Books are my business: Children’s Books Ireland CEO Elaina Ryan

I am in this role 11 years; I came from book publishing.

I had done the masters in publishing studies at the University of Stirling in Scotland and in 2009, I started work in Little Island Books, where my boss and mentor was Siobhán Parkinson, a writer and Ireland’s first Children’s Laureate.

That was a phenomenal job because it covered everything; I was designing catalogues, bringing authors on tour, editing manuscripts, filing Vat returns, strategy development. 

It was a brilliant place to start, as it gave me an understanding of every aspect of the publishing process. I ended up as managing editor.

At that point, I was on the other side of Children’s Book Ireland. 

I would have been reviewing for the magazine, attending the conference, and submitting books for the awards, so I knew the organisation quite well from an external perspective. 

It was Siobhán who encouraged me to apply for this job.

What does your role involve?

It is very varied, no two days are the same. 

We have a very simple vision which is ‘every child a reader’. It is my role to whittle down all the ways we might do that and to lead our team, which now numbers 17; it was four when I started. 

I am also responsible for a lot of the partnerships, fundraising, the governance side of things, and I get to be our spokesperson in the media and at events.

When you are overseeing as many projects as we are running, there could be a day when you are presenting at an event and another where you are are at home by yourself writing a piece of policy.

What do you like most about it?

There is a phrase in our strategy which was about sharing our expertise and enthusiasm. 

The parts of my job that I like most are when I get to talk enthusiastically about the art form.

Everything we are doing is grounded in these phenomenal children’s books by authors and illustrators. 

I get to do the media round-ups where I am talking about all the new books coming out, which is a really joyous thing to do.

Getting to recommend books brings it back to what is at the heart of it all — those incredible authors and illustrators, which is where I started. 

I had my own stable of authors and illustrators at Little Island and now I have all of them, which is lovely. 

It is a part of the job that I really love because it means I have to keep in touch with what’s being published.

What do you like least about it?

As a charity it is so necessary that we are compliant with all of the governance and regulations that come with the day-to-day but I don’t know that anybody loves a day where you are sitting down to fill out your compliance record for the charities regulator.

It is not the most fun part of my job.

Three desert island books

I would want something really beautiful that you could read over and over again, so I would bring Tangleweed and Brine by Deirdre Sullivan, 13 feminist retellings of fairytales. I love it and there is such an Irishness to it as well.

I would bring a picture book because a life without illustration would not be good; Chris Haughton’s Shh! We Have a Plan is so glorious, it has a central spread with all the jewel colours and all the birds, it is beautiful to look at and it would make me happy.

To make me laugh, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾, by Sue Townsend. It would bring me back to a particular time in my life; I remember thinking it was the funniest book ever. Sue Townsend was a comic genius.

• The KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Awards 2025 take place on May 19, as part of the International Literature Festival Dublin; 
• Children’s Books Ireland is calling on schools, youth groups, early childhood settings, and book clubs across Ireland to participate in its Junior Juries’ programme;
• For more see childrensbooksireland.ie