Children’s Books and Celebrities

The Children’s Column in BookBrunch is always a pleasure -

Particularly good piece last Friday about celebrities and children’s books

There is a general assumption by publishers that celebrity influences children. The results showed that it was a long way down the list of reasons for reading anything.

Only 5% of children said they were attracted to a book if someone famous said they liked it, or if someone famous (eg, Madonna or David Walliams) wrote it. Which goes to show that the deals these books command are based not on what children want to read, but on what parents buy.

Festival Fatigue = Lots of Links

Festival fatigue has well and truly taken root. Its been a great week of Children’s Book Festival events  all over the country. I was lucky enough to get to Monaghan, Newbridge, Naas and Blanchardstown. There is lots happening next week as well so don’t forget to check out the event guide for things in your area.  You can read more about projects in action on the festival blog and via The Write Stuff

Festival means no time for proper blog post – but in the meantime here’s some lovely link stuff-

SLARI host special conference focussing on teenagers and it feature author and blogger extraordinaire Nicola Morgan.  You’ll find Nicola over on the always delightful An Awfully Big Blog Adventure.

Lord Sir Maybury has been busy on Newstalk, meeting Miss Wilson and also getting some up-to-date blog recommendations.

Bookwitch meets Meg Rosoff – Two of my favourite writers in one place!

A piece of Sendak (the art not the person!) would make me very very very happy but  in the meantime I’ve tracked down this great poster. This will make me a little bit happy.

innocent smoothies have a writing competition at the moment – worth a look

The Writers Centre have some relevant events and course – look our for halloween storytelling and Siobhán Parkinson’s writing course

Jim Carroll on the case for funding arts people not arts buildings

And lastly but not leastly- New documentary film about children’s literature and you can follow progress via their blog

today is the day (and not for a Teddy Bear’s Picnic)

This afternoon, both an Arts Council and a Theatre Forum delegation made presentations to the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The Arts Council brought along Brendan Gleeson and Colum McCann who crucially they were able to demonstrate were supported in the early stage of their career by arts council funding. Theatre Forum brought Sebastian Barry and according to reports Fiach MacConghaile, Gabriel Byrne and Garry Hynes were all their too.

Like all lobbying, momentum is key and with the recent coverage of National Campaign for the Arts and with two strong presentations there is hope that some of those who will be making budget decisions in the next few months might be listening.

Here’s a little bit of what was said – Pat Moylan (chair of Arts Council)

The Arts Council supports 3,000 jobs (both directly and indirectly) with the €73 million allocation it receives from the taxpayer. In turn, those organisations pay €65 million in direct and indirect taxes each year. “Artists, actors, musicians and all those in the broad arts family – work with a sense of vocation. Certainly they gain much personal satisfaction when their work goes well. But to follow this way of life they are prepared to submit to low earnings, periods of no earnings, to continuous assessment of their work and talent – much of it public, to insecurity of employment or the loneliness of working in front of a computer or canvas.  There are no pension schemes, no lavish expenses, no sinecures. In other words there is no fat!  Funding cuts go straight to the bone.

Edited to add  Media Coverage of the Event (thanks to Theatre Forum)

Six One News (14 October)
Morning Ireland 1 (15 October): Conor Hunt report
Morning Ireland 2 (15 October): Colum McCann (speaker at the Committee) has been shortlisted for US National Book Awards
Irish Independent (15 October): Artists hope pen is mightier than economic slash-hook, Lise Hand
Irish Times (15 October): Artists lobby politicians to maintain funding, Deirdre Falvey
Irish Examiner (15 October): Gleeson: Film plans will collapse if Bord Snip implemented, Conor Ryan

Linkage for Friday

Some links for Friday afternoon -

• Eavesdrop on a author residency project in action -The Write Stuff
• ICLA conducting a survey on writer’s income – Survey Here
• Children’s Books Festival on twitter and Children’s Books Ireland on Facebook
• Alternative career for CBI’s Programme Officer
• Mal Peet takes the Guardian Fiction Prize
• Illustrator Annie West adds new work and captures Heaney
• Yet more reminiscing about books from childhood on Pursued by a Bear

I’d have to keep doing it…

It’s a particularly busy time for everyone with Children’s Book Festival.

Want to know how everyone is getting on this October?  go here, here, here, here, here and here.

In the meantime here is something to ponder, it might give us all a reason to do more and better all year round.

Overheard in a bookshop last Thursday evening. A mother talking to her friend about her young son. “I wouldn’t want to start reading to him at night because then I’d have to keep doing it”