The festival will take place online on Saturday 1st May 2021, with the programme launching and tickets available to book on 22nd March 2021. This year, as public health restrictions continue, we look forward to coming to you online. We are working with an extraordinary group of Irish authors and illustrators this year, who are hard at work developing ideas that you can enjoy from home, and we look forward to sharing that information with you in March.
Our schools programme will run online this year too, connecting the very best of Irish authors and illustrators with schools in Waterford city and county on Friday 30th April, and our book-gifting programme will provide a range of new books and materials to a lucky school in Waterford also.
We are also pleased to announce that Anne O' Gorman joins the team this year as Festival Manager during Eimear Cheasty's maternity leave.
Stay tuned over the coming weeks for more news from us. You can follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Máire Zepf
Máire Zepf has written 12 books for children, from picture books to a young adult verse novel. Winner of the KPMG Children’s Book of the Year, the Réics Carló Award and a White Raven in 2020, her books appear in 8 languages worldwide. The Co. Down author was the first Children’s Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland, based at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at QUB (2017-19)
Alan Nolan
Alan Nolan is the author and illustrator of Fintan's Fifteen, Conor's Caveman and the Sam Hannigan series for the O’Brien Press. His latest books, Sam Hannigan and the Last Dodo, and Animal Crackers: Fun Animal Facts (with Sarah Webb) are both out now. Alan lives in Bray, County Wicklow with his wife, three sons and an evil cat called Chewie.
Sarah Webb
Sarah Webb is an award-winning children’s writer. Her books include A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea: Favourite Rhymes from an Irish Childhood (illustrated by Steve McCarthy), and Blazing a Trail: Irish Women who Changed the World (illustrated by Lauren O’Neill), both winners of Irish Book Awards.
Sarah runs creative writing clubs for children and teens, reviews children’s books for The Irish Independent and programmes children’s events for book festivals and MoLI (Museum of Literature Ireland).
Her latest books are Animal Crackers: Fun Animal Facts, illustrated by Alan Nolan and The One with the Waggly Tail: Favourite Rhymes from an Irish Childhood (illustrated by Steve McCarthy).
Sarah is passionate about bringing children and books together and was awarded the Children’s Books Ireland Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Books in Ireland in 2015.
www.sarahwebb.ie Twitter: @sarahwebbishere
Prof Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Prof Sarah Moore Fitzgerald is an award-winning novelist, teacher and researcher based at the University of Limerick. A lifelong creative writer, she has published five novels to date. Her fiction has been translated into over eighteen languages and adapted for the stage in London and Edinburgh. She has been shortlisted for many literary prizes including the Childrens Books Ireland book of the year, the Irish Book Awards and UK's Waterstones Prize. Sarah is the founding member of Writepace, a creative writing group based in Limerick. Her sixth novel, All The Money In The World, is due out in July.
Tarsila Krüse
Tarsila Krüse is an award-winning children's book illustrator born in Brazil and Irish at heart. She has illustrated several published books including Ná Gabh ar Scoil! (Two-time award-winning, translated into 6 different languages), Bí ag spraoi liom!, Percy Péacóg (shortlisted for Gradam Réics Carló 2019), Bliain na nAmhrán (Winner of the Judges' Special Merit Awards at the CBI Awards 2017 and the Gradam Réics Carló 2018) - all by Futa Fata; and My Little Album of Dublin, published by The O'Brien Press. Tarsila's heartwarming and affectionate work is also featured in Childrens Books Ireland's Mind Yourself campaign. She lives in a house with a yellow door with her husband, son, and two little dogs, Pixel and Tag. See more of her work at http://www.tarsilakruse.com
Jennifer Farley
Jennifer Farley is an author and illustrator from Dublin. Jennifer specialises in illustration for children’s books and maps. Her artwork is bright, colourful and sometimes, a little bit humorous. Jennifer's books include Island of Adventures, Shooting For The Stars written by Norah Patten (winner of An Post Irish Children’s Book Of The Year Award 2019), Take The Lead written by Elena Browne, and Astronaut Academy written by Steve Martin. Jennifer has also been part of the collaborative team who illustrated Girls Play Too written by Jacqui Hurley (shortlisted for An Post Irish Children’s Book Of The Year Award 2020 and Bliain na nAmhrán (Year of Song) written by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagaín (Children’s Books Ireland Judges’ Special Award 2017) Jennifer's latest book is Scout's Best Day Ever. Scout (the dog) promises to send cat a postcard from every place he visits on his travels around Ireland. But which will be the BEST.DAY. EVER? Having left the bright lights of the city, Jennifer now lives in rural Ireland with her husband and their two dogs.
www.JenFarley.com Instagram: @jenniferfarleyillustration
