Latest news with #SummerReading
Chicago Tribune
31 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
When school's out, summer reading will be in for patrons of Park Ridge Public Library
As area schools begin summer break, local libraries are gearing up for summer reading programs. Leaders at the Park Ridge Public Library announced in a news release that June 2 marks the kickoff of the library's summer reading program for kids, teens and adults, and will include reading challenges and prizes. The program will run through Aug. 16. Starting May 27, patrons were able to sign up at the service desks in the children's department, teen loft and in the Reader Services area. Participants were to be given a paper log to track progress, the release explains. Sign up is also available online at Then, on June 2, participants started to track their reading through the Beanstack website or on the paper log, according to the release. 'Summer is the perfect time to explore new interests, go on adventures through stories, and connect with your community,' library Director Joanna Bertucci stated in the release. 'We invite everyone to make the most of summer and discover all the library has to offer—reading challenges, exciting programs, and a welcoming space for all ages.' Children will be able to earn tickets and choose which prize drawing they would like to enter at a display in the children's department. Additionally, participants in sixth grade through high school will be able to earn a virtual prize drawing ticket in Beanstack for every 10 days they read. Anyone who reads at least 30 days by Aug. 10, will earn a free book. Participants will be able to earn more chances to win by reading more days, the release explains. 'Children can also participate by keeping an eye out for this year's Summer Reading mascot, Mango, around town from June 11 to August 6. Stop by the Children's Services department for clues about where Mango is located each week. Return to the Library to fill out a form and stop at Children's Services to let the desk staff know where Mango was spotted to get entered for a chance to win a Mango T-shirt. In addition, all forms submitted throughout Mango's travels will be entered into a final drawing and the winner will receive their very own Mango,' according to the release.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Siobhán Flynn and Sarah Davy win Mairtín Crawford Awards
In The Irish Times tomorrow, Orlaine McDonald tells Mia Levitin about her award-winning debut novel. Anna Carey has researched and compiled the perfect summer reading list for you. And there is a Q&A with Sarah Maria Griffin about her new YA novel. Reviews are: Sally Hayden on We Came by Sea: Stories of a Greater Britain by Horatio Clare; Kevin Power on The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong; Claire Hennessy on the best new YA fiction; Naoise Dolan on Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid; Malachi O'Doherty on Death in Derry by Jonathan Trigg; Paul D'Alton on The Sleep Room by Jon Stock; Henrietta McKervey on Our Song by Anna Carey; Eilís Ní Dhuibhne on Best Friends by Andrew Meehan; Val Nolan on Walking Ghosts by Mary O'Donnell; Laura Slattery on The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay by Christopher Clarey; Jessica Traynor on This Interim Time by Oona Frawley; and Rachel Ashcroft on Inside the Stargazer's Palace: The Transformation of Science in 16th-Century Northern Europe by Violet Moller. This weekend's Irish Times Eason offer is The Coast Road by Alan Murrin, just €5.99, a €6 saving. Eason offer Siobhán Flynn from Dublin and Northumberland-based Sarah Davy have won this year's Mairtín Crawford Awards for Poetry and Short Stories respectively at an award ceremony in the Crescent Arts Centre last night as part of the Belfast Book Festival. READ MORE The winners each receive £500 cash, plus a 'time to write' package which includes a three-night stay at a hotel in Belfast and four days of dedicated writing space at The Crescent Arts Centre. Flynn, who began writing quite late in life, won the 2022 Cúirt New Writing Prize for Poetry and a John Hewitt Bursary in 2023. Davy, who works for Hexham Book Festival, won the Finchale Prize for Short Fiction at the Northern Writers Awards in 2023. Short Story judges were Belfast authors Lucy Caldwell and Wendy Erskine. The Poetry Award was judged by Kathleen McCracken and Dawn Watson. * 'Men must endure / Their going hence, even as their coming hither' – King Lear. Have we no more active rights over life, birth and death? The attitude of passive acceptance of birth and death, preached by Edgar to his father in King Lear, has been variously challenged in the modern period. The nature of human rights in the matter have been hotly contested: the right to life of the unborn child as against women's reproductive rights, the principle of the sanctity of all human life clashing with the right to a chosen, dignified death. The title for this year's Hubert Butler Essay Prize invites reflection on the ethical questions raised by such debates. First prize is €1,500. The closing date is July 4th. * The Irish Writers Centre is packing its literary bags once more, embarking on a nationwide roadshow that will see it travel to five festivals across the island in 2025 – from Belfast to Bantry, Wexford to Waterford, before returning to Dublin in November for the Dublin Book Festival. Fresh from appearances at Galway's Cúirt and the University of Limerick's Creative Writing Festival, the Centre continues its mission to support writers of all backgrounds and at all stages of their careers. Events will include masterclasses, writing seminars, panel discussions, spoken word showcases and zine workshops. In Belfast, the Centre will showcase its Young Writer Delegates and host an information session featuring Novel Fair winner Andrew Cunning. West Cork welcomes seminars, spoken word, and panels on diversity and queer literature. Wexford offers conversations with John Banville and Victoria Kennefick, while Waterford sees a Writers in the Regions masterclass from Danielle McLoughlin. 'It's about making space for writers everywhere, not just in the capital,' said CEO Mags McLoughlin. 'We want to build a national community of storytellers.' Further details and programme links can be found at . * Bernardine Evaristo is the recipient of the Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award, a one-off literary honour marking the 30th anniversary year of the Women's Prize for Fiction. This prestigious accolade, funded by Bukhman Philanthropies, celebrates Evaristo's body of work, her transformative impact on literature and her unwavering dedication to uplifting underrepresented voices across the cultural landscape. As the recipient of the Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award, Evaristo will receive £100,000 prize money and a special sculpture named 'Thoughtful' by Caroline Russell MRSS, both of which will be presented on June 12th at the Women's Prize Trust's summer party in London, alongside the winners of the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction and the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction. * Sandycove is to publish Miriam O'Callaghan's memoir, Miriam: Life, Work, Everything, on October 30th. O'Callaghan is one of Ireland's best-known broadcasters, covering every election, referendum, big controversy and important public event for RTÉ, and hosting an award-winning radio show, Sunday With Miriam on RTÉ Radio 1. She has presented RTÉ's Prime Time since 1996. O'Callaghan said: 'It's 20 years since Sandycove first sent me a contract – let's just say, it's taken a while! I thank them for their patience, persistence and belief in my story. I have always lived my life in fast forward, so I never thought I would have the time to look back and reflect. I also wondered if anyone would be interested. Then one day not that long ago – with a prompt from Patricia Deevy – I decided I would write it, because if I didn't write it now, I might never do so. 'At first I thought it would just be about my work as a journalist, but then when I began writing I realised how impossible it was to separate my professional and personal lives. I don't know if that's because I'm a woman or a mother or both or none of those things, but I just knew that for my story to be authentic and truthful, I couldn't simply focus on the work side of my life.' * The Irish Writers Centre launches the first in a new series of Writers Showcase events spotlighting newly published writers from across the island. The inaugural showcase, titled The Out of Towners, takes place on Wednesday, June 18th, at 6.30pm at the centre, 19 Parnell Square North, Dublin 1. Curated to celebrate Ireland's rich poetic diversity, The Out of Towners features five poets whose compelling work captures a range of regional and personal perspectives: Afric McGlinchey is an award-winning poet based in West Cork. Her latest collection À la belle étoile – the odyssey of Jeanne Baré (Salmon Poetry) continues her internationally recognised body of work. Afric has received multiple Arts Council bursaries and her poetry has been translated into several languages. Lauren O'Donovan is a rising star from Cork whose recent accolades include the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award and the Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition. Her debut Taxidermy Heart and new chapbook Superposition were both published in 2025. D'Or Seifer is a Limerick-based poet whose debut collection On Being Un/Able to Walk Through Walls was published earlier this year by Revival Press. She is the founder of Lime Square Poets and co-hosts the First Wednesday Series in Limerick, as well as co-editing Skylight 47 magazine. Luke Morgan , based in Galway, is the 2025 recipient of the Lawrence O'Shaughnessy Award for Poetry. His third collection, Blood Atlas (Arlen House), was supported by The Arts Council and follows his acclaimed work as both a poet and film-maker. S.C. Flynn recently relocated from Australia to Dublin and brings an international voice to the evening. His debut collection The Colour of Extinction (Renard Press, 2024) was The Observer 's Poetry Book of the Month. His work has appeared in over 100 literary journals worldwide. Each writer will read from their newly published collections and chapbooks, which will be available to purchase after the event. The evening will be hosted by Damien B. Donnelly , creative projects co-ordinator at the centre. 'Ireland is bursting with poetic diversity and to gather these talented poets in one room reading from new collections is a privilege for the Centre. We are hopeful that the Writers Showcases will become a regular series, celebrating all forms of writing from all corners of the country,' said Donnelly. * The Eavan Boland Award returns for 2025, inviting applications from early-career poets based in the UK and mid-career poets based in Ireland. The Eavan Boland Award 2025 will support two cross-residency opportunities at Trinity College Dublin School of English and the University of Manchester Centre for New Writing, supported by Poetry Ireland, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Manchester and the British Council. This award honours Boland's dedication to fostering new voices and diverse perspectives in poetry and celebrates her legacy by supporting emerging and mid-career poets through residencies and mentorship. For full details and application, please visit here . * Sixteen young writers from Ballinrobe Community School, Gaza and Cairo have published A Spinning Tyre, an anthology of poems and short stories born from cross-Border writing workshops led by Liam Horan through the University of Limerick's Creative Writers in the Community programme. Developed with the Hands Up Project, the collection explores themes such as war, identity and belonging. Featured are Ben Egan, Caoimhe Macken, Dominic Brennan, Donal Lenihan, Jessica McMurray, Nathan Loughrey, Stephen John Feerick (Ballinrobe); Alaa Kamal, Hala Aqel, Islam Kamal, Jaber Hammam Basal, Lama Ehab Sadi Kuhail, Leen Ehab Sadi Kuhail, Malak Basal, Marah Kamel Abu Shamla and Wadee Nasser Ahmed Shabat (Gaza and Cairo). It is available for €10 at Martin Murphy's Newsagents, Ballinrobe. * Little Island Books have signed multi-book deals for the first time in the company's history, agreeing three-book contracts with two Cork-based Irish authors: Kel Menton and Jen Wallace. Menton, whose debut A Fix of Light was published by Little Island in February, has signed on for three more novels for young readers: a mix of YA and middle-grade titles with an emphasis on speculative fiction and magic realism. Wallace, whose debut chapter-book Dinosaur Pie won the junior category at the 2025 Great Reads Awards, has plans to publish three more works of fiction with neurodiverse protagonists. Illustrator Alan O'Rourke has also signed on to illustrate two sequels to Dinosaur Pie , while Wallace's fourth publication will be a picture book about an autistic girl's relationship with her grandmother. * The Week Junior Book Awards have unveiled their 2025 shortlists, celebrating the best in children's literature across 13 categories, including Irish authors Chris Haughton, Sheena Dempsey, Eilish Fisher and Dermot Flynn. Author and singer Geri Halliwell Horner, CBeebies' George Webster, presenter and actor Rhys Stephenson, and lexicographer Susie Dent are among the judges who will select the winning titles. Winners will be announced at an award ceremony in central London on September 29th. * An intense portrait of obsessive desire set in the rural Netherlands and a lushly illustrated elegy for the lost histories and identity of the Arab world have won the UK's longest-running literary awards, the James Tait Black Prizes. Lucas Rijneveld's My Heavenly Favourite won the fiction prize and the biography prize was won by Lamia Ziadé for My Great Arab Melancholy . Each prize is shared with the writers' respective translators, Michele Hutchison and Emma Ramadan. This is the first time that both prizes have been awarded to translated works and only the second time a writer and translator have been awarded a prize together in the history of the awards. The prizes were opened to translations in 2021, with authors and translators honoured equally.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sweet start to summer at Pekin Public Library's Candy Land Adventure
PEKIN, Ill. (WMBD) — Summer kicked off in the sweetest way at the Pekin Public Library, where more than 500 people and families stepped into a life-sized game of Candy Land. The event was the library's Summer Adventure Kickoff Party, and was one of the largest turnouts in the library's history. Library staff say the goal was to spark joy, bring the community together, and encourage a love of reading as summer begins. 'It's very important because then they can keep up on their reading skills,' said Catrina Klassen, Head of Youth Services at Pekin Public Library. 'So then when they go into the school year, next year they're ready to go. And then teachers don't have to go back and re-teach some of those skills so that they can keep up on those skills throughout the summer.' The event was held on Saturday, May 31, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., which had the library transformed into a colorful, candy-themed wonderland to launch its annual Summer Reading Program with imagination and excitement. Children followed a rainbow path through the library, picking up their Summer Reading Game Cards and exploring a magical land of sweet surprises. Families enjoyed a day packed with fun, including a bouncy house, balloon artists, interactive games, and meet-and-greet moments with Sonic and Mario, adding to the excitement for kids of all ages. Klassen also explained the motivation behind this year's program theme. 'Illinois does like a summer reading theme for all the libraries, so 'Level Up' was the whole thing for the state of Illinois, which I think is a great motivator because kids love games. So this is a great way to get them to want to read.' Whether bouncing, reading, or racing through Candy Land, families left with big smiles — and even bigger stacks of books. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Flower Memorial Library June Activities
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – The Flower Memorial Library's June list of events. Children's and Teens' Summer Reading Program begins on Monday, June 2, at 9 a.m. The program ends August 29. Hungerford Family Art Exhibit starts on Friday, June 13, at 3:30 p.m. The exhibit ends on August 8. The library is closed on Thursday, June 19, for Juneteenth. Wednesdays: From 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: All Ages & Abilities Farmers' Market Story Time Fridays: From 4 to 5 p.m.: ages 12-17 Open Gaming For Kids: Monday, June 2, from 9 a.m.: Children's and Teens' Summer Reading Programs Begin! Friday, June 6, from 4 to 5 p.m.: ages 6-12 Art Club Saturday, June 7, at 9 a.m.: ages 3-12 Take & Make Crafts Monday, June 9, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: ages 0-5 Music & Movement with Guest Sarah Wolfe Tuesday, June 10, from 6 to 7 p.m.: ages 3-12 Dragon Egg Painting Wednesday, June 11, from 6 to 7 p.m.: ages 12-17 Teen Snack & Craft: DIY Mini Library Saturday, June 14, from 10 to 11 a.m.: ages 12-17 Tiny Art Thursday, June 26, from 4 to 5 p.m.: ages 12-17 Book Display Brigade Friday, June 27, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Toddler Painting For Adults: Monday, June 2, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.: ages 18+ Spice Club: Fennel Seeds Monday, June 2, from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m.: ages 18+ Smile More Jar Etching Wednesday, June 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.: ages 18+ Gardening Workshop Thursday, June 5, from Noon to 3 p.m.: ages 18+ Immigration Clinic with Hiscock Legal Aid Society Saturday, June 7, from 9 to 10 a.m.: ages 18+ Macrame Jar Hanger Kit Monday, June 9, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.: ages 18+ The Original Library Book Club Tuesday, June 10, from 10 to 11 a.m.: ages 18+ Memory Lane Show and Tell Wednesday, June 18, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.: ages 18+ Between the Covers: Romance Book Club Saturday, June 21, from Noon to 2:45 p.m.: ages 18+ Lunch and a Movie: Wicked Monday, June 23, from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m.: ages 18+ Photo/Note Holder Wednesday, June 25, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.: ages 18+ DIY Video Game for Adults! All: Tuesday, June 10, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.: Library Board Meeting Thursday, June 12, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.: LEGO Club Friday, June 13, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.: Hungerford Family Art Exhibit Opening Ceremony Saturday, June 28, from 10 to 11 a.m.: All Ages & Abilities Book Character Bingo Library Hours: Monday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday: Closed All events are subject to change, you can check the library's website for additional information and any changes to the schedule. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Homewood Public Library hosting ‘Book-A-Que' event to kick off summer reading
HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) — The Homewood Public Library is hosting an event next week to kick off their teen and adult Summer Reading programs. On Friday, May 30, the library will 'Chalk the Block' and 'Book-a-Que.' This combined event includes food trucks and a chalk art contest that teens and adults can sign up for. The event will last from 5-8 p.m. Swamp Dogg, outsider artist who found his sound in Alabama, at center of new documentary playing in Birmingham Summer Reading lasts until August 3. You can register for the program at the event or on the Homewood Public Library's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
