Bookville 2024, our 8th consecutive festival, was a resounding success. Bookville Festival is an initiative of This year’s festival delivered a fantastic programme that included in-person and virtual workshops, the Bookville book, an exhibition, and videos. Featuring 27 of the best contemporary children’s authors, illustrators, and entertainers from Ireland and the UK, the festival offered something for everyone. There were 60 workshops covering creative writing, history, comedy, music, illustration, Gaeilge, drama, storytelling, and poetry, with separate programmes for schools and the public.
The Bookville Festival book was distributed to 13,000 primary school children across Kilkenny County, significantly raising awareness of the festival and making it accessible to every child in the county. The festival featured 66 live workshops held in 8 county Kilkenny library branches and Family Resource Centres, introducing 1,590 children to their local libraries and exposing them to authors and illustrators. Additionally, 5 virtual Zoom workshops eliminated transport barriers for rural schools, reaching an unlimited audience with 2,200 participants. The interactive exhibition, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio,’ attracted both adults and children, with 1,217 attendees. Family shows, including comedy and theatre, made the festival accessible to families, drawing an audience of 200. Online videos, featuring Ukrainian culture and an Irish Sign Language video for children on the autism spectrum, increased diversity and garnered 300 views. Local children’s author Helena Duggan served as the Bookville Ambassador, enhancing the festival’s profile and awareness through radio interviews, the Bookville Festival book and website foreword, a festival video, and social media engagement.
