Best-selling author Caroline O’Donoghue talks YA, feminism, and weaving the intriguing, mystical thread of tarot into a teenager’s world in her writing, with StoryMachine curator Janet Smyth. Caroline O’Donoghue’s YA debut was described as ‘Stranger Things meets Sabrina The Teenage Witch’. All Our Hidden Gifts is the story of Irish teenager Maeve Chambers, who has been lonely since falling out with best friend Lily. When she finds a tarot deck, Maeve discovers her gift for magic. Things are looking up – until she discovers a strange card in the deck that definitely shouldn’t be there. And two days after she convinces her ex-best friend to have a reading, Lily disappears. Caroline is an Irish author, journalist and host of the award-winning commercial women’s fiction podcast Sentimental Garbage. Her first novel Promising Young Women was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards’ Newcomer of the Year and the Kate O’Brien Award. Part of a five-part series exploring diverse aspects of childrens’ literature.

Who, why, what and how awards work? What makes for the very best writing for children and young people? Dr Pádraic Whyte and MPhil students in Children’s Literature at Trinity College Dublin discuss the major prizes for writing for children, and the books and writers who receive them. How do prizes and awards reflect publishing and writing trends or societal influences? The conversation follows the announcement of the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards on 25th May. Pádraic is associate professor of English and the current director of the Children’s Literature MPhil programme at the School of English, TCD. He is co-editor of Children’s Literature Collections: Approaches to Research (Palgrave, 2017) which won the International Research Society for Children’s Literature Edited Book Award, 2019. In association with the MPhil in Children’s Literature, School of English, Trinity College Dublin Part of a five-part series exploring diverse aspects of childrens’ literature.

Exploring the Urban Jungle: the City in Children’s Writing Join Dr Pádraic Whyte and MPhil students in Children’s Literature at Trinity College Dublin on a walk through cities, both real and imagined, in this wide-ranging and informative exploration of the relationship between children’s writing and the city. Explore recurring themes, motifs and narratives within different genres for children and young adults over the last two centuries. Pádraic is associate professor of English and the current director of the Children’s Literature MPhil programme at the School of English, TCD. He is co-editor of Children’s Literature Collections: Approaches to Research (Palgrave, 2017) which won the International Research Society for Children’s Literature Edited Book Award, 2019. In association with the MPhil in Children’s Literature, School of English, Trinity College Dublin Part of a five-part series exploring diverse aspects of childrens’ literature.

Lisa Marie Griffith explores the history of Dublin Book Clubs and asks: if reading is a solitary pursuit, why do so many of us love book clubs? The size and type of book clubs in Dublin knows no boundaries! During lockdown, book clubs became an important space for people to come together to recreate sociability, to share ideas, and to support each other. Dublin has had a lively book club scene since the late eighteenth century, and this podcast tracks their emergence, evolution and diversity. Featured hosts include Tired Mammy Book Club (@tiredmammybookclub) and Black Queer Book Club (@black.queerbookclub), as well as Dublin city branch librarians. Author and very occasional podcaster, Lisa Marie Griffith presented the 2020 Culture Night podcast ‘The Independent Bookshop Tour’. She is an avid book fan, buying more books than she can read, and a member of the Fake Book Club. She has written Dublin: Then and Now and Stones of Dublin. IMAGE: by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Conair Filíochta: Ar Dhá Thaobh na Life Conair filíochta dhátheangach atá féin-stiúrtha Éist le cúigear scríbhneoirí a bhfuil guth láidir acu i bhfilíocht chomhaimseartha na Gaeilge – Aifric Mac Aodha, Áine Ní Ghlinn, Mícheál Ó Ruairc, Seosamh Ó Murchúagus Paddy Bushe ina measc. Déan do bhealach féin tríd an gconair filíochta dhátheangach seo, roghnaithe ag Ciara Ní É. File, taibheoir, agus craoltóir í Ciara Ní É atá mar ambasadóir ar Áras Scríbhneoirí na hÉireann. Ise a bhunaigh an oíche filíochta ilteangach REIC, a mbíonn dánta, ceol, scéalta, agus rap le clositeáil ann. I measc na bhfilí a bheidh páirt tá Laureate na nÓg Áine Ní Ghlinn, Aifric Mac Aodha, agus Paddy Bushe. *** Featuring recited poems at special locations by five exciting voices in contemporary Irish poetry, including Aifric Mac Aodha, Áine Ní Ghlinn, Paddy Bushe, Mícheál Ó Ruairc and Seosamh Ó Murchú, this fascinating bilingual self-guided poetry trail is curated by Ciara Ni É. Poet, performer, and broadcaster Ciara Ní É is an Irish Writers Centre ambassador. She is the founder of REIC, a monthly multilingual spoken word and open mic night that features poetry, music, storytelling and rap. The five poets featured in the trail include Poet Laureate na nÓg Áine Ní Ghlinn, whose poem is tied to Pearse street and the monumental sculpting business of James Pearse; the award-winning Paddy Bushe who has published nine collections of poetry, and several books of translation from Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Chinese; and Aifric Mac Aodha, the Irish-language poetry editor of Poetry Ireland Review, gorse and The Stinging Fly. Her first poetry collection, Gabháil Syrinx (The Taking of Syrinx), was published by An Sagart. View the transcription and route map at: https://ilfdublin.com/whats-on/festival/strand/boundless/conair-filiochta-both-sides-of-the-liffey-bilingual-self-guided-poetry-trail/ Image: Luican Potlog from Pexels

“For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement.” Charles Baudelaire A flâneur is a man who saunters about, observing the city. A romantic and a thinker, he can blend into the city space without fear for his safety: a luxury that men and women don’t share equally. Dublin is a very walkable city; from the Docklands to the gates of Phoenix Park in less than four kilometres. From the Rosie Hackett bridge to the women of the Easter Rising, and the Moore Street traders to Outhouse, discover the hidden stories of women who lived in the city on this fascinating audio walking tour. A freelance PR and journalist, Niamh Mongey works in communications, campaigns and outreach. Communications projects include the Women on Walls campaign with Accenture Ireland, and the Irish Times’ Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks. Contributors: Sara Philips is Chair of TENI, she has served on the government’s committee for the Gender Recognition Review and is as a founding member of the Dublin Trans Peer Support Group Donna Cooney is a Green Party Counsellor, community activist and Chair of the Lord Mayor’s Forum on Moore Street Joyce Garvey is a visual artist, writer, award winning filmmaker and author of Lucia Joyce: The Girl Who Danced in Shadows Audio guide produced and edited by sound designer, composer and song writer, Sinéad Diskin. Image/Artwork: Joyce Garvey View the transcription and route map at: https://ilfdublin.com/whats-on/festival/strand/boundless/flaneuse-by-niamh-mongey-self-guided-audio-walk/

Exploring landscape and environment in David Almond’s writing. Award-winning author David Almond and StoryMachine curator Janet Smyth discuss the ways in which his writing explores the connections between past and present; civilisation and wilderness; and language, myth and folklore. David’s latest novel, Bone Music, follows Sylvia as she moves into wild Northumberland from the city of Newcastle. She feels alien in this seemingly empty landscape, until she meets Gabriel, a strange-yet-familiar boy. As they roam the forests and fields together, she sees nature with new eyes. Bone Music is a book of hope and joy, which celebrates humanity and explores the deep connections between ourselves and nature. Part of a five-part series exploring diverse aspects of childrens’ literature.

Explore the ‘lost’ buildings of Dublin's northside on this atmospheric and evocative self-guided audio walk, and discover a surprisingly multi-layered city and society. View the route map here: https://ilfdublin.com/whats-on/festival/strand/boundless/lost-ireland-dublin-northside-edition-by-orla-fitzpatrick-self-guided-audio-walk/ From Hector Grey’s bargain shop to places destroyed in the 1916 Rising, Orla Fitzpatrick has curated a tour that includes both recent casualties and long-lost buildings. Discover the former home of Dublin Bread Company’s flagship café on O’Connell Street. Designed by Samuel Beckett’s grandfather, it was known for its chess games, political meetings and “damn bad cakes.” The tour includes the site of elaborately-decorated French urinals on Eden Quay and the High Altar on O’Connell Bridge, installed for the 1932 Eucharistic Congress. Orla Fitzpatrick is a photographic historian and librarian from Stoneybatter, Dublin. Her research interests include photography, dress and design history. This walking tour is based on her book Lost Ireland, which draws on her extensive knowledge of Ireland’s photographic archives. With wonderful illustrations, it uses archival photographs to explore the ways in which buildings and cities function and change. She writes about Irish vernacular photography at www.jacolette.com

Landscape and environment in historic and contemporary children’s literature. Join Dr Sinéad Moriarty and MPhil students in Children’s Literature at Trinity College Dublin for a fascinating discussion on the role of landscape and environment within the world of historical and contemporary children’s writing and illustration. Whether these landscapes are green spaces, sacred spaces, road and pathways, or fantastical environments, they have an integral role and relationship to character, plot and setting. Sinéad is a Teaching Fellow in Children’s Literature at TCD. Her work focuses on representations of wilderness, landscape, and environment in children’s literature. Her first monograph Antarctica in British Children’s Literature was published in 2020. In association with the MPhil in Children’s Literature, School of English, Trinity College Dublin. Part of a five-part series exploring diverse aspects of childrens’ literature. To discover more in our StoryMachine programme for children, families, and young adults, visit www.ilfdublin.com

The DUBLIN Literary Award longlist of 49 has been narrowed down to a diverse and exciting shortlist of six, and the award will be presented during ILFDublin. This exclusive limited podcast series is hosted by Maeve Higgins and Jessica Traynor. Their conversation about Girl, Woman, Other is followed by Jessica’s interview with Bernardine Evaristo. Evaristo’s remarkable eighth novel follows 12 characters, most of them black British women, raising timeless questions about feminism and race. Meet your hosts. Maeve Higgins is a contributing writer for The New York Times and a comedian who has performed all over the world. Her latest essay collection will be published by Penguin US in 2022. She hosts a climate justice podcast with Mary Robinson entitled Mothers of Invention. Jessica Traynor’s debut Liffey Swim was shortlisted for the Strong/Shine Award, and The Quick was an Irish Times poetry choice. She co-edited Correspondences: an anthology to call for an end to direct provision with actor Stephen Rea. Presented in partnership with the DUBLIN Literary Award, a Dublin City Council initiative.