Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey has lent her support to a new programme that aims to encourage parents and grandparents to spend more time reading with their children and grandchildren. The programme, Read Together, is an initiative of the Bord Gais Energy Book Club and is run in association with the public library service.

The Bord Gáis Energy ReadTogether fun starts in Tallaght South County library, Friday, 22nd June with Gerry Boland and illustrator extraordinaire Àine McGuiness. Additional events include Blanchardstown library (30th June), Ringsend Library (7th July) and Douglas library, Cork (14th July). To find out what’s happening in each library, log onto

bordgaisenergybookclub.ie/readtogether.

To find out what each library event has to offer or download any of the ReadTogether packs, posters and tips for parents visit www. bordgaisenergybookclub.ie/readtogether.

Niamh Sharkey at the launch of the Bord Gais Energy Book Club Read Together programme

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey had her first public event in Belfast on Saturday with a guest appearance at the newly opened Easons store on Donegall Place for the Belfast Book Festival. Niamh read from I’m a Happy Hugglewug, and kept her young admirers busy learning how to draw their own monsters.

Niamh Sharkey shows young readers how to create their own monsters.

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey will be in Belfast this Bloomsday for the Belfast Book Festival. She’ll be appearing at 3.30pm in Easons, Donegall Place, and promises to get everyone involved in a monster doodle. You can get more information here: https://crescentarts.ticketsolve.com/shows/873482573/events

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey is one of a number of Irish illustrators and animators mentioned in a feature on Irish animation appearing in the prestigious US online journal, the Huffington Post. The article discusses the focus on Ireland at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival and mentions the Brown Bag film production for Disney of Niamh’s The Happy Hugglewugs. You can read the article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maura-kelly/irish-animation-industry-international-_b_1565063.html?ref=tw

Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey is travelling to Cologne, Germany, today at the start of a two-week celebration of Irish illustration and Children’s Literature. Niamh, who is travelling with former laureate Siobhán Parkinson, will join other Irish writers and illustrators at the event. On 2nd of June, there will be opening of an exhibition of Irish illustrators, which will feature Niamh’s artwork along with fellow illustrators P.J. Lynch and Marie Louise Fitzpatrick.

After 6 days in Cologne, Niamh will travel to Annecy in France for the Annecy Animation Festival where the spotlight will be on Irish animation. So it will be a busy week for the Laureate.