of young readers of all ages.
Activities will be running in libraries, schools and arts centres throughout the month. This year’s programme includes a strong international flavour, with authors such as Tony DiTerlizzi (The Spiderwick Chronicles) and Andy Briggs (Tarzan) sharing their writing experiences at events nationwide.
Meanwhile, homegrown authors Derek Landy (Skull-duggery Pleasant), Sarah Webb (Amy Green), Judi Curtin (Alice) and Oisin McGann (The Wisdom of Dead Men) will 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 book A Greyhound of a Girl.
This year will see the return of the 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 – namely Laureate na nÓg Siobhán Parkinson’s Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows and a Witch (Maybe).
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.
Details of this and other competitions are available on the official website at www.childrensbooksireland.ie
During the festival, CBI will also ask children, parents, teachers, booksellers and librarians to nominate an Irish author or illustrator for tthe title of Ireland’s second Laureate na nÓg. Further details can be found on the Laureate na nÓg website at www.childrenslaureate.ie.
