Scholastic Writing Awards and Irish Arts Center Book Day

In January, I happily read scores of work by 7-12th graders who compete annually in The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The competition starts regionally and then moves to the national competition. When the winners are announced I scan the list of titles to see if the work I loved received an award. As I am one of the judges and the entries I read are anonymous, this is when I learn the names of the writers. I'm jumping up and down as if I know them personally, and make a mental note to keep an eye out for them as they hopefully embark on a career as a writer. I imagine one day standing in line at their book signing and telling them that I loved the story/play/essay/poem they wrote when they were in school. 

This year, Yuzhen Zou, and Isabel Stronski (both 11th graders), received gold awards in the memoir/personal essay category. Award winning work from this year will be available to read HERE after April 15th. 

Congratulations to all the entrants. It was a privilege to read your work. For information about how to enter click HERE.  

IRISH ARTS CENTER BOOK DAY is an annual event around St. Patrick's Day. They partner with other cultural organizations to give away free books to the public at various locations throughout NYC. This year they partnered with the Asian Alliance to offer asian authors in addition to Irish and Irish American authors. There are different genres available: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, adult and children's books. It's great fun to help passers-by to find a new book to read. Cristian Verdugo picked up books for members of his family too, including a book by an Irish author translated into Spanish.

Cristian Verdugo

That's what's great about this program. From one person, several more can be exposed to new books as well. The books I added to my To Read pile:

 

The Irish Arts Center offers performances and classes in writing, music, dance and Irish language.

IRISH ARTS CENTER BOOK DAY RECAP

One of the best things about New York is that so many different people come together and celebrate each other's culture with great enthusiasm and interest. On this year's St. Patrick's Day, in association with the New York City Council, New York State Assembly, Literature Ireland and El Museo del Barrio, hundreds of books by celebrated Irish, Caribbean and American authors' books, including Irish authors' works translated into Spanish, were given away for free through the Irish Arts Center Book Day throughout the five boroughs.

I was scheduled to be at 42nd street and Park, but the stand closed early when they ran out of books. That's a good thing! I'm passionate about promoting the arts, literacy and reading, so I hopped on the bus to the west side station. It was fun to direct passers-by to our table, where people like this woman chose kidlit and adult books for her family.

After choosing their books people came back to me to say they were looking forward to reading them, and expressed their thanks over and over again for a wonderful program. Here are a few of the books that were available:

Young adult by Elizabeth O'Hara who writes in English and Irish, fiction by Tom O'Neill that weaves in Irish folklore, and selections from The Stinging Fly, a literary magazine.
 The Irish Arts Center offers a variety of programs and classes on Irish language, music, dance and more.

IRISH Arts Center BOOK DAY, March 17

Come say hello to me on St. Patrick's Day at 42nd and Park Avenue from 1-4 and pick up a FREE BOOK by Irish authors! 

And for a little cross cultural bridge, we'll have some books translated into Spanish.  Presented by Irish Arts Center in association with the New York City Council, New York State Assembly, Literature Ireland, and El Museo del Barrio, look for books by Spanish, Caribbean and American authors as well. 

Genres: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Mystery, Adult, Young Adult and Childrens

AUTHORS:

Mary Arrigan, John Banville, Tara Bergin, Mary Branley, Lynn Cahoon, Moya Cannon, Marina Carr, Mary Carter, Mollie Cox Bryan, Adam Crothers, Mackenzie Crowne, Victor Hernandez Cruz, Judi Curtin, Kit De Waal, Junot Díaz, Emma Donoghue, Jennifer Egan, Patricia Falvey, Michele Forbes, John Freely, Brian Friel, Carlos Fuentes, Brian Gallagher, Karl Geary, Matt Griffin, Seamus Heaney, Kevin Jared Hosein, Cormac James, Marlon James, Maeve Kelly, Mary Pat Kelly, Kathleen Anne Kenney, Richard Killeen, Conor Kostick, Ann Margaret Lim, Morgan Llywelyn, Kathleen MacMahon, Dorothy Mcardle,  Eimear McBride, Colum McCann, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Molly McCloskey, Malachy McCourt, Frank McGuinness, Lindsay McKenna, G.A. McKevett, Staci McLaughlin, Larry McShane, Paula Meehan, Kei Miller, Edgar Mittleholzer, J.R. Moehringer, Mervyn Morris, Alan Nolan, Edna O’Brien, Conor O’Clery, Rebecca O'Connor, Carlene O'Connor, Mary O'Malley, Michael Schulman, Nicole Sealey, Ian Somers, Matthew Sullivan, Alice Taylor, Patrick Taylor, Matt Thomas, Colm Tóibín, Kevin Toolis, Stuart Woods, Tiphanie Yanique, William Butler Yeats

Check out The Irish Arts Center for information about classes and events they have on offer.

Note: this station will close when we run out of books, so check the web site for other locations in all boroughs.