Carrick on Shannon Children's Book Festival
The Carrick on Shannon Children’s Book Festival was developed by Leitrim County Council Arts Office and The Reading Room in 2012 and ran until 2018 as a space for children and their families to celebrate and enjoy literature, to meet authors, and to encourage an interest in creative writing.
While the majority of events were directed at young people aged 4 to 14, the festival developed a special programme called ‘Wild Words’ for teenagers aged 14 to 18 years who had an established interest in creative writing, or an aspiration to a career in writing or literature. as part of this programme young people were invited to be mentored by authors in advance of the festival and to contribute to a book published at the festival.
Between the years 2012 and 2019, the festival hosted workshops and masterclasses by among others Adrienne Geoghegan; Anna Carey; Aoife Barry; Claire Hennessy; Conor Kostick; Dave Rudden; David Donohue; Deirdre Sullivan; Eilis Barrett; Erika McGann; Gabriel Fitzmaurice; Grainne Clear; Kim Hood; Matt Griffin; Niamh Sharkey; Sarah Crossan; Shane Hegarty; and Sheena Wilkinson.
Wild Words Books
Each year the festival produced an anthology of writing by young people from all over Ireland who came to Carrick on Shannon to participate in a series of masterclasses by some or Ireland's leading YA authors. You can read the books here and buy a copy at the link below.
Buy Wild Words Volumes 1 through 7
Wild Words Young Writers Group
Wild Words Young Writers Group was developed by Leitrim County Council’s Arts and Library Services as an online programme during Covid-19 restrictions for young people in Leitrim aged 14 – 17. The programme of fun, creative sessions was led by Wayne O’Connor and Niamh Mac Cabe and while it was primarily designed for all those teenagers in Leitrim that love creative writing to come together, given that young people had missed out on so much during the pandemic, it was also recognized for its value for those that want to hone their creative writing skills as part of their education and future plans for third level. You can read some of the work that the group members produced through the link below.
Leitrim Youth Arts
Leitrim County Council
Aras an Chontae
Carrick on Shannon
Co. Leitrim
© 2023 Leitrim County Council Arts Office
