Real-life Thomas the Tank Engine
Younger readers are in for a treat today when Laureate na nÓg Eoin Colfer brings five storytellers and 300 schoolchildren on a “magical steam train journey” along the north Dublin coast. The event takes place on World Book Day, March 5th, as part of the Laureate na nÓg’s Once Upon A Place programme for younger readers. The series aims to spark imaginations by bringing stories to children in extraordinary and memorable settings, allowing the magic of books to come to life.
The initiative is a collaboration between Fingal County Council Libraries, Children’s Books Ireland, Irish Rail and the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. Readers from ten Fingal primary schools will join the Laureate and his storytellers – Debbie Thomas, Oisín McGann, Nicola Pierce, Rod Smith and Seosamh O’Maolalaí – at Dublin Connolly on Thursday morning and travel to Drogheda and back with readings along the route.
As a keepsake, each child who takes part will receive a souvenir train ticket from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, who are providing the steam train. They will also get a copy of Warp by Eoin Colfer. David Franks, chief executive of Iarnród Éireann, said the company is delighted to be involved in the iniative: “There is a real magic in railway journeys and what is more magical than mixing a steam trip along the Dublin coast with wonderful storytelling?”
Competitions and awards
A national essay competition has been launched by RTÉ2, in association with Yellow Asylum Films. The competition aims to present "new visions of the future" and will be broadcast as a three-part series on RTÉ2 and online. The organisers are looking for essays with creative ideas about how to shape the future for the public good: "The context for these essays is one of global turmoil. Shared values and public good seem increasingly devalued. These essays could focus on political or social issues, or on ethical or philosophical considerations. Perhaps a unique combination of all of these. While the brief is open-ended, radical and thought-provoking visions will be especially encouraged." The deadline for entering is Monday, March 16th. More information at http://2116vision.ie/.
Five of the six authors shortlisted for this year’s Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award are women. The shortlist, announced earlier this week, also includes a writer who has yet to publish her first book. The 28-year-old British author Rebecca F John has been nominated for her story The Glove Maker’s Numbers. The other shortlisted candidates are Yiyun Li (A Sheltered Woman), Elizabeth McCracken (Hungry), Paula Morris (False River), Scott O’Connor (Interstellar Space) and the Canadian writer Madeleine Thien for her story The Wedding Cake. The winner will receive £30,000, the world’s richest prize for a single short story. Irish author Kevin Barry won the award in 2012 for his story Beer Trip to Llandudno. The five other shortlisted writers will each receive £1,000. The winner will be announced at a gala dinner at Stationers’ Hall in London on Friday, April 24th.
The Irish feature film An Bronntanas (The Gift) has won the Jury's Special Award at the 2015 Boston Irish Film Festival. Directed by Tom Collins, the film is a contemporary thriller set against a Connemara backdrop. When a local rescuing crew finds a dead woman and millions of euro worth of drugs in a boat, they must decide whether to come clean or use the haul to save their struggling village. “We were very proud of the success of the series when it was broadcast recently on TG4,” says producer Ciarán Ó Cofaigh, “but it’s become apparent that the film version has its own legs. This award and the film’s selection for other festivals will hopefully bring it and the Irish language to an international audience.”
The debut novelist Martine Madden has won the Best New Irish Writer award for her novel Anyush at this year's Limerick Literary Festival. The award, which was open to the public, was presented to Madden by RTE's Sean Rocks at the festival's closing ceremony on February 22nd. Anyush, a love story that takes place during the Armenian Turkish conflict of 1915, received 86 per cent of the online vote. "I'm delighted to have won this award," said Madden. "There has been an extremely positive response to Anyush, in Ireland and abroad, so it means a lot to me that this was as a result of a public vote." Read the Irish Times review of the novel here.
Literary events and readings
Lilliput Press will host an evening of “lady-themed literature” on Friday, March 6th to mark International Women’s Day on March 8th. Readers include Rosita Sweetman, Mary Dorcey, Elaine Cosgrove, Sally Rooney, Nicole Flattery and Moira Brady. A donation of €5 will be asked for at the door in exchange for a nibble and a glass of wine or soft drink. Proceeds will go to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. The event, which is also BYO friendly, takes place at the publisher’s premises in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 from 7pm.
The English poet and biographer Matthew Hollis will be reading on Tuesday, March 10th, as part of UCC’s School of English spring reading series. Hollis is the author of Ground Water, which was shortlisted for the Guardian, Whitbread and Forward Prizes. He is also the editor of the First World War poet Edward Thomas’s Selected Poems and his biography of Thomas, Now all Roads Lead to France; the Last Years of Edward Thomas (2011) won the Costa Award and was named Sunday Times biography of the year. The reading takes place in the Learning Zone, UCC Library, at 6pm.
Dubray Books will carry signed copies of a number of books in the run-up to Mother’s Day on Sunday, March 15th. Signed copies of The Daughterhood by Irish Times journalist Róisín Ingle and Natasha Fennell, Patricia Scanlan’s A Time for Friends, Clodagh’s Irish Kitchen by Irish chef Clodagh McKenna and Mary Berry’s Absolute Favourites will all be available at Dubray outlets. To help celebrate Mother’s Day and to mark the publication of The Daughterhood, Fennell and Ingle will host an evening to discuss “the good, the bad and the guilty” of mother-daughter relationships. The event takes place at The Westbury Hotel, Dublin 2 on Thursday, March 19th from 6.30pm. Tickets, which include a Prosecco reception, a three-course supper with wine and a signed copy of The Daughterhood, cost €55.
Contact sarah.gilmartin@gmail.com with your literary listings
