Young readers and writers

Whether you want to write them or get children excited by them, next weekend is all about children's books. On Friday, May 23rd, the Ark centre in Temple Bar will host Making Stories: Creating Space, a talk on engaging children in literature and the arts. Speakers will include the directors of Seven Stories (pictured) in Newcastle upon Tyne, a centre dedicated to children's books, and Rum för Barn in Sweden, a library created and built from a child's perspective.

Part of Dublin Writers' Festival, the discussion will be chaired by Elaina Ryan of Children's Books Ireland, which is holding its annual celebration of the best in books for young people from Ireland and abroad. Entitled The F Word: Failure, it runs next Saturday and Sunday at the Light House Cinema in Smithfield. The line-up includes talks from a host of authors, including David Roberts, creator of Dirty Bertie. Making Stories: Creating Space is free but booking is required, see ark.ie. Tickets for CBI's The F Word: Failure cost €60 per day for non-members or €100 for the weekend, see childrensbooksireland.ie.