THE ‘One Limerick, One Book’ campaign will give Fitzgibbon the opportunity to visit local libraries around Limerick and give talks to participants of the programme.
Expressing her enthusiasm for the project, she said, “I love reading, I love books, I love libraries and I’m fascinated by the opinions of readers.”
Speaking on this opportunity, Fitzgibbon revealed she was “absolutely thrilled to receive the call – It was totally unexpected and I feel honoured and very grateful that my third novel in the private investigator Lana Bowen series, Tell the Truth, has been chosen to open the One Limerick, One Book initiative.”
The idea of this new programme, which was proposed by Cllr Shane Hickey O’Mara in 2024, was to make reading a shared experience across communities and encourage more people to read.
Fitzgibbon expressed how important this initiative is for the city, “I’ve been co-writing for theatre and short film with community groups across Limerick City and County for almost 20 years and I believe the value of community, engagement through storytelling and discussion is extremely beneficial and empowering.”
The initiative is aimed at all ages. Fitzgibbon described how “libraries host vast amounts of book clubs with no set demographic, ten people can read the same book and have completely different opinions. This programme gives readers the opportunity to explore that in a safe environment with the author present.”
Speaking about the inspiration behind the book, Fitzgibbon explained how the idea first came to her.
“In September 2022, I was summoned for jury duty. I was both fascinated and terrified all at once. I wanted my name to be pulled out of the hat but equally I wanted to blend into the furnishings and watch from the side-lines.”
“As it turned out, both happened. It’s an onerous task- when twelve strangers are thrown together to decide someone’s fate. The idea for Tell the Truth came to me that day and over the course of the months to follow, the story began to take on a life of its own.”
Fitzgibbons book Tell the Truth will be available in libraries across Limerick from October through to December.