On Saturday the 16th and Sunday 17th August, Carrick on Shannon will become host to the Wild Words Children’s Literature Festival, a three-day celebration of books and writing for children and young people aged 4-18. The programme will feature renowned authors including Sheena Wilkinson, Erika McGann, Gerry Boland, Deirdre Sullivan, Ger Siggins, Claire Hennessey and David Donohue as well as illustrator Adrienne Geoghegan, poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice and storytellers Eddie Lenihan and Niall De Burca.
Over the weekend, children can take part in a writing workshops with
Claire Hennessey, who herself was published at 14, design their own superhero
(or villain!) in the Superhero Academy with Grainne Clear, enjoy readings with
Sheena Wilkinson, author of Grounded
and Too Many Ponies and Deirdre
Sullivan author of the Primrose Leary Diaries (Prim Improper, Improper Order and Prim Imperfect). They can learn
to spell backwards with David Donohue, author of Walter Speazlebud and let
their imaginations run wild and create all sorts of terrifying creatures when
Adrienne Geoghegan will be leading a Monster Doodle on Sunday 16th. Gerry
Boland will share his own favourite childhood books, Children's Books Ireland's
Book Doctors will be on handing out prescriptions for good reads and there will
be a literary treasure hunt to get the whole family into detective mode.
School stories have always been a towering presence in children's books
from JK Rowling's Harry Potter, Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers, Roald Dahl's
autobiographical Boy to Ellinor M Brent Dyar's Chalet School. Erika McGann,
Sheena Wilkinson and Ger Siggins are among the Irish authors who are adding to
this canon and audiences at Wild Words will have a chance to hear them talk
about the highs and lows of school both real and imaginary in the School Days
panel chaired by Grainne Clear.
Wild Words has two storytelling events over the weekend. Niall de Burca
has developed a special session to coincide with the current visual art
exhibition at the Dock, John Brady's Travelling,
Drawing. The artist's travel sketchbooks will form the backdrop against
which Ni“Wild Words Children's Literature Festival kicks off in Leitrim”
all will cast his own brand of storytelling magic. For those looking
for a proper scare, Eddie Lenihan's stories are certainly not for the
fainthearted but promise to beguile and entertain.
Wild Words will also host a special talk looking at fairytales and how
they continue to relate to new generations of children and what makes them so
important. Last April, IBBY Ireland
produced, Shoes, Ducks and Maids of the Sea which features Irish retellings of
Hans Christian Andersen stories and two of the authors, Claire Hennessey and
Deirdre Sullivan will be sharing their versions.
As part of the festival, submissions for new writing were requested from
young authors aged 14-18 for publication in the second Wild Words anthology.
The resulting publication, featuring 27 pieces of extraordinary work, will be
launched on Saturday 16th by Elaina Ryan, Director of Children’s Books
Ireland. All of the writers have been invited to take part in three days of
master classes with Claire ahennessey, Deirdre Sulluvan and Erika McGann during
the festival. For younger writers, Gerry Boland will be running writing workshops
in Carrick on Shannon library in the lead up to the festival.
