The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon has welcomed the launch of the Seachtain na Gaeilge Irish Language Books Promotional Campaign 2005, a partnership initiative between the Arts Council, Foras na Gaeilge, CLÉ (the Irish bookpublishers' association) and ÁIS (the Irish book distribution agency). The campaign will feature a number of events in bookshops around the country to promote the wide range of Irish language publications aimed at Irish speakers of all levels. The bookshop events, in cities throughout the country, and also in Belfast, will be supported by publishers and authors. In addition other Irish literature promotional work has been set in place. The quarterly Irish magazine An Léitheoir,(a guide to new Irish literature) published by Foras na Gaeilge has been redesigned in full colour, and information packs containing Irish publishers’ catalogues and posters have been distributed for display purposes to booksellers and libraries to coincide with Seachtain na Gaeilge itself, which runs until 17 March. Unprecedented demand from libraries has resulted in 40,000 copies of the redesigned An Léitheoir being distributed to date. Commenting on the success of the partnership to date, Arts Council Director, Mary Cloake says: “Irish language writers would benefit from coordinated marketing, publicity and distribution of their titles. This campaign is a step towards filling that gap and informing the public of the wide range of Irish language books on the market”. Over 200 new books in Irish are published each year, including literature for young people, informative books, poetry, novels, dramas, academic and research books, history books and opinion pieces. For more information, CLICK HERE