As We See Ourselves: Statements from Irish Children's Publishers

The principal Irish children’s publishers have provided The Lion and the Unicorn with these brief statements of their attitudes to their books.

An Gúm

An Gúm is a section of the Irish Department of Education. It was set up in 1928 to publish books, both originals and translations, in the Irish language and so provide reading material for native Irish speakers and learners of the language. Today, it publishes textbooks, reference works, and general reading material for adults and children. In recent years, An Gúm has published some twenty children’s books annually. These include originals, translations, and coeditions, aimed at readers from the pre-school stage to those in their teens. As well as trying to cater for all age groups, An Gúm tries to provide a varied menu. It includes at least one book every year (three in the last two years) which is based on Irish legends or folktales. Almost all of its books for young children are full color: it is vitally important that our books are as beautiful and attractive as those of our English-language competitors from home and abroad. An Gúm is immensely proud of its authors and artists and we try to give them as much international exposure as possible. To this end we participate in international book fairs and send artwork to exhibitions associated with them. We are quite confident that some of our artists would be internationally famous if their work was being published in a major world language. We were delighted that an English-language version of one of our titles, Sí an Bhrú: Brú na Bóinne, by author and illustrator Paul Francis, has been published in the United States by Roberts Rinehart, Boulder, Colorado under the title To the Land Where the Sun Might Never Set: The Story of Newgrange.

Barra Mac Aodha Bhuí;, Higher Executive Officer, An Gúm, 44 Sráid Uí Chonaill Uachtarach, Báile Átha Cliath 1. Phone: Dublin 8095034. Fax: Dublin 8731140

Attic Press

Attic Press plans to continue building on its reputation for publishing fiction of outstanding quality for teenage girls in their award-winning and best-selling “Bright Sparks” series, launched in 1990 with Joan O’Neill’s Daisy Chain War, which went on to win the Reading Association of Ireland’s Special Merit Award. The aim of this series has always been to provide fiction of a high literary standard for young women by women. These books explore real life, adventure, historical, and fantasy themes. “Bright Sparks” features authors of national and international acclaim. Amongst these are Máirín Johnston (The Pony Express), Mary Arrigan (Searching for the Green, Saving the Dark Planet, The Dwellers Beneath), Bernadette Leach (I’m a Vegetarian, Summer Without Mum, Vanessa, Anna Who?, A Place to Call Home), Rose Doyle (Goodbye, Summer, Goodbye, winner of the Bisto Book of the Year Special Merit Award, 1995), and Rosemary McDonald (The Mystery of Kilcrea). There are already twenty-four titles in this increasingly popular series and a fan club with upwards of one thousand members worldwide. The “Pooka” series for readers between seven and nine was started in 1995, under the Basement imprint. Although comparatively new, this series has already seen great success with its first title Hotfoot! by Tom Richards, which topped the Irish bestseller children’s list. Aimed at both girls and boys, the “Pooka” series now comprises four titles, dealing with fantasy and adventure themes.

Ruth Burke-Kennedy, Production Manager, Attic Press, 29 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2. Phone: Dublin 6616128. Fax: Dublin 6616176.

The Children’s Press

What do we look for in books? Good writing. Plots with (ideally) a page-turner at the end of every chapter. Characters with character. Wit. Child-teen (as opposed to parent-teacher-librarian) appeal. Originality is specially valued. (Terry Hassett Henry’s The Witch Who Couldn’t has a chair “made entirely from holes tied together with string.”) Yvonne Mac Grory’s The Secret of the Ruby Ring has been published in the United States and is now a Hallmark television series. Tom McCaughren’s...