Bookville is a festival for families & children age 0 to 12 years, catering to children of all abilities & managed by the Kilkenny Library service & the Arts Office.

It is a multi-disciplinary festival featuring some of the best contemporary children’s authors & illustrators from Ireland & UK. Events include reading, writing, storytelling, comedy, illustration, drama, music, the visual arts & the Irish, Ukrainian, Polish & Irish Sign Languages.

2023 is the 7th consecutive Bookville Festival, taking place 12th to 18th October

Bookville Festival 2023 will incorporate:

Bookville Festival book
13,000 Bookville activity books distributed to every primary school child in Kilkenny county & to every library branch.

Live workshops
50 workshops for primary school groups & the general public in library branches across county Kilkenny.

Online videos
5 pre-recorded videos will be available free online & accessible after the festival.

Virtual Workshops
5 virtual workshops via Zoom, enabling more class groups to engage.

Bookville Exhibition
Highlighting the artwork of the Festival illustrators.

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.