Irish kids' books need a boost

I first started working in the book trade in 1992, as a part-time bookseller in Hodges Figgis on Dawson Street, Dublin (now part of the Waterstones group). I loved the work and when my contract was up, I moved across the road to Waterstones, where I eventually became the children’s buyer. I still remember my Waterstones manager, Paul Baggaley (now editor-in-chief at Bloomsbury), sitting me down in his office and asking if I’d like to take over the busy children’s department. It literally changed my life!

From that day on, I was determined to create as many young readers as possible, so I held school and family events with international authors like Judy Blume and Jacqueline Wilson, and with Irish authors like Marita Conlon-McKenna and Eoin Colfer.

In the 1990s, Irish children’s books were a relatively new phenomenon. The O’Brien Press had a huge international hit on its hands with Conlon-McKenna’s Under the Hawthorn Tree, which made her a celebrity in Ireland to rival Maeve Binchy, rarely off the airwaves or out of the newspapers.

To cater for the demand for Irish children’s books in the 90s, most bookshops, Waterstones included, had several bays dedicated to Irish children’s books. Customers asked for Irish books and there was a great pride in our Irish children’s authors.

Over the years, as more and more Irish children’s authors came through the ranks, selling internationally and winning multiple awards, from Oliver Jeffers to PJ Lynch, Chris Haughton to Sarah Crossan, these books became assimilated into the general children’s shelves. We all took our eye off the fact that Ireland was and is producing incredible, world-class children’s books.

However, for me, it all came to a head last year. Marita Conlon-McKenna’s new book, Fairy Hill, was published by The O’Brien Press. As one of the country’s most popular children’s authors, I expected it to be a top ten bestseller, but it wasn’t. This surprised me and I began to look more closely at the Nielsen book charts for Ireland. In the 15 weeks between May and early August 2023, no Irish children’s books charted in the weekly children’s top ten bestsellers list. In the same period, 96 Irish authors charted in the equivalent list for adult fiction. This pattern continues.

In the first 33 weeks of 2024 there were eight Irish authors in the Fiction Top 10 (as recorded in The Bookseller), including Colm Tóibín, Claire Keegan and Marian Keyes. The Non-Fiction Top 10 was also full of Irish writers. However, the only Irish author in the Children’s Top 10 was Alan Nolan with a World Book Day title. The Bookseller’s Tom Tivnan noted: "Replete with US and UK big-brand authors, Children’s is the least local of these three Irish bestseller lists."

In Ireland the children’s weekly top 10s are full of brands like Dog Man, Wimpy Kid and David Walliams. Occasionally an Irish book breaks through. This week, the outstanding verse novel, Fia and the Snow Deer, by Eilish Fisher, illustrated by Dermot Flynn, hit number three. However, it’s sadly unusual.

In the 15 weeks between May and early August 2023, no Irish children’s books charted in the weekly children’s top ten bestsellers list.

Chief executive of Children’s Books Ireland, Elaina Ryan, says: "Ireland’s literary excellence is as obvious in our books for young readers as it is in those for adults, and they are equally worthy of our praise and support." Irish children’s authors and illustrators are simply not getting the same attention in Ireland, the UK or internationally as their adult counterparts.

Rather than complain about the situation, I decided to do something about it, so I set up Discover Irish Children’s Books, a team of Irish children’s authors, illustrators, booksellers, librarians and teachers who all care deeply about Irish children’s books. We have been working hard to make people in Ireland, the UK and further afield aware of the remarkable books being created by Irish authors and illustrators, and those based in Ireland, from YA authors Clara Kumagai (Catfish Rolling) and Adiba Jaigirdar (Rani Choudhury Must Die), to comic book makers Sheena Dempsey (Pablo and Splash) and Sarah Bowie (Nina Peanut Mega Mystery Solver).

Our Laureate na nÓg, Patricia Forde, who is a proud member of the Discover team, puts it beautifully: "Ireland now has a wonderful canon of literature for children. We owe it to our young people to promote that work and to make sure that they are aware of books that are written and illustrated (in Ireland). We all need to see ourselves and our culture in the books that we read, and our writers and illustrators need our support to continue making that work."

Hopefully things will change, and Irish children’s books will start to get the attention they deserve, but for the moment, our campaign continues. If you’d like to help young readers discover Irish children’s books, here’s what you can do.

Bookshops, we are calling on you to stock Irish children’s books and display them on your tables and shelves, and to read and recommend Irish children’s books to your customers.

Publishers, we are calling on you to make a splash with your new Irish children’s titles. Make sure booksellers are aware of your key titles and when they are coming out. Help your authors and illustrators to get to bookshops throughout Ireland and further afield to help promote these titles.

Librarians and teachers, we are asking you to highlight and display Irish children’s books on your library shelves, to recommend Irish children’s books to children, parents and carers, and to use Irish books at story time and as class novels.

To find out more about Irish children’s books and our campaign see: www.discoveririshkidsbooks.ie