Children's Books Ireland

18/05/2026

Presenting the winners of the KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards 2026 🏆

A huge thank you to everyone that joined us today both in person and online. It was one for the books📚.

Click the link below for a recap on todays event! ⬇️
https://childrensbooksireland.ie/news-events/winners-kpmg-childrens-books-ireland-awards-2026

Our thanks to lead sponsors, KPMG Ireland, for their support and continued commitment to the artists and young readers of Ireland. To The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon & Arts Council of Northern Ireland, our venue hosts International Literature Festival Dublin and of course our host with the most Rick O'Shea, thank you!

11/05/2026

We are delighted to officially announce Chris Haughton as the eighth Laureate na nÓg 👏.

Today, we are delighted to announce author and illustrator Chris Haughton as the new Laureate na nÓg 🎉

Chris was appointed to the position at a special ceremony at The Ark, Dublin attended by Uachtarán na hÉireann / President of Ireland Catherine Connolly.

Speaking as the new Laureate na nÓg, Chris said: "I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to be the eighth Laureate na nÓg. As a child I always loved drawing and reading and creating stories with my friends. That has never left me, and it has led me to become an illustrator. Now in this new role as Laureate, I hope to share that same love of creating stories to a new generation of children."

A multi-award-winning children’s author from Dublin, Chris Haughton will hold the title from now until 2029, taking up the position from the outgoing Laureate, Patricia Forde.

➡️ Read more: https://artscouncil.ie/news/celebrated-author-and-illustrator-chris-haughton-announced-as-the-arts-councils-new-laureate-na-nog/

Laureate na nÓg is an initiative of The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, administered by Children's Books Ireland with the support of Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Department of Children, Disability and Equality.

By honouring an artist of exceptional talent and commitment, Laureate na nÓg champions and celebrates literature for children and young people, inspiring generations of writers, illustrators and readers.

📷 Peter Guenzel

04/02/2026

Presenting the shortlist for this years KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 🤩

These 10 titles will compete for six awards at the award ceremony on May 19th. Congratulations to this years long and shortlistees. The standard was exceptional. ⭐️

🔗
https://childrensbooksireland.ie/news-events/ten-books-shortlisted-kpmg-childrens-books-ireland-awards-2026

07/01/2026

The team at Children’s Books Ireland is sorry to hear of the passing of John Quinn.

John was a man of many talents, but to the children’s book community in Ireland, he will always be remembered as the much-loved author of the classic novels The Summer of Lily & Esme and The Gold Cross of Killadoo, published in the early 1990s. John was a Bisto Book of the Year Award winner in 1992 for his remarkable début, The Summer of Lily & Esme. According to scholar Dr Amanda Piesse, writing in Inis magazine in 2007, ‘Quinn’s contribution to children’s literature would be inestimable were Lily & Esme his only excursion into the field’. Fortunately for his readers, this was not the case: Quinn later published Duck and Swan (1993), One Fine Day (1996), and Bill & Fred? which was shortlisted for the Bisto Book of the Year Awards in 2006.

Our condolences go out to John’s family.

20/12/2025

As we wrap things up for Christmas here at Children’s Books Ireland HQ, we just want to take a moment to thank everyone that has donated to our appeal. It means the absolute world to us, and to the children that your donations support.

We will be keeping the campaign open for donations over Christmas, so please do consider contributing if you haven’t already! Every €12 makes a massive difference.

childrensbooksireland.ie/giftabook

We will also be taking a little social media break to catch up on our Christmas reading. Please allow extra time for replies 😴.

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and New Years from everyone at Children’s Books Ireland 🎄

17/11/2025

At Children’s Books Ireland, we believe that every child, no matter their circumstance, deserves to access to the transformative power of reading. This Christmas, you can help us to change children’s lives, one book at a time by supporting our Gift A Book Appeal.

We’re providing thousands of brand-new books to the children who need it most across the island of Ireland through community groups and fellow charities like, Solas Project , NOVAS and Barnardos Ireland .

With your help we can ensure that every child has a book to call their own and the chance to fall in love with reading.

Donate €12 today and give the gift that lasts a lifetime.

Visit childrensbooksireland.ie/giftabook

🎥 Crannóg Media

18/09/2025

🔔Important update to the schedule🔔

We regret to inform you that guest speaker Olena Odynoka is unable to attend this years Conference due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Olena is safe and well, and we hope to have her join us in the future.

A huge thank you to Anna McQuinn (), the bestselling author of the Lulu and Zeki/Lola and Leo books, who will be speaking in her place. Anna joins our Saturday schedule and will discuss book challenges and bans, and what we can do to resist increasingly divisive narratives that are developing in Ireland.

We look forward to welcoming you all this weekend for a celebration of children and young people’s literature!

Follow the link in our bio for tickets and more info 🔗

The Children’s Books Ireland International Conference 2025 is supported by  and is presented in partnership with the  .

🖌️Artwork taken from Julián Is a Mermaid, written and illustrated by Jessica Love.

15/09/2025

Our new reading guide is out TODAY! ☘️

The Best Irish Books of 2025 is a celebration of Irish authors and illustrators, a map to find your next great read and a treasure trove of talent from the island of Ireland. It contains reviews of 100 books (+ an extra 100 Read Also titles) spanning fiction, non-fiction, poetry, graphic novels and much more. With reviews in English and as Gaeilge, Best Irish Books has something for every reader!

Dive in and download the guide now via the link in the bio 🔗 or pick up a copy in participating libraries & bookshops.

📕🖌️

14/07/2025

Your first look at the lineup for the Children’s Books Ireland International Conference 2025 🤩

This September, we’re bringing some of the best in the business down to The Lighthouse Cinema for a brilliantly bookish weekend. And you’re invited too!

At this year’s conference, we’re asking our speakers to reflect on the theme of RESISTANCE and the role resistance plays in their creative lives. From the small, playful, everyday moments to large-scale demonstration, resistance can be rejecting the status quo, questioning authority or even forging a new path.

Featuring:
Frank Cottrell Воусе
Jessica Love
Olena Odynoka
Tadhg Mac Dhonnagain
Briony May Smith
Leon Diop
Patricia Forde
Lauren O'Hara
Louie Stowell
New voices

+ more to be announced

Tickets available via the 🔗 in the bio. Be sure to let us know who you’re looking forward to seeing in the comments!

The Children’s Books Ireland International Conference 2025 is supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and is presented in partnership with The Lighthouse Cinema .

🖌️Artwork taken from Julián Is a Mermaid, written and illustrated by Jessica Love.