Eason is Gold Winner in An Post Integrated Direct Marketing Awards!
We’re celebrating today in Eason HQ! Our Children’s Literacy Campaign was named the Gold Winner in the ‘Best DM & Digital’ category of An Post’s Integrated Direct Marketing Awards (IDMAs) last night.
Aimed at promoting children’s literacy throughout Ireland, our ongoing campaign has three main strands:
- The Eason Spelling Bee, which grew from just 12 participating schools in 2011 to a massive 800 schools in 2013
- Get Into Reading – our drive to promote the importance of reading with children, supported by our weekly Story Time readings in every Eason store in the country
- Our partnership with children’s charity organisation, Barnados
Group Head of Marketing David Field was delighted that Eason received such recognition for its focus on bringing the gift of reading to children. “This award highlights the importance of bringing children’s literacy to the forefront in modern Ireland. In our initial research, we were surprised to discover that almost 20% of Irish parents of children under the age of 8 never read to their children. We believe that reading is not only an essential skill, but also a catalyst for expanding young imaginations and creating a lifelong connection with the magic of the written word.”
This IDMA Award comes just six months after Easons.com scooped the ‘Website of the Year’ and ‘Best Customer Experience’ prizes in the 2012 Retail Excellence Ireland Awards.
Eason Spelling Bee 2013 Updates
Over the last two weeks we visited Clare, Tipperary, Waterford, Laois and Limerick (yes we have been busy bees!). All of these county bees had a great turnout and the five county winners will now go on to represent their respective counties in the Provincial Finals in June. Over the coming weeks we will be visiting every county in Ireland to hold the County Spelling Bees and dates once confirmed can be found below. We will also update you on the County Winners on a weekly basis.
Clare County Spelling Bee:
16 enthusiastic spellers took part in the Clare County Spelling Bee on Wednesday 27th February, held in Scoil na Maighdhine Mhuire in Newmarket-on-Fergus. This was a very nail-biting affair, which came down to a tie-break between spellers that took 16 rounds to separate. In the end, Quinn Painter from Clondrinagh N.S. was crowned the county champion on the day.
Clare Spelling Bee Winner Quinn Painter
Tipperary County Spelling Bee:
31 spellers took part in the Tipperary County Spelling Bee, which took place in Nenagh on the 28th February. In a very exciting contest, Tom Anderson from Ballinahinch N.S. was crowned the County Champion.
Tipperary Spelling Bee Winner Tom Anderson
Waterford County Spelling Bee:
12 spellers took part in the Waterford County Spelling Bee in Fenor National School on the 1st March. Roísín Daly from Liosmor Mochuda National School was crowned the County Champion.
Waterford Spelling Bee Winner Roísín Daly
Laois County Spelling Bee:
10 spellers took part in the Laois County Spelling Bee on Wed 6th March, held in Scoil Mhuire in Abbeyleix. After a number of tie-break words between the last two, Ruth Bergin from the host school was crowned the champion.
Laois Spelling Bee Winner Ruth Bergin
Limerick County Spelling Bee:
18 spellers took part in the Limerick County Spelling Bee, which took place in Askeaton on the 7th March – coincidentally, this was World Book Day! Killian Ryan from Cloverfield N.S. was declared the champion speller on the day and will now go on to represent Limerick in the Munster Final in June
Limerick Spelling Bee Winner Killian Ryan
Upcoming County Spelling Bee Dates
Any schools that have not received their in-school spelling bee pack at this stage should contact easonspellingbee@gmail.com.Registered schools are asked to be in attendance at least 15 minutes prior to the start time.
Munster
| County | Date | Time | Location |
| Kerry | Wed 13th Mar | 11:00 | Scoil Iosagain, Ballybunion, Co. Kerry |
| Cork | Thu 14th Mar | 11:00 | Scoil Nioclais, Frankfield, Grange, Cork |
Leinster
| County | Date | Time | Location |
| Longford | Wed 20th Mar | 11:00 | Stonepark National School, Stonepark, Longford |
| Offaly | Thu 21st Mar | 11:00 | Lumcloon National School, Cloghan, Birr, Co. Offaly |
| Kildare | Tue 9th Apr | 11:00 | Scoil Mhicil Naofa, Athy, Co. Kildare |
| Dublin | Wed 10th Apr | 11:00 | St. John of Bosco, Navan Rd, Dublin 7 |
| Kilkenny | Tue 16th Apr | 11:00 | Presentation NS, Parnell St, Kilkenny |
| Carlow | Wed 17th Apr | 11:00 | Ballon N.S., Ballon, Co. Carlow |
| Wexford | Wed 24th Apr | 11:00 | Boolavogue N.S., Ferns, Co. Wexford |
| Wicklow | Thu 25th Apr | 11:00 | St. Joseph’s N.S., Glenealy, Co. Wicklow |
| Westmeath | Tue 30th Apr | 11:00 | St. Manchan’s N.S., Tubber, Moate, Co. Westmeath |
| Meath | Wed 1st May | 11:00 | St. Columbanus N.S., Ballivor, Co. Meath |
| Louth | Thu 2nd May | 11:00 | Scoil Mhuire na Gael, Bay Estate, Dundalk, Co. Louth |
Ulster
| County | Date | Time | Location |
| Donegal | Thu 16th May | 11:00 | Gaelscoil Adhamhnin, Glenn Cearra, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal |
| Cavan | Mon 20th May | 11:00 | Knocktemple N.S., Virginia, Co. Cavan |
| Fermanagh | Thu 23rd May | 11:00 | St. Ninnidh’s PS, Derrylin, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh |
| Monaghan | Mon 27th May | 11:00 | Gaelscoil Ultain, An Cnoc, Muineachan, Co. Mhuineachain |
Updates for the remaining dates for the County finals in Ulster will follow, so please check back regularly.
A Celebration of Irish writing
An outstanding selection of authors were recognised last night at the annual Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards at the RDS. Hosted by Claire Byrne and John Murray, the awards saw over 50 authors from all genres gather together with 350 guests to celebrate the finest in Irish writing.
The heart of the night came with Gordon Snell, husband to the late Maeve Binchy, accepting the Eason Popular Fiction Award on behalf of his beloved wife, who died earlier this year. ”Maeve always said that a speech can never be too short – or too flattering”, he opened, and went on to pay moving tribute to her and to those who supported her through the years. He left the stage to a rousing standing ovation.
And the evening was full of legends. John Banville received the Eason Novel of the Year Award for his beautiful novel, Ancient Light, while the ever-impressive Edna O’Brien won the Non Fiction Book of the Year Award for her stunning memoir, Country Girl, and quoted beautifully from Cuirt an Mheán Oíche by Brian Merriman. Mary O’Rourke, winner of the John Murray Listeners’ Choice vote, gave a lovely speech thanking a new and different band of voters, while Jennifer Johnston, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, powerfully took her moment to pay tribute to Savita Halapannavar.
Katie Taylor, needless to say, won a standing ovation alongside her Sports Book of the Year Award, as the crowd relived the moment of her amazing Olympic victory. “I’m used to accepting sports awards” she said, “but never expected to win a book award!”…before saying that she hopes to publish her follow up, My Olympic Dream 2 in four years’ time.
Two fiction favourites of the team here at Eason also scooped awards – Tana French for her hauntingly atmospheric crime novel Broken Harbour, and newcomer Donal Ryan for his stunning debut The Spinning Heart. Congratulations to both!
And a great night for children’s authors too. Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series received the recognition it so well deserves, while Irish illustrator Oliver Jeffers’This Moose Belongs to Me was awarded the Junior Children’s prize for his quirky, endearing and inventive work.
With the stunning Atlas of the Great Irish Famine – a landmark piece of publishing beautifully produced by Cork University Press (smallest University Press in the world!) – winning the Best Irish Published book and the ever-charming chef Catherine Fulvio scooping the Best Cookery Book prize, the night was complete!
RTÉ Television will be broadcasting the highlights of the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards on RTÉ One on Saturday, November 24th 2012 at 11.05pm.
The full list of winners is below. (Great recommendations for Christmas gifts!)
Eason Novel of the Year
Ancient Light by John Banville - €13.99
Eason Popular Fiction Book of the Year
A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy - €12.99
Ireland AM Crime Fiction Award
Broken Harbour by Tana French – €14.99
Avonmore Cookbook of the Year
Eat Like an Italian by Catherine Fulvio – €19.99
Lifestyle Sports Book of the Year
My Olympic Dream by Katie Taylor - €14.99
Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year
Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan - €11.99
John Murray Show Reader’s Choice
Just Mary by Mary O’Rourke – €19.99
Argosy Non Fiction Book of the Year:
Country Girl by Edna O’Brien – €18.99
Specsavers Children’s Awards
This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers - €11.99
Artemis Fowl The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer – €13.99
IES Best Irish Published Book of the Year
Atlas of the Great Irish Famine - €59
Lifetime Achievement Award: Jennifer Johnston
How Many Miles to Babylon - €11.57
Eason and Barnados Partnership – Plus Exclusive Miranda Manning Story from ‘All I Want for Christmas’
Eason are very proud to have made a donation of €20,000 to children’s charity Barnardos as part of the ‘Learning for Life’ initiative, a new partnership between Eason and Barnardos supporting selected literacy programmes. We hope that our customers will help us to raise even more much needed funds for the charity during the festive season and we have three easy ways in which to do so:
We will have collection tins situated in all Eason stores across the country, allowing customers to contribute directly to the great work that Barnardos are doing.
We have in stock a range of beautiful Christmas Cards from Lantz. A contribution will be made to Barnardos from the sale of each stickered pack.
And finally, Eason are delighted to be stocking the new Barnardos Christmas book, All I Want for Christmas, published by Poolbeg. This fabulous new book features short stories by some of our favourite authors and will make a great stocking filler. Barnardos will receive €1 from the sale of each copy. And just to put you in the festive mood, Poolbeg have very kindly agreed to let us republish this lovely short story from Miranda Manning, which is featured in the book:
Evening News
by Miranda Manning
Sarah found a seat on the Luas and had just sat down when it lurched into motion. She was glad of the twenty minute journey ahead. She needed time to sort out her thoughts. She watched as the Christmas lights lit up the puddles on the pavement outside, glinting almost as brightly in the shimmering water as they did overhead. Her fellow passengers were typical of commuters everywhere – careful not to make eye contact, hoping not to be forced to sit close to someone who was wetter than them. No conversation – some had Ipods while others clearly were listening to the radio on their phones. The people standing were swaying in motion with the Luas. They were probably just anxious to get home.
It was Friday. It should have been a good day. She always looked forward to the weekend. Despite their difficulties, she and Brendan and the kids always made a point of doing something interesting together rather than just letting the couple of days slip by. It might only be a walk in the Dublin mountains but since the children were getting older a trip to their favourite shopping centre was more the norm. But they did it as a family – it was part of their routine.
But this evening Sarah had a problem – made more complicated by the fact that it was good news really. Having worked on a temporary basis as a copywriter at the advertising agency for almost twelve months, she had been told today that the woman she was replacing had decided not to return to work after her maternity leave.
Easons.com is the REI National Website of the Year!
We’re Number One!
Easons.com won the prestigious National Website of the Year award at the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards in early November, having been selected as a finalist from a shortlist of 12 eCommerce websites. We also took top spoils in the Best Customer Experience category.
Leading web consultancy AMAS conducted independent reviews of each entrant, looking at presentation, usability, quality of content and customer experience. Our adherence to best practice, consistency of design and customer-centric approach won them over.
John Maguire, Eason Head of eCommerce, says that the Website of the Year award is the culmination of strategic investment over the past 12 to 24 months. “We’ve focused on developing the website in line with our web strategy,” he explains. “Winning these two awards is a great seal of approval for the strategic direction we’ve taken. It’s also a testament to the fantastic work of the eCommerce team and the wider Eason organisation, all of whom had an integral role in evolving the Eason website over the past year or so.
“For us, next year is about the ‘two Ms’: Multichannel and Mobile. Our goal is to create an efficient, customer-focused multichannel retail experience that harnesses the existing network of Eason stores and provides an efficient service for the modern shopper. We have a lot of projects in the pipeline to help us achieve this goal, which will come into fruition throughout 2013.”
The Eason Virtual Book Shop is Now Open!
Launched Today at Connolly Station, Dublin!
We are delighted to announce that Eason’s Virtual Book Shop has just been launched at Connolly Station, Dublin.
Featuring the latest bestselling titles, the Virtual Book Shop brings the Eason experience to busy commuters via QR codes and mobile technology.
Customers are invited to scan a QR code at the Eason Popup stand in Connolly Station. They can then read more about the title and purchase the book – all via their mobile phone.
Developed by VendorShopSocial and integrated with Facebook, the new Eason Virtual Book Shop enables people to not only buy books using their mobile, but to see the books their friends want, recommend or buy.
The Virtual Book Shop will be live in Connolly Station from October 22nd until Christmas.
If you are reading this post on a mobile device, please click here to visit the Virtual Book Store. Otherwise, check out our new Popup stand in Connolly Station!
We’ll be updating this post throughout the day with pictures of the Popup stand in action.
The Eason Virtual Book Shop is ready to go!
One of the first customers to use the new Eason Virtual Book Shop
Rosser is in the House!
We just met two iconic Irishmen – Ross O’Carroll-Kelly and Paul Howard. They popped into Eason HQ for a quick chat, a few mugshots and a book signing for their latest title: The Shelbourne Ultimatum.
Ross, unfortunately, is still confined to his hospital bed. We made the most of the situation by getting a few snaps on the bed with the legends themselves and the Eason gang!
Paul and Ross are visiting Eason Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown and Swords today. If you’re nearby, make sure to drop in to get your photo taken with the Rosser and your copy of The Shelbourne Ultimatum signed by Paul.
L-R: Paul Howard, Eason Range Planner Caoilfhionn Fay, Ross O'Carroll Kelly, Eason Book Purchasing Manager Stephen Boylan
RO'CK author Paul Howard signing copies of The Shelbourne Ultimatum
The First Casual Vacancy Sighting – at Eason HQ!
We’ve got an exclusive picture of one of the first sightings of The Casual Vacancy on Irish soil. Taken in the early hours of the morning at Eason HQ in Dublin, the below snap depicts the very first copy of JK Rowling’s much-anticipated novel being packed for shipping.
We’re very excited to confirm that, as of today, The Casual Vacancy is available to buy in Eason stores nationwide and online at Easons.com!
JK’s in the House!
We’re just back from the Eason HQ warehouse, where we managed to sneak past the patrolling Dementors to take a quick snap of the pallets of JK Rowling’s first adult fiction novel, The Casual Vacancy, which hits the shelves tomorrow! It’s under strict lock and key until the morning, but you can order your copy online today!
Remembering Maeve
The world of Irish books is a lesser place this week after the death of the incomparable Maeve Binchy. With an incredible 16 novels and 40 million worldwide sales to her name (not to mention innumerable library loans and hand-to-hand book shares!), her writing touched so many readers, and brought Ireland to homes and hearths around the world.
But anyone who has read Maeve’s books or been lucky enough to meet her in person will know that the big numbers are not what was important to Maeve: what she really loved was the personal. Her books – wise, warm and enveloping – are always full of kindness and understanding of even the most awkward characters in life. “ I don’t have ugly ducklings turning into swans in my stories,” she said during an interview. “ I have ugly ducklings turning into confident ducks”. Her intelligent eye for detail, her absorbing stories, and above all her capacity to capture the foibles of the human heart, combined to delight fans with every book she published.
The intelligence, wit and empathy she showed in her writing were a true reflection of her personality. The outpouring of tributes since her death shows the warmth of feeling towards Maeve as a woman as well as a writer. As booksellers, we are honoured to have had the chance to know her, and she has been a great friend to us: always with a kind word, a warm gesture or note, and a remarkable memory for every shop and member of staff that she ever met. I was lucky enough to meet her on the very first day of my job in Easons: she insisted I sit down and tell her all about myself while she signed copies of ‘Tara Road’. She signed a copy of it for me too: “Maria – welcome to this mad world! Maeve”. I have it framed in my office to this day. Everyone who met her has a little tale to tell of her thoughtfulness or her impish sense of humour.
Besides the gift of her own writing, Maeve inspired a generation of Irish women writers, and was always warm and encouraging to aspiring novelists. A true touchstone of modern Irish writing, she happily shared her knowledge and experience with a generation of female fiction authors, creating one of Ireland’s most loved genres, not to mention one of our proudest exports.
Maeve, your ‘ugly ducklings’ thank you for everything you gave us.
