There was a packed attendance at Navan Library on Wednesday (22nd September) for Meath County Library Services Readers & Writers Day. The Author's Friend was represented on the day by David Jones and Oscar Duggan.
The event was organised around a series of panel discussions on various topics connected with writing and publishing in Ireland today. The first session was entitled What's Happening in Irish Publishing Today. David Jones of TAF Publishing (publishing division of The Author's Friend) and Clodagh Feehan of Mercier Press lead the discussion.
Clodagh gave a presentation explaining the background and history of Mercier Press from its origins as a publisher of religious and theological works through to the present day where it has been to the forefront in grappling with thorny issues and often controversial subjects.
David Jones spoke next and gave an outline of some of the problems facing budding authors today whose chances of getting published are increasingly curtailed. He said that TAF Publishing subscribed to a philosophy of 'publishing for all' which upholds that everyone has the potential to write a book and everyone has a right to be published. He described the new model based on Assisted Publishing which The Author's Friend is trying to develop.
This was followed by a session on Bloody Good Reads in which three young Irish authors - John Boyne, Claire Kilroy and Kevin Power - discussed their own top ten favourite books: Not necessarily the greatest or most important books ever written but 'bloody good reads' nevertheless.
Author Sarah Webb along with Ivan O'Brien from The O'Brien Press discussed current trends in Childrens fiction and had lots of interesting advice for authors and writers aiming to tackle this particular genre. That was followed by a panel discussion lead by Roisín Meaney and Ciara Geraghty who discussed their own works in the context of the growth in popularity for Irish women's fiction in the last few years.
Poet and author John F. Deane gave a poignant account of the history of the now sadly defunct Dolmen Press. He spoke movingly about the motivation of its founder, the late Liam Miller whose love for the craft of making books was evident in everything he produced. The Dolmen Press provided an important publishing outlet for Irish poetry in the 1960s and 70s and was also instrumental in the formation of Poetry Ireland.
Finally poet and librarian Tom French finished off the day with readings from A Meath Anthology, a collection celebrating the landscape and literature of County Meath over the centuries. It includes poetry from authors figures such Seamus Heaney, W.B. Yeats, Jonathan Swift, Evan Boland, Thomas Kinsella, Michael Longley as well as local poets such as Tommy Murray and Eamon Cooke.
