Writers for Children and Young People in dlr LexIcon 2025/26

Ruth Ennis (she/they) is a poet and verse novelist. Her debut novel Shorelines will be published with Little Island in February 2026. Shorelines is a young adult verse novel retelling of The Little Mermaid told through the lens of a fat protagonist. Ruth’s community outreach programme during this residency will focus on improving accessibility to the Irish literature industry to teenagers interested in reading and creating books.  

Eve McDonnell is a children’s author, artist and Wonderlarker. She is the author of middle-grade novels including  Elsetime, The Chestnut Roaster, and The Last Boy. Curiosity, courage and creativity will be at the core of Eve’s community engagement during this residency. Through workshops, events, informal chats and demonstration, she aims to unlock hesitant creativity and encourage exploration, enthusiasm and the courage to release the power of the imagination in children, young people and adults. 

Ruth Ennis Full Biography: 

Ruth Ennis (she/they) is a poet and verse novelist. She has a B.A. in English with Drama from University College Dublin and an M.Phil. in Children’s Literature from Trinity College Dublin. She usually is working with books in some capacity. 

She has written poetry, short stories, and essays for several publications. Her work has been published in The Irish Writer’s Handbook (Books Ireland) and I Am The Wind (Little Island). Ruth’s debut novel Shorelines will be published with Little Island in February 2026. Shorelines is a young adult verse novel retelling of The Little Mermaid told through the lens of a fat protagonist.

Ruth regularly reviews children’s and young adult books on various platforms. Her main reviews can be found on the Books Ireland Magazine website. She occasionally reviews titles for Children’s Books Ireland and is a Book Doctor for CBI. She also posts informal reviews on her social media accounts (@rurooie). You can find out more at www.ruthennis.com

In collaboration with the Discover Irish Kids Books campaign, Ruth runs the Discover Irish Children’s Books Challenge every October since 2023. This is a social media challenge where participants are encouraged to share a book by Irish / Ireland-based authors and illustrators in response to a daily prompt.

Ruth’s community outreach programme during this residency will focus on improving accessibility to the Irish literature industry to teenagers interested in reading and creating books.

Eve McDonnell Full Biography: 

Eve is a children’s author, artist and Wonderlarker from Dún Laoghaire, now living near the Wicklow/Wexford border with her husband and teenage twins. She is the author of middle-grade novels including the award winning Elsetime, the Carnegie nominated The Chestnut Roaster, and The Last Boy, a BookTrust UK and Sunday Times Irish Book of the Year. Eve was awarded literary bursaries by the Arts Council of Ireland to research and write her stories.

In addition to writing books, Eve’s career includes graphic design, brand development and prop-making. She facilitates creativity workshops in libraries, schools, corporations and festivals, and teaches creative writing classes to 8-12-year-olds. In conjunction with Children’s Books Ireland, Eve is the Champion of Reading for the Children’s Health Ireland Arts in Health Programme since 2024, and has designed and facilitated creative writing programmes with various primary schools via CBI Champion of Reading and Cruinniú na nÓg library initiatives. She has appeared in several literary festivals in Ireland and the UK, is listed with Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools Scheme, and is a crew member of #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks.

Curiosity, courage and creativity will be at the core of Eve’s community engagement during this residency. Through workshops, events, informal chats and demonstration, she aims to unlock hesitant creativity and encourage exploration, enthusiasm and the courage to release the power of the imagination in children, young people and adults.

Eve regularly posts about books and writing on Instagram @Eve_Mc_Donnell. Reviews, publications details, and inspiration behind her writing can be found at www.evemcdonnell.com.