Tony Blair was in Eason on O’Connell Street Saturday 4th September 2010 to sign copies of his autobiography, A Journey. His visit prompted tight security and things didn’t go entirely smoothly.

The Irish Independent reported that:

There were violent scuffles between protesters and gardai in O’Connell Street, Dublin, yesterday during former British prime minister Tony Blair’s controversial book signing event.

Shoes and eggs were thrown by the crowd at his car as he arrived to sign copies of his memoir, A Journey, at Eason’s flagship bookstore beside the GPO.

The missiles, thrown by anti-war protesters, who numbered no more than 200, did not hit Mr Blair as he arrived at the venue shortly before 11am. The poor weather greatly reduced the risk of widespread trouble.

Four people were arrested as activists clashed with gardai during the demonstrations before midday. The four were charged with minor public order offences and later released from custody.

The Irish Times gave further details on those arrested:

Four men were arrested following a protest in Dublin city centre yesterday morning where former British prime minister Tony Blair held a public book signing, the first since his memoirs were released this week.

The four, two aged in their late teens and two aged in their 30s, were taken to Store Street Garda station where they were charged with public order offences and released. They are due to appear in court on September 30th.

On a more thematic note The Guardian reported:

Some were determined in Dublin that these glass walls should be broken down; a few protesters even went to the trouble of queueing to make their judgments on his book in person. Kate O’Sullivan, a 24-year-old from Cork, and a member of the “Irish Palestinian Solidarity Movement”, got past the concentric rings of security that involved Garda and Special Branch and Emergency Response Units, and while Blair scribbled his signature informed him: “Mr Blair I am here to make a citizen’s arrest for the war crimes you have committed.” She was dragged away, she said, by five security people.

The day before, Blair appeared on RTÉ’s Late Late show with Ryan Tubridy for his first live interview since releasing the book:

Tony Blair On The Late Late Show

Bord Gais Energy is to launch an online book club Monday 6th September. The site is live now at www.bordgaisenergybookclub.ie.

The book club will feature a rotating panel of reviewers including Bert Wright who is the administrator of the Irish Book Awards, a celebrity author and a librarian from one of the 369 public libraries in Ireland.

The first month features Skippy Dies, the Man Booker nominated book by Irishman Paul Murray, which will be reviewed by Bishopstown librarian David O’Brien. Amanda Brunker will review Fogive And Forget by Patricia Scanlan and Bert Wright will review, bestseller, The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

This marks the fifth book related promotion by Bord Gais Energy who also support The Irish Book Awards, The Irish Book of The Decade, TV3′s Ireland AM Book Club and the Readiscover Your Local Library campaign.

The competition for book readers attention is heating up with the Irish Independent launching their own book club in August and The Irish Times launched an online book club earlier in 2010.

However there are some 500 private book clubs in the country and if the attendance at the Ennis Book Club Festival is anything to go by, there is no danger of readers falling out of love with book clubs anytime soon.

Watch this. It’s excellent until the band starts talking!

The living and working conditions of artists in the Republic and North of Ireland.
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S&S joins iBookstore
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Electric Picnic | David Donohue and Me
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Down These Green Streets …
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Cor Klaasen Exhibition
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Response: The digital era has not made publishers defunct
Worth reading
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I am number four.
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Elementary
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Book-post!
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Upwardly mobile | moving in and what not
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A rather excellent video featuring Jamie Byng, who’ll be appearing at Mountains To Sea in Dun Laoghaire in September

Upwardly mobile | moving in and what not
And he discusses new digs!
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Book Launch: Renegades: Irish Republican Women 1900-1922
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Moving on
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Gollancz appoints Nash as digital publisher
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Miriam O’Callaghan and Mercier Press title
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Sell, Socialise and Survive at the Frankfurt Book Fair
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Edinburgh
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Waterstone’s to open bar and restaurants
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Samsung launches e-reader with W H Smith
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PW Select: A Quarterly Service for Self-Published Authors to Launch in December
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Publicity for Mercier Press titles
Three of Mercier Press titles were reviewed in national papers at the weekend.
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Reivew: Rules for a Perfect Life by Niamh Greene
IN Rules for a Perfect Life, each of the 27 chapters, like those in some self-help manuals, is headed by a maxim, which will, if followed, apparently change your life for the better.
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Tales of the Burren, and other places
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Ireland’s desperadoes of the veld
Masked Raiders: Irish Banditry in Southern Africa, 1880-1899, By Charles van Onselen
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Book Club: Tenderwire by Claire Kilroy
An interesting move this!
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Review: Jumping in Puddles by Claire Allan
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Amazon’s ebook milestone: digital sales outstrip hardbacks for first time in US
Amazon sold more kindle ebooks than hardback books in the last three months
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A Look at Mexico City’s Book Kiosks
Nice feature from Publishing Perspectives
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A glimpse into the eighteenth century book trade: How to encourage book buying
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Irish Times review Blood Money.
Good news for Arlene, nice review!
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Edinburgh!
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Clare County Library launches Children’s Book Festival on October 1st 2010 with best-selling author Darren Shan.
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Over 17,000 links added to library website
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Brutal harvest
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On the Riverbank
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Great article by Sinead Gleeson on last lines in the Irish Times on Saturday!

When I was 16 I read a novel I absolutely loved, and I can still remember the shimmering pleasure its last line gave. From Dickens’s Great Expectations : “I took her hand in mine, and we went out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw no shadow of another parting from her.”

Some novel ways to end on a high – The Irish Times – Sat, Jul 10, 2010.

Hachette Ireland is to publish a memoir by Irish Times journalist and cystic fibrosis sufferer Orla Tinsley.

Tinsley came to prominence as a vocal campaigner for better state care for cystic fibrosis patients. She was the Joint Winner of Young Person of the Year in 2008.

The book will focus on the challenges posed by Tinsley’s illness, on her fight for better cystic fibrosis care for Irish sufferers and on her journey to become a writer.

Entitled Salty Baby, the book will be released in October 2010.

Hughes & Hughes was officially placed in liquidation at a creditors meeting in Dublin yesterday with Kieran Wallace of KPMG appointed as liquidator.

The Irish Times carries a full report:

Employees (who are ranked as preferential creditors) are owed €250,000, while employment-related taxes of €148,000 are also due. Almost €560,000 is owed in local authority rates.

More than €6.4 million is owed to the chain’s numerous unsecured creditors. Within this category, the Dublin Airport Authority – the former landlord of the chain’s outlets in the capital’s airport – is one of the largest creditors, being owed almost €690,000.

The largest unsecured creditors include many well-known book publishers and distributors. Penguin Books Ltd is owed more than €300,000; Harper Collins more than €256,000; and Eason Menzies Distribution in excess of €296,000. Independent book wholesaler Argosy is due about €150,000.

]]> http://irishpublishingnews.com/2010/04/28/hughes-hughes-goes-into-liquation/feed/ 0 http://irishpublishingnews.com/2010/04/26/daily-links-26042010/ http://irishpublishingnews.com/2010/04/26/daily-links-26042010/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:43:40 +0000 Editor http://irishpublishingnews.com/?p=1833 Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes

Memoir by George W Bush to be published in November
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Check out Verbal this week!
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May 13th: AGM & Hugo Hamilton event
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]]> http://irishpublishingnews.com/2010/04/26/daily-links-26042010/feed/ 0 http://irishpublishingnews.com/2010/04/14/irish-times-reports-speculation-that-hughes-hughes-might-be-reopened/ http://irishpublishingnews.com/2010/04/14/irish-times-reports-speculation-that-hughes-hughes-might-be-reopened/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:15:22 +0000 Editor http://irishpublishingnews.com/?p=1690 Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes

The Irish Times carried a report today that former Hughes & Hughes MD Dereck Hughes had:

put together a group of investors in a move to reopen some of the chain’s Dublin stores.

There is no word on when this might happen but The Times reports:

Mr Hughes’s plans are not thought to extend to stores that had been based outside Dublin.

To begin trading again, Mr Hughes would have to persuade at least some wholesale book distributors to supply stock. As many of his creditors expect to be significantly out of pocket as a result of the receivership, this will involve substantial negotiation.

While some publishers and distributors are unwilling to supply Mr Hughes, others have expressed their goodwill and support for his plan.

Jean Harrington of Meath-based publishers Maverick House welcomed the news. “Competition is necessary for any industry. Booksellers are our customer and we regret the closure of any of them,” she said.

“It would be great to see them come back into the market. Hopefully they’ll be able to.”

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