Patricia Forde, Laureate na nÓg 2023 - 2026, delivered her inaugural laureate lecture at Baboró 2024, inspired by the theme she has chosen for her laureate, “Making It Up As We Go Along”. Patricia discussed the importance of reading in a child’s creative development and the importance of immersive play in fostering the skills required to read and write creatively.
Patricia writes in English and in Irish. She has had more than twenty books published to date. Her ambition as Laureate na nÓg is to encourage wild creativity – bringing children, writers and illustrators together to inspire one another to imagine new worlds. Baboró was thrilled to celebrate Patricia as Ireland's seventh Laureate na nÓg. Patricia has been at the forefront of the development of the arts in Galway and a co-founder, with Jean Parkinson, of Baboró in 1996.
Listen to the full lecture below.
Recorded on Friday, 18 October 2024 during Baboró International Arts Festival for Children, Galway.
Patricia writes in English and in Irish, with work ranging from picture books to speculative middle-grade fiction. She has written more than twenty books, along with plays, television series and, most recently, a film. Her ambition as Laureate na nÓg is to encourage wild creativity – bringing children, writers and illustrators together to inspire one another to imagine new worlds, and most of all to have fun along the way. Patricia Forde was announced as Ireland’s seventh Laureate na nÓg in May 2023, and will be in the role until 2026.
Laureate na nÓg is an initiative of the Arts Council. It is managed and delivered on Council’s behalf by Children’s Books Ireland, and also supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
