Nugent, Hession and Haughton headline Irish Book Week

Liz Nugent, Rónán Hession and Chris Haughton are among authors who will be headlining Irish Book Week, which is running as a hybrid event across the country.

The authors will participate in online events available to watch during the week, which runs from 16th to 23rd October. Bookselling Ireland, the trade body that supports bookshops and set up the annual event with Publishing Ireland, is asking people to shop with their local store either in-person, over the phone or online. 

To further animate bookshops during Irish Book Week, Children’s Books Ireland, funded by the Arts Council, has chosen 10 Irish children’s illustrators and paired them with their local bookshops to design and paint a bookshop window in their own style. The illustrators involved will be Fatti Burke (The Book Centre, Waterford), Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick (Hodges Figgis, Dublin), Linda Fahrlin (Liber, Sligo), Olivia Golden (Waterstones, Cork), Chris Judge (Gutter Bookshop, Temple Bar, Dublin), Tarsila Krüse (An Siopa Leabhar, Dublin), P J Lynch (Halfway Up the Stairs, Greystones), Oisín McGann (Antonia's Bookstore, Meath), Lauren O’Neill (The Book Centre, Wexford) and Una Woods (Books Upstairs, Dublin).

“Irish Book Week celebrates the wealth of home-grown talent in Ireland, and the importance of supporting great Irish writing, publishing and illustrating in great Irish bookshops, where passionate and expert booksellers can help you find your next favourite book,” said Aoife Roantree, chair of Bookselling Ireland. 

Other events include Danielle McLaughlin, Kevin Barry, Lisa McInerney in conversation about their books in live in-store events at Waterstones Cork. Sarah Webb and Sarah Crossan will take part in Halfway Up the Stairs’ first online children’s books salon.

Bookselling Ireland will also be inviting people to join the conversation on social media throughout Irish Book Week, with a different question to engage with each day. People are encouraged to get involved online with the hashtag #IrishBookADay and post about their favourite Irish books, authors and bookshops.