Siobhan Parkinson, Anna Carey, Padraic Whyte and Kim Harte

You must write for children the same way you write for adults, only better
Maxim Gorky

Chairperson: Niall MacMonagle

What makes a great children’s book? Why do some capture the imagination briefly and then fade from memory while others stand the test of time? Is there a constant in what children themselves look for in a book or does this change with the generations? In short: is there a secret door to the child’s imagination or is good writing simply good writing whomever the audience?

Nominating their own contenders for ‘kids’ lit classic’ and discussing the grown-up business of writing for children are Siobhan Parkinson — award-winning writer, publisher and Ireland’s first Children’s Laureate; Anna Carey — journalist, musician and now first-time children’s novelist(The Real Rebecca); Padraic Whyte — Lecturer in Children’s Literature at Trinity College Dublin and Vice President of the Irish Society for the Study of Children’s Literature; and Kim Harte — Children’s
Bookseller/Buyer, Dubray Books.

In association with Children’s Books Ireland.