If you work with young people and you believe that poetry and reading have the power to transform lives, we want to hear from you. Laureate na nÓg Sarah Crossan’s #WeAreThePoets project is now accepting applications. If you want to take part, or have a great idea you think we can help you realise, please watch the video and .
On 17 May 2018, Sarah Crossan was named by President Michael D. Higgins as Ireland’s fifth Laureate na nÓg at the Arts Council in Dublin. Sarah is a poet and novelist, who writes for teenagers and young adults. It was a fantastic day. We caught up with old friends and made some new ones too. Thank you to the .
What a ball we had at Dublin Book Festival 2017! It was our biggest Big Picture yet, we completed three giant picture walls over three days with lots of hard work and inspiration from some of Ireland’s best and most loved children’s book illustrators. So a huge thank you to Niamh Sharkey, Chris Judge, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, Alan Clarke and .
On Friday 20 October we began our childrens’ workshops with the fantastic Fighting Words in Dublin. The children wrote and illustrated the first chapter of a story called “The Search”. It’s got nuns and runaways, and it’s a real page turner. Chapters Two, Three and Four will be completed by children at Fighting Words workshops in Wicklow, Cork and .
Last month the Australian Children’s Laureate Leigh Hobbs visited Ireland. PJ and Leigh met at the Bologna Book Fair in April and really hit it off. He invited Leigh to visit Ireland and take part in a series of events celebrating children’s picture books. Together they held a morning of workshops at Ballyholme Primary School in Bangor Co. Down, .
THE BIG PICTURE PROJECT 2017-2018 EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR PROJECTS / EVENTS WITH PJ LYNCH, LAUREATE NA NÓG – Submission deadline: Friday 16th June 2017 In the coming weeks, we are inviting individuals and organisations to submit proposals for projects involving Laureate na nÓg PJ Lynch. As Laureate, PJ is focussing on a small number of themes and projects, .
This is the first installment of a recent interview Laureate na nÓg PJ Lynch did with fellow Belfast illustrator and children’s book author Oliver Jeffers. They talk about growing up in Northern Ireland and Oliver’s influences.
For the second year running Children’s Books Ireland and Laureate na nÓg will bring all the wonder, magic and fun of children’s books to the Mindfield arena at Electric Picnic. Laureate na nÓg PJ Lynch will appear in the Literary Tent along with some high profile author and illustrator friends on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th of September, alongside .
As part of his programme as Laureate na nÓg, PJ Lynch has begun filming a series of podcasts, called The Big Picture, where he discusses children’s books in general, and children’s book illustration in particular. In the first two episodes, PJ demonstrates various approaches to drawing using charcoal and discusses how he illustrated the Laureate anthology, Once upon a .