Rí Rá Children’s Festival of Literature

Steve Light grew up in an enchanted place known as New Jersey. He went on to study Illustration at Pratt Institute, where he met master artist and teacher Dave Passalacqua. Steve continued to study and be mentored by Dave for 10 years.

Upon graduating he did some corporate illustrations for companies such as: AT&T, Sony Films, and the New York Times Book Review. Steve then went on to design buttons that were acquired by the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum. He has since published several children’s books with various publishers.

Steve travels far and wide reading and telling stories most notably at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and The Milwaukee Museum of Art.

Steve loves to draw. He draws everyday whether it is drawing in his sketchbook or on fancy paper for an illustration. Steve loves fountain pens and collects these ancient artifacts in order to draw with them. He also loves making things. Steve usually makes things like sculptures and toys out of wood. He especially loves sharing his art and stories with children, because truth be told, Steve is a big kid at heart.

Steve McCarthy is a Dublin based designer, illustrator and bearded gentleman. His style is bold, colorful and inspired by humur and wit. Working with a mix of practical and digital techniques, Steve's work feels most comfortable somewhere between the yellow submarine and Dumbo's pink elephants. His first children's book Sally go round the stars was nominated for the bord gais children's book of the year and he worked as a background designer for the animated feature film Song of the Sea, which was nominated for an academy award. Steve plans to continue producing children’s picture books and use illustration in all manner of weird and wonderful projects.

Niamh Sharkey is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s picture books. She is the creator and executive producer of Disney Junior's animated preschool series Henry Hugglemonster, and the author of I’m a Happy Hugglewug, the children’s picture book published by Walker Books, on which the television series is based.

Among the awards Niamh's books have won, are the prestigious Mother Goose award and The Bisto Book of the Year.

Her current titles with Walker Books include The Ravenous Beast, Santasaurus and her latest title On the Road with Mavis and Marge, which won the Junior Book of the Year category at the Irish Book Awards 2010.

Niamh Sharkey is the current Laureate na nÓg or Irish Laureate for Children's Literature 2012-2014. Laureate na nÓg is an initiative of the Arts Council with the support of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Children’s Books Ireland and Poetry Ireland, and a position awarded in Ireland once every two years to a distinguished writer or illustrator of children's books.

Sarah Webb is an award winning children's book champion and writer for both children and adults. She has written eleven bestselling novels for adults including Always the Bridesmaid, The Shoestring Club and The Memory Box. Her books have been published in many different countries including the US, Australia, Poland, Korea, Canada, Italy and Indonesia. She has also written many children’s books, has contributed short stories to several collections including Moments and has compiled and edited three charity collections of her own, Beyond the Stars (for children), Travelling Light, and Mum’s the Word. Her Ask Amy Green series has been shortlisted for the Queen of Teen Award and the Irish Book Awards. Her new series for age 8+ is called The Songbird Cafe Girls and the third book in the series, Aurora and the Popcorn Dolphin has recently been published. Her new book with O'Brien Press, A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea will be published later in 2017, illustrated by Steve McCarthy.

Sarah worked in the book trade for many years as a children’s bookseller and buyer. She now combines writing with schools visits, reading and giving workshops at festivals and reviewing children’s books for the Irish Independent. She is also the Children's Curator of the Mountains to Sea Book Festival and in 2015 was awarded the Children's Books Ireland Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children's Books.

She lives in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, with her partner and three children and spends as much time as possible in Castletownshend, West Cork.