Laureate na nÓg Niamh Sharkey is one of a number of writers taking part in this year’s Words on the Street – an evening of writing from other countries within the European Union. The event, which takes place at various venues on Wednesday 15th May, will feature 12 Irish writers reading from the work of 12 European writers in 12 individual venues.

Niamh will be reading extracts from Bartolomé, The Infanta’s Pet, written by Austrian writer Rachel Van Kooij and translated by Siobhán Parkinson, and published by Little Island, between 6.30pm and 9.15 at Loreto College on St. Stephen’s Green. Readings will take place for 15 minutes, at 15 minute intervals.

Words on the Street is a Dublin UNESCO City of Literature project in partnership with Alliance Francaise, British Council, Goethe-Institut, Instituto Cervantes, Italian Institute of Culture, embassies of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and the Romanian Cultural Institute and has been funded with support from the European Commission

One of the illustrations featured in Pictiúr

During March, Pictiúr will visit the Festival for Young Readers at the Palais Auersperg in Vienna, Austria, before moving on to the Bologna Book Fair, Europe’s most prestigious children’s book event. Then, in April, it will visit the European Parliament building in Brussels before moving to the Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe, Ireland’s cultural centre in Belgium. Pictiúr’s European tour is being funded by Culture Ireland as part of its Culture Connects International Culture Programme to celebrate Ireland’s Presidency of the EU.

In the Autumn, Pictiúr will begin its Irish Tour with visits to Draíocht Arts Centre in Blanchardstown and the Babaró Children’s Festival in Galway and before returning to Dublin to begin exhibiting at IMMA, Kilmainham, at the end of the year.

‘We are delighted to have the opportunity to tour the work of some of our finest illustrators, both internationally and within Ireland,’ said Laureate na nÓg, Niamh Sharkey. ‘Showcasing these artists will allow us to demonstrate the range, scope and skill of Irish illustrators and will help to grow our reputation both at home and abroad.’

Pictiúr features the work of 21 children’s book illustrators. Illustrators include P.J. Lynch, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Olivia Golden, Alan Clarke, Steven Simpson and Andrew Whitson. The exhibition will comprise 42 art pieces and will include illustrations from books written in English and Irish.

We shall be creating a special web-page for the full Pictiúr catalogue shortly.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

Featured Illustrators:

Lily Bernard              Adrienne Geoghegan            Anita Jeram         Donough O’Malley
Alan Clarke                Olivia Golden                         Chris Judge          Niamh Sharkey
Michael Emberley    Chris Haughton                     P.J. Lynch            Steve Simpson
Tatyana Feeney         Paul Howard                          Oisín McGann      Kevin Waldron
Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick           Oliver Jeffers      Mary Murphy       Olwyn Whelan
Andrew Whitson

Pictiúr Itinerary:

AUSTRIA 14th -20th March 2013, Festival of Young Readers, Palais Auersperg, Vienna, Austria
The exhibition will be on show for the duration of the festival in central Vienna. This annual festival attracts more than 8,000 visitors (schools and families) each year.

ITALY 25th to 28th March 2013, Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Bologna Italy.
The Bologna fair, which celebrates 50 years in 2013, is the most significant international trade fair for children’s books and it attracts over 1200 exhibitors coming from 66 countries and 5000 international professional trade representatives. As such, it offers a unique platform for Irish illustration.

BRUSSELS 9th April – 12th April 2013, European Parliament Building

BELGIUM 28th April – 21st May 2013, The Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe
The exhibition will be on show for three weeks in the Leuven Institute.

Irish Tour Autumn 2013

Draoícht, Blanchardstown – 5th September – 5th October 2013
Babaró Festival, Galway Arts Centre – 13th – 31st October 2013
IMMA, Kilmainham, Dublin – December 2013

SWAPPING STORIES – IRISH AND AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE LAUREATES IN CONVERSATION

1.10pm, Wednesday 3rd April, Seminar Room, National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.
Admission Free. Facilitated by Dr. Pádraic Whyte.

Join Ireland’s Laureate na nÓg, Niamh Sharkey, and Australia’s Children’s Laureates, Alison Lester and Boori Monty Pryor, for a fascinating glimpse into the world of children’s literature in Ireland and Australia as they discuss latest developments in the sector and compare notes on their roles as children’s literature laureates. The conversation will be facilitated by Dr. Pádraic Whyte, TCD.

This event is free, and open to all, but booking is advised. Reserve your space by emailing info@childrenslaureate.ie.

Boori Monty Pryor and Alison Lester - Australia's Children's Laureates

Author Patricia Forde (who is published by FutaFata here and Egmont in the UK) was there to greet LIL and spent an hour, along with LIL tour manager Tom Donegan, talking to 6th class about the collection of books in the International Library, and then broadening out to a discussion of writing in different languages with readings in Irish and English.
Next stop for LIL will be a visit to the Aran Island of Inis Mór at the end of February!

Patricia Forde, Mary Esther and Judy Commins with LIL in the Scoil Ide Library

Patricia Forde talks to Sixth Class, Scoil Ide, Salthhill, Galway

Croghan N.S., Boyle, Co. Roscommon
Scoil Ide,  Ard na Mara, Salthill, Galway
Scoil Eoin Pól 2, Eoghanacht, Inis Mór, Co. na Gaillimhe
Kilmurray NS, Kilmurray, Six Mile Bridge, Co. Clare
Scoil Naomh Eric, Baile an Mhóraigh, Baile na nGall, Tralí, Co. na Chiarraí
St. Joseph’s Convent Primary School, Cahirsiveen, Co. Kerry.

LIL includes books from Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Norway and Pakistan, to mention just a few of the countries represented. There are also books from Ireland and the UK, in original language and in translation. Authors featured include Tomi Ungerer, Astrid Lindgren, Tove Janssen, Kitty Crowther, Eoin Colfer and Shaun Tan. Schools participating in the tour are also being given a handy activity pack.

LIL was an initiative of Ireland’s first Laureate na nÓg, Siobhán Parkinson. According to Siobhán, the idea of LIL is to give kids a glimpse into other countries and cultures through children’s books. Some of them are translated, so you can read a book originally from a different place; some are picturebooks, which can be ‘read’ even if you can’t understand the words; and some of them are in other languages. She hopes that children who are lucky enough to speak Polish or French or Latvian or German or Chinese or whatever language is spoken at home will get a chance to read a book in their own language and to show their classmates what their languages look like and what books from their family’s home country look like.

Once LIL’s current tour is over, it will be available for loan to schools and libraries all over Ireland.

For more information, contact info@childrenslaureate.ie

Photos from Croghan National School

Click the link to see the video here: http://vimeo.com/54890847

Following on from last year’s highly successful window put together by Irish illustrator P.J. Lynch, Niamh was installing her own design, a giant 8 foot x 4 foot mural based on her hugely popular Santasauras picture-book. Niamh was joined in the window by students from the Griffeen Valley Educate Together in Lucan who helped her put the final decorations, including lots of Christmas Stars, on the window.

“It is great fun working on the mural for Hodges Figgis’s,” said Niamh Sharkey. “The magic of Christmas really begins when the first shops reveal their Christmas Windows and I’m delighted to have had the chance to be part of the experience this year.”

Laureate Niamh Sharkey with her helpers, the children of Griffeen Valley Educate Together, in front of their Christmas Window at Hodges Figgis Dawson Street

Following on from last year’s highly successful window put together by Irish illustrator P.J. Lynch, Niamh will be installing her own design, a giant 8 ft x 4 ft mural based on her hugely popular Santasauras picture-book.

Niamh will be joined in the window by students from the Griffeen Valley Educate Together in Lucan who’ll help her put the final decorations, including lots of Christmas Stars, on the window.

Niamh at work on her Christmas Mural for Hodges Figgis Dawson Street