Line-up and schedule for the Children's Books Ireland International Conference 2026

Patrick Ness

Patrick Ness writes both novels and short stories for adults and children, but is best known for his books for young adults. His first books for teenagers make up the Chaos Walking trilogy, of which the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize, followed by The Ask and the Answer, which won the Costa Award. All three titles in the trilogy were shortlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal, an unprecedented event, and in 2011 the third title, Monsters of Men, won the award. Patrick’s sixth book, A Monster Calls, won every major prize in children’s fiction. In 2012 it became the first book ever to win both the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal. 

Dr. Melanie Ramdarshan Bold

Melanie is a Professor of Youth Literature and Culture at the University of Glasgow, specialising in children’s and young adult books, publishing, and the ways stories shape young people’s lives. Her work explores how young readers connect with books, how authors and publishers create literature for young audiences, and how we can make the world of children’s and YA publishing more inclusive and representative. Melanie works closely with writers, publishers, libraries, literacy organisations, and cultural partners to champion diverse voices and expand conversations around children’s literature. She has collaborated with organisations such as the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, BookTrust and the British Library.

Kelly McCaughrain

Kelly McCaughrain's debut YA novel, Flying Tips for Flightless Birds, won a hat-trick of KPMG Children's Books Ireland awards, and her second, Little Bang, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and won the Children's Books Ireland Honour Award and Junior Juries' Award in 2025. Her new book, Just Another Dead Boy, is a high-stakes love and death romance set in a world where everyone knows their own death date. Kelly was the Queens University Belfast Children’s Writing Fellow from 2019–2021 and mentors teen writers for Fighting Words NI.

Shirley-Anne McMillan

Shirley-Anne McMillan is the author of four YA novels set in Northern Ireland. She has been a teacher, a youth worker and the current Children's Writing Fellow at the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen's University. Shirley- Anne's next novel, Shockwaves, which is a dual timeline story about the punk scene in Belfast during the Troubles and now, will be published by O'Brien press in 2027.

Máire Zepf

Máire Zepf has written 18 books for children and young people, from picture books to YA verse novels. Winner of the KPMG Children's Books Ireland Book of the Year, 5 LAI Children’s Book Awards, an IBBY Honour Award and 2 international White Ravens among many others, her books appear in 10 languages worldwide. Her ‘Rita’ series of picturebooks with illustrator Mr. Ando was adapted for television. The Co. Down author writes in both Irish and English.

Paul Howard

Paul Howard is an award-winning children’s author and illustrator, best known for illustrating Jill Tomlinson’s classic The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark and The Burpee Bears, a picturebook series from Joe Wicks. During his 35 year long career he has collaborated with some of the greats of children’s literature such as Allan Ahlberg, Michael Rosen, Geraldine McCaughrean, Anne Fine, Trish Cooke, and Martin Waddell and has been shortlisted and won several awards including a Blue Peter Award and The Primary English Award. In 2021 Paul became the third Children’s Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland, selected by QUB’s Seamus Heaney Centre and The Arts Council of Northern Ireland. 

Non Pratt

Non Pratt (they/them she/her )has worked in children’s publishing for over 20 years on illustrated non-fiction, fiction and graphic novels for early readers up to YA. During this time Non has written and published seven YA novels – an experience which gave them great insight into what it’s like to hone, pitch and execute ideas intended for young audiences, as well as how it feels to be on the receiving end of an edit. Now, as Senior Commissioning Editor of Fiction at Walker Books, Non is keen to empower creators by demystifying the unnecessarily oblique world of traditional publishing at every available opportunity.

Áine Uí Fhoghlú

Áine Uí Fhoghlú is an award-winning poet and young people's fiction writer from the Waterford Gaeltacht. She has published five poetry collections. Her seven works of fiction include four for young teens, two of which (Pincí sa Ghaeltacht and LabhairAmach.Com) are prescribed texts on the curriculum for the Junior Cycle state exams. Her story Fóir Orm! was shortlisted for the Gradam Réics Carló award. A member of Poetry Ireland's Writers in Schools programme, she conducts writing workshops in Primary and Secondary schools. Áine's latest book Bilal agus Cócó was published by LeabhairCOMHAR this year. 

Tristan Rosenstock

Tristan Rosenstock is an author, an editor, a broadcaster and a bodhrán player. He presents RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta’s flagship arts series An Cúinne Dána as well as Céilí House on RTÉ Radio One. He is literary editor of the monthly magazine Comhar. His debut book for young readers Inis Mara  was selected for World Book Day 2024, and he has since added two more books to the Inis Mara series. Ag trácht di ar Inis Mara 3, dúirt Uachtarán na hÉireann Catherine Connolly gur “teachtaireacht fíorchumhachtach atá i gcroí an leabhair seo, teachtaireacht a rachaidh chun leas ní amháin an léitheora ach an domhain mórthimpeall”. Tristan is married to children’s author Sadhbh Rosenstock, founder of Picnic Press. 

Chris Haughton

Chris Haughton is an author, illustrator and designer. His début picturebook, A Bit Lost is published into 35 different languages worldwide and has won 13 awards in 9 countries, including the Dutch Picture Book of the Year and the Bisto Book of the Year Award in 2011. His second title, Oh No, George! won the Junior Design Award and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award. His third picturebook, Shh! We Have a Plan, won the Specsavers Irish Children’s Book of the Year Junior Award 2014. His title Goodnight Everyone won the Children’s Books Ireland Book of the Year Award in 2017. His most recent title ‘The History of Information’ is published by DK Books. In May 2026 he was announced as the eighth Laureate na nÓg 2026—2029)

Emily Gravett

Emily’s books include modern classics as Meerkat Mail, Again!, Tidy and Too Much Stuff. Each book is unique and different from the last – and each features endearing, intricately drawn characters that touch the heart and tickle the funny bone. Emily won the Macmillan Prize at the start of her career, going on to win the Kate Greenaway Medal for Wolves and the inaugural BookTrust Storytime Prize for Cyril and Pat. She is the illustrator of A Song of Gladness by Michael Morpurgo, and Frances Hardinge’s acclaimed Island of Whispers. Her bedtime story Bear’s Nap is published into paperback in August, and Two Hoots will celebrate the publication of her brand new story, Don't Feed the Troll, starring a host of familiar fairytale characters, in October.  

Dr Patricia Kennon

Dr Patricia Kennon is an Associate Professor in children’s and young adult literature and youth culture in the School of Education, Maynooth University. She is General Editor of The International Journal of Young Adult Literature and the Secretary of NAES (the Irish national section of the European Society for the Study of English). Her research interests focus on genders and sexualities, inclusive publishing, and sustainability education.

New Voices

The popular New Voices panel returns this year to the Children's Books Ireland International Conference, offering début children’s artists the opportunity to present or read from their book alongside their peers. In 2026 Children’s Books Ireland has selected 10 Irish début artists (authors/illustrators) for the New Voices slot.

Meet the New Voices 2026

Dapo Adeola

Dapo Adeola is an illustrator, author and character designer who was awarded Illustrator of the Year at The British Book Awards in 2022. His début picurebook Look Up!, was written by Nathan Bryon and published by Puffin in 2019 won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2020. Dapo illustrated My Dad is a Grizzly Bear and My Mum Is a Lioness written by award-winning author Swapna Haddow and collaborated with Malorie Blackman on their picturebook We’re Going to Find the Monster. Dapo made his author debut in 2021 with the Puffin published picturebook Hey You!: An Empowering Celebration of Growing Up Black, featuring 18 talented Black British illustrators, which also went on to win Illustrated book of the year at The British Book Awards in 2022.

Agnes Török

Agnes Török (they/them) is a spoken word poet, playwright and author, and Sweden's National Laureate. They have held two TED talks, published five books and written seven plays. They have received the Faber Queer Writer Residency and the Best International Spoken Word Show Award at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Török has founded and now leads the Spoken Word Educator programme at SMI College in Stockholm. As Sweden's National Laureate, Török's focus has been on live literature, young people's mental health and pioneering reading promotion projects with, by and alongside teens in rural communities. Török believes poetry is political, and literacy is a foundation for empathy, creativity and democracy.

Flavia Z. Drago

Flavia Z. Drago was born and raised in Mexico City. Her début, Gustavo, the Shy Ghost, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and was published into over 15 languages. Flavia is also the author-illustrator of Leila, the Perfect Witch, Vlad the Fabulous Vampire and two monster-themed board books, Monsters Play... Counting! and Monsters Play... Peekaboo!. She has an MA in Children's Book Illustration from Cambridge School of Art, was shortlisted for the 2018 Sebastian Walker Award and won the 2021 Klaus Flugge Prize. She loves colours, textures and shapes and enjoys creating them with different materials and a bit of digital sorcery.