Supporting artists
Through various projects and initiatives Children's Books Ireland is dedicated to supporting artists; illustrators, authors, poets, translators, publishers and storytellers; who create stories for children and young people. We create opportunities for artists to have fulfilling and meaningful careers so that young readers in Ireland can experience the richness and diversity of contemporary Irish society and culture as expressed in literature.
Children's Books Ireland provides deeply worthwhile professional development opportunities that meet artists at different stages of their careers and address particular areas of need. These opportunities range from the informational and social like our monthly Artists Coffee Mornings; to specially tailored training such as Media Training or Digital Events Training. Professional Development seminars like Events for All and #ProperBook allow artists to learn from their peers as well as industry experts so as to develop and improve skills and reach new audiences. The Children's Books Ireland and Tyrone Guthrie Centre Bursary Awards for Mid-Career Children's Books Artists offers intensive professional development support.
Useful downloadable professional development resources that further allow artists navigate their growing careers are available in the resources & ideas area of our website.
Events for All
Events for All is an initiative that aims to provide authors, illustrators, poets and storytellers with the necessary skills and knowledge to confidently perform events in school, library and festival environments that are inclusive for all children and young people. It is hoped this will in turn encourage and enable all literary, arts and children's festivals to programme events for children with Autism.
#ProperBook
#ProperBook is a series of professional development events created in collaboration with children's writer and programmer Sarah Webb. These events or webinars are practical, informative and designed to educate and enthuse children's authors and illustrators at every stage of their career.
Raising Voices Fellowship
The Raising Voices Fellowship aims to develop and support aspiring artists who make work for children and young adults and whose voices have been underrepresented in literature. Our aims are to break down barriers to publication, progression and inclusion and to increase diversity and representation in the Irish literature sector.
Tyrone Guthrie Centre Bursaries
Children's Books Ireland is pleased to have worked with the Tyrone Guthrie Centre since 2019 to offer bursary awards to children's authors and illustrators. These bursaries consist of week-long residencies and are designed specifically for mid-career authors or illustrators who create work for children and young people.
Say What You Pay: Transparency on Artists' Pay
We stand behind the Arts Council’s policy of Paying the Artist, for the fair and equal contracting and payment of artists. As part of the Say What You Pay initiative launched by Match in the Dark, we are happy to display this information on our website.
