Fallen Star Stories

The annual Childrens Books Ireland will take place on 23 and 24 September this year, at the Lighthouse Cinema in Dublin. Under the theme of Movement and Migration, we will gather for what must be one of the most exciting and adventurous events of the book world. And the visiting authors, illustrators and general childrens books people in the line-up promise to make the conference outstanding; Rob Biddulph, Kate DiCamillo, Sally Gardner, Lucy Cousins, Anna Carey, Cecelia Ahern....and so many more! It is going to be fantastic, so book your ticket now. (If you want some genuine insight into the conference, there is a great article in the latest issue of Inis magazine by a wonderful and passionate childrens' bookseller and friend, MaryBrigid Turner. Check it out!) All you need to know to book a place can be found at : http://childrensbooksireland.ie/cbi-annual-conference/

Yesterday, in a ceremony at Dublins' Smock Alley Theatre, Childrens Books Ireland announced the incredible winners for this years Book of the Year Awards. The overall winner for 2017 went to Chris Haughton for his picture book, Goodnight Everyone. This beautiful book combines Haughtons' cut-paper style illustration in a gradually darkening palette with simple text to journey through the forest as nighttime sets in and the animals go to sleep for the night. Subtle, quiet and calming, it is set to join such childrens' classic bedtime books as Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Everyone also won the Honour Prize for illustration. My favourite award in this annual event is the Childrens' Choice Award, as the book is selected by children all over Ireland involved in the CBI shadowing scheme. This year, the firm winner was Peadar  Ó Guilíns' The Call . An unnerving horror-fantasy,  this blend of Irish mythology and contemporary coming-of-age see the Sidhe returning to tak...

Yesterday, the British Book Awards 2017 announced their winners, with The Essex Serpent taking the top prize for fiction. However, I am concerned with childrens' books, as you all know. The prize in childrens' book of the year went to the amazing book, The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave . Hargraves' debut won out over JK Rowlings' script, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, as well as a host of other fine books and authors, such as David Walliams, Tom Fletcher and Nadiya Hussain, all of whom had high sales and many accolades. But The Girl of Ink and Stars truly shines. Not only has it won this award, but has already been honoured with the Waterstones childrens' book prize 2017 and is shortlisted for both the Branford Boase award and the Carnegie medal. An extraordinarily beautiful book package coupled with an unusual, refreshing and innovative story made The Girl of Ink and Stars one of my personal favourites last year. From the "What Are...

So, we bid farewell to the Cuirt International Literature Festival for another year...and it was fabulous. The childrens' authors/illustrators and storytellers that came for the Cuirt Labs were among the best and most interesting ever to share their knowledge, gifts and enthusiasm with so many of Galways' young people. With the assistance of my new companion at Charlie Byrnes Bookshop, Left Behind Koala (LB) here is a photo of what was on offer, and in fact still available for the young, and not-so-young, to read, enjoy and explore. (Obviously, LB had his favourites....but it was very hard for a koala to choose.) I want to add my personal thanks to all the authors, especially those who stopped in to say 'hi' and sign books. It was a pleasure to meet you all...and I can't wait to hear more from you! I had the distinct pleasure of introducing the YA authors panel on Saturday the 29th; Shirley-Anne McMillan (A Good Hiding), Claire Hennessy (Not...