Reading Association of Ireland – winners

Big Congratulations to  Celine Kiernan and Conor Kostick who won RAI awards last night. Conor was presented with the Special Merit Award not just for his shortlisted title Move but for his wider contribution to the genre of political and science fiction. Celine scooped the 2009 Award for The Poison Throne. Bravo to all.

More details on reading.ie

hate those recaptcha things? think again

I hate those recaptcha text things which make you verify your status as a human by asking you to identify words. I can never identify them and usually after about 4 attempts I have to seek help. However this little piece from youtube has made me think differently…..

National Campaign for the Arts

You might have seen a few articles and letters to various editors about the the value of the arts flying about at the moment. Following on from the Bord Snip report and now the Commission on Taxation report which threatens the Artists Tax Exemption many in the arts community are determined to fight for funding, recognition and the arts infrastructure. CBI is participating in the National Campaign.

Follow these links for a selection of relevant sites and articles. You can also follow the campaign on Twitter – @campaign4arts.

National Campaign For Arts

Dublin Central Arts Workers

Visual Artists Ireland respond re Artists Tax Exemption

Stuart McLaughlin on making the case for the Arts

Jim Culleton on Iceland, Ireland and Culture

Bookshops and Bookchoice

Spent a lovely morning selecting books for Temple Street Children’s Hospital and their Reach out and Read Programme. Budget was tight so we were trawling though bargain bins and special offers to make sure our average price per book was on track. It was hugely enjoyable.

Usually bookshop visits for me are about getting the 2-3 books on the list and trying not to fall for any others when I’m in there. Instead this morning was a bit like a treasure hunt- going through shelves and shelves and under tables and in display bins looking for the hidden gems.

It got me thinking about the daunting choice that is out there when parents and adults are faced with choosing a book for children and teens. It can be completely overwhelming. I wonder is there space in Irish bookshops for ‘book clinics’?-  Folks on hand to help select a book based on age, interests, budget and other factors. I know plenty of booksellers who do it brilliantly every day but perhaps a special day or event would help get more adults and parents asking for advice and not just slinking back out the door empty handed and confused……

ps I know I’ve mentioned it before but if you want a great insight into children’s bookselling and booksellers – head over to Shelftalkers Blog

Friday frolics

I saw this and wished it was December – December is our official silly season here in CBI when we have time to take up challenges like this. And by take up I meet BEAT.