Teen Citywide Read encourages students to discover the power of literature
Dublin teens are encouraged to discover the joys of reading as part of a citywide initiative.
Teen Citywide Read 2026 has officially launched and once again calls on Transition Year students to connect with their local library and engage with contemporary Irish writing. This year’s selected titles are Something Terrible Happened Last Night by Sam Blake and Mixed Up: An Irish Boy's Journey to Belonging by Leon Diop.
Running from October to December, this year's programme focuses on Irish authors to offer students a reading experience that reflects the diverse interests, backgrounds, and reading preferences of teenagers across Ireland. Students from across Dublin gathered at Coolock Library for the launch where they met with the chosen authors.
The event marked the start of a citywide reading journey that will encourage young people to discover new books, engage with contemporary Irish writing and strengthen their connection with local libraries. Cllr Clodagh Ní Mhuirí attended on behalf of Lord Mayor of Dublin Daryl Barron.
Something Terrible Happened Last Night is a contemporary young adult thriller set in Dublin. When a group of teenage friends discover a body after a party, they begin investigating the mystery themselves. Combining social media, rumours and multiple perspectives, the novel was shortlisted for Teen and Young Adult Book of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards 2023.
“‘I’m thrilled that Something Terrible Happened Last Night has been chosen for the brilliant Citywide Teen Read for Transition Year. To paraphrase Frank Serafini ‘there is no such thing as a young person who hates to read; there are only young people who have not found the right book,’ but there are so many other things grabbing teens’ attention today, finding that book can be hard,” Ms Blake said.
“This initiative provides that opportunity, and I hope the choice of a pacy crime novel with a cast that aims to reflect today’s 16 and 17 year olds will grab readers' interest, get them talking and get them reading.”
Mixed Up: An Irish Boy's Journey to Belonging is a powerful memoir exploring Irish Book Award-winning author Leon Diop's experience of growing up mixed-race in Tallaght , addressing issues of identity, belonging, racism and neurodiversity with honesty, warmth and humour.
"I'm delighted to be taking part in this programme. My book is about a journey to becoming comfortable with your own identity, and that is exactly what I would love to help young readers in Dublin with too,” Mr Diop explained.
“Reading someone else's story is the fastest way to understand your own. I'm hoping that through this wonderful programme we will be able to look at how we build positive attitudes towards our own identities and be respectful of different people."
Participating schools will be provided with sets of the selected titles for their school libraries, while students will be encouraged to visit their local library branch, take a guided tour, join the library, and borrow books. Acting City Librarian Brendan Teeling said he first got into books as a teenager and that the Citywide Read will encourage students across Dublin to do the same.
“It’s about giving young people the time and the space to read something because they want to, not because they have to. I hope every student who comes through our doors this autumn joins up, borrows a book and keeps coming back,” he said.
The campaign is run by Dublin UNESCO City of Literature and Dublin City Libraries, in partnership with Little Island Books and Gill Books, and is funded by Dublin City Council and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.
Both books are available to borrow from Dublin City Libraries, in print at local branches and as eBooks on BorrowBox.
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