Honno Press and Palas Print, Caernarfon’s Independent Bookshop are delighted to announce an event with Sara Gethin. Sara, previously shortlisted for the Not the Booker and Waverton Good Read Award, is live with Mairéad Hearne, the hugely popular Swirl and Thread Book Blogger.

About this Event

Sara Gethin’s second novel, Emmet and Me, is a deeply affecting story of two young children in 1960s Connemara. It vividly evokes the harsh conditions in Ireland’s controversial industrial schools, as well as telling the story of a life-changing friendship.

“Sara Gethin has written something very special, very powerful… ‘Emmet and Me’ is a remarkable tale, a captivating novel that will leave its mark on every reader.”
Mairéad Hearne of Swirl and Thread book blog

Sara and Mairéad will be discussing the cruelty of life in Irish industrial schools, and their lasting legacy, and how Sara managed to turn that into a work of compelling fiction, as well as how she manages to so successfully evoke the world through a child’s eyes. They’ll also discuss changes in recent times, and Ireland’s embracing of a more inclusive society.

“The unspeakable cruelty of the Irish Industrial Schools and their devastating effect on children and families is laid bare in this profoundly moving, evocative story of a special friendship told through the eyes of a ten-year-old narrator. I loved it.”
Laura Wilkinson author of Skin Deep

Sara Gethin grew up in Llanelli. She has a degree in Religion and Ethics in Western Thought and worked as a primary school teacher in Carmarthenshire and Berkshire. Writing as Wendy White, she has had four children’s books published, and the first of these won the Tir nan-Og Award in 2014. Her debut novel, Not Thomas, was shortlisted for the Guardian’s Not the Booker prize and The Waverton Good Read Award. Her work has been shortlisted for the Colm Tóibín International Short Story Award and she is a member of Hay Festival’s Writers at Work. While west Wales is still home, Sara spends much of her time in Ireland. You can find Sara on twitter @SGethinWriter and via her website.

Mairéad Hearne is an Irish blogger with a passion for reading. Having established her blog, Swirl and Thread, in 2016 Mairéad has developed relationships with many authors, publishers and fellow book bloggers from across the globe. She has been exposed to some wonderful opportunities, including being a guest at the annual Irish Book Awards, being part of a discussion panel during the recent Cork World Book Festival 2021 and chatting about books on her local radio station, 96FM, in Cork.

Her favourite genres are historical, contemporary, crime/thriller, biographies and literary fiction.
Mairéad blogs at swirlandthread.com, her reviews can also be found on Irish literary web-site Writing.ie and on twitter @swirlandthread