We asked Grace, our new book fairy in Ireland, to write a piece about the reading culture in the country, and here’s what she gave us!

Irish reading culture

Ireland, the land of saints and scholars, has a rich literary history. Dracula, Godot, Gulliver? Lady Bracknell, The Country Girls, Room’s Ma? For such a small country we take pride in our literary culture and our writers, from playwrights to scriptwriters, poets to novelists.

Thanks to campaigns such as Books Are My Bag, Bookshop Day on Oct 8th (and now The Book Fairies!), book sales in Ireland have risen by 20% in the past year. Dublin is home to many independent bookshops that have managed to survive the recession, Amazon, and ebooks. Now that Ireland has a Book Fairy, I hope the books that are found will encourage a few more readers this year!

Why is Grace looking forward to being a book fairy?

“I’m thrilled to be the first book fairy in Ireland, the home of so many wonderful writers – and fairies. For me, books are magical and I can’t wait to sprinkle some magic around Dublin!”