A FEW years ago, the writer Sarah Webb was staying in a yurt on Cape Clear Island, off the west Cork coast.

The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, etc

It’s readers to the ready this month, as MS Ireland prepares to kick-start its annual Readathon.

When asked, as part of a MS Readathon author survey, what she’d say to encourage children to read, children’s author Sarah Webb said: “It’s fun. Monsters, vampires, puppies, skeleton detectives, mad granddads — what’s not to like?”

A varied programme of unique young audience workshops and events is on the cards for the Storytelling Southeast Festival which is taking place this week in Dungarvan and Tramore.

Reading with your child is a gift no matter what the format — but printed books remain the best way to develop literacy, research suggests.

Novelist Christine Dwyer Hickey won the top prize of €15,000 for her latest work, The Cold Eye of Heaven, at the 41st Listowel Writers’ Week, last night.

Sarah Webb will lead workshop on penning commercial fiction at Waterford Writers Weekend, says Colette Sheridan.

The feisty teen heroine of The Hunger Games, Katniss, is as tough in the movie as in the books, says Declan Burke, and both adults and kids adore her

A good writing day beats pretty much anything else hands down.

THE Mail on Sunday newspaper last night “utterly refuted” a suggestion that it had hacked the phone of actor Hugh Grant.

Private detective Glenn Mulcaire tonight denied deleting messages from Milly Dowler’s phone as the murdered schoolgirl’s parents spoke of their agony over the hacking scandal.

GOOD Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen (Random House; €7.10) tells of good overcoming bad — maybe! Little grey Rolf loves Mrs Biggins.

BRITISH private detective Glenn Mulcaire has revealed the names of News of the World staff who instructed him to carry out phone hacking, it was confirmed yesterday.

Noah Barleywater Runs Away

A COLLECTION of short stories from 30 children across the country has been published in an attempt to highlight the value of community spirit in modern Ireland.

Olympic swimmer Andrew Bree failed to qualify from his 100m breaststroke heat despite a personal best time of 1:01.76.

FOR author Sarah Webb, life is sweet and fulfilling. She has signed a two-book deal worth “a generous six-figure sum” with British publisher Macmillan and is expecting her second child in February. Fruitful times.