Fallen Star Stories

So that, as they say, is that for another year. It was five days of brilliant events and, maybe just a bit of madness. We played host to a grand total of 20 different class groups (and some of those were doubled up) and...are you sitting down?.... 560 children from local schools. Yes, 560 children! All of them were wonderful and brought such a marvellous excitement and energy to the events that, while I'm exhausted and a bit brain-dead, I'm sorry it's all over. I just need to take a moment to give my most heartfelt thank you's to the following.... Authors, storytellers and poets ; Patricia Forde, Ken Bruen, Kevin Whelan, Pete Mullineux, Ger Hanberry, Rab Swannock Fulton, Sarah Webb and Deirdre Sullivan... you were all amazing and I have a lot of photographic evidence to prove it! Add to that group please, Matthew Ziruk and Ronan Quinn, my colleagues and dear friends who stepped in to fill out the empty time slots. Brilliantly, I might add. The 560 school children and ...

Today was the final day of our World Book Day 2011 extravaganza in the shop, and today we played host to 126 school children attending the 4 event sessions of the day. The 5th and 6th classes from Claddagh National School were treated to events featuring the absolutely marvellous Sarah Webb (again), who talked about her life, becoming a writer, 'Amy Green' and various other important bits and pieces that the classes found both hugely informative and entertaining. Thanks, Sarah. You are indeed a star! And as if that weren't enough... last but certainly not least by a long shot.... the two 5th classes from Scoil Iognaid were completely mesmerised by the wonderful, wonderful Deirdre Sullivan. Deirdre gave them the inside story on writing and publishing her first (very successful) book, Prim Improper ; what is coming up next and her pet guinea pigs! And a big thanks to you, Deirdre. They all loved it... as did we, at Dubray Books. Sarah Webb talks about Amy Green ...an...

Well, it's Thursday, 3rd March and it is officially World Book Day . At Dubray Books, Galway, we had a fantastic day playing host to 114 school children and two fantastic guests.... storyteller, author and poet extraordinaire Rab Swannock Fulton who delighted the children of Mercy Primary School, senior infants and 1st and 2nd classes with his tale 'The Bus That Flew To The Moon' and some very silly re-writes, with the aid of the children, of Cinderella and Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. Also, the magnificent Sarah Webb was on hand to talk to the 4th class of Gael Scoil Dehide from Oranmore and the 5th/6th class from Mercy Primary about how she became a writer (and all the things she wanted to do before), the journey to get published and, well, life in general,; all of which sparked some very lively and interesting discussions. Sarah signing flyers and greeting her fans... Now for my apology.... for some reason unknown to all of mankind (apart from the 'ghost in the ma...

Just a quick reminder about World Book Day . On Thursday, the 3rd of March, we will be celebrating the 14th annual World Book Day , with events happening all over the UK and Ireland. Always exciting! Here's the link to World Book Day Ireland's page, for those of you who want more information on what World Book Day is all about. From there, you can access all the other information on World Book Day worldwide. http://www.worldbookday.com/world_book_day_in_ireland.asp I can assure anyone who's wondering, during the entire week (Monday, 28th February - Friday, 4th March), the typical madness and joy will be taking place in Dubray Books, Galway. To show you what I mean, here are a few photos from last year (2010), featuring some of our guest authors and some local school children. Patricia Forde enchants.... Judi Curtin delights.... Rab Swannock Fulton entertains... Ken Bruen enthralls.... Ger Hanberry captivates....

I apologise for being remiss, but I should have mentioned our readers. In the past, we have had wonderful authors and storytellers come share their talents with the children (and us!).... Judi Curtin, Roisin Meaney, Eddie Lenihan, Ken Bruen, Patricia Forde.... so many generous people, it would take a full blog page to name them all. This year, the marvellous Sarah Webb has already volunteered and I'm so excited that she'll be able to join us! A BIG thank you to Sarah! And a BIG thank you, as well, to Rab Swannock Fulton, storyteller extraordinaire, who will be returning to us to share more of his spooky tales! I couldn't do it without you!

Yes, I know it's January, and personally, the cobwebs are not out of my head yet. But, it is time for me to begin the preparations for World Book Day. For those of you who don't remember, World Book Day (this year on Thursday, 3rd March) is the day when we celebrate books and reading. For my part, the entire in my children's section is dedicated to bringing in school classes from all around Galway for a series of readings, workshops, quizzes, storytellers.... well ,you get the picture. For a full week (this year, again, Monday February 28th through Friday 4th March inclusive.) Last year (thanks to the efforts of the dedicated staff of Dubray Books in Galway), we played host to about 700 school children throughout the week, and it was BRILLIANT! Part of the celebration involves children receiving, through their schools, a World Book Day book token (value of 1.50 euro) with which they can purchase one of the specially printed World Book Day books. The World Book Day tokens ...