Schools, libraries, bookshops and cultural venues across Galway are being invited to host a stop on Laureate na nÓg Patricia Forde’s ‘Whole Wild World Bus Tour’.
The inaugural event will see a bus full of the very best Irish children’s authors and illustrators take a trip down the Wild Atlantic Way, making stops at every coastal county along the route to meet and work with young readers to imagine new worlds in words and pictures.
Taking place in April 2024, the tour will see workshops, readings and artist events take place at each stage of the coastal roadshow.
The Whole Wild World Bus Tour is Patricia Forde’s first major event as Laureate na nÓg, a role she has held since May 2023.
Applications are now open for venues in Galway that wish to take part in the Whole Wild World Bus Tour.
Organisations interested in hosting events for children as part of the event are asked to register their interest at www.childrenslaureate.ie/opencall before Friday, 29 September.
Forde, who chose the theme ‘Samhlaigh! Samhlaigh! Making it Up as We Go Along’ for her time as Laureate, said her vision for the bus tour is to spark wild creativity across the country.
“I want to bring together my two favourite groups of people – the children of Ireland, and the writers and illustrators we have in such abundance – to shape new stories and share old ones,” she said.
“Simply put, we’re bringing books and their creators to an audience that doesn’t often get a chance to meet them. The spark for a new story is never far away, and with the Whole Wild World Bus Tour, we’re hoping to bring it a little bit closer.”
A native of Galway, Forde has published over 20 titles for children of all ages, in Irish and English.
As a former teacher, former director of the Galway Arts Festival, and co-founder of the Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, she is an advocate for children’s right to culture.
“For years during the pandemic, the big wide world that is usually open to young people became smaller, closer and much less colourful,” said Forde.
“I want to get them daydreaming again, about amazing new places, characters and adventures. I’m a big believer in making it up as we go along and that’s what this tour will be all about. I can think of nowhere better on earth than Galway and the west coast of Ireland to get us dreaming about the worlds around us, and the ones in our heads.”
The full programme of artists, illustrators and venues will be announced in early 2024. For more information, visit www.childrenslaureate.ie/opencall.
