I’m just finishing up two separate residencies for Poetry Ireland, in primary schools in Drogheda and Balbriggan. These two particular courses are what are known as Development Education residencies – all of which have some kind of social justice theme. The theme this year has been ‘Starvation’. I run a project that produces a collection of illustrated stories at…
I read an article in ‘The Irish Times’ recently that told of the massive advance for a two-book deal for first-time novellist, Kathleen MacMahon. In the article, the deal – with its £600,000 advance – for This Is How It Ends and a follow-up book, is hailed as: ‘brilliant news for debut novelists. It’s proof that there’s an appetite…
It seems the French like Irish steampunk stories. The French edition of ‘Ancient Appetites’ – ‘Voraces’ – is up for a second award. This one is the Prix Imaginales 2011. The prize was created in 2002 and is the first French prize exclusively devoted to fantasy writing. ‘Voraces’ is in the ‘jeunesse’ category. Here’s the shortlist for the category:…
Found this on Irish Publishing News. I made it onto the list of Top 100 authors borrowed in Irish libraries in 2010. For anybody who thinks that children’s books are a minor part of what is overwhelmingly an adult book market, the Top 100 list is loaded with children’s authors, with over half the Top 50 consisting of our…
One of the things about being published by a few different publishers in the same market, is that you can end up with a slightly disjointed approach to selling your work. Even within the one publisher, you can find that different types of books are sold in different ways. In some cases, this is necessary; the kind of thing…
So the bit on the telly went pretty well. As ever, it feels like you’ve walked into the middle of a busy kitchen and everyone else knows what’s cooking, and only have time to tell you just barely what you need to know to do your bit. Trying to say everything you want to get said in the three…
I’m going to be appearing on Elev8, on RTE 2 at around midday on Monday (the show is airing earlier than normal because of Easter). It’s part of the promotion for the Drogheda Arts Festival. The Enchanted Exhibition, which started out in the Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford, has now moved to the arts centre in Drogheda, and…
I got involved in a project recently, to make something of a run-down, overgrown spot in the town of Athboy, County Meath. Formerly the stables of Athboy House and known locally sometimes as ‘the Old Piggery’, the site comprised of a walled square with stone stable buildings round a courtyard at one end. A small heritage garden sits between…
I’m delighted to say to that ‘Voraces’, the French edition of ‘Ancient Appetites’, has been shortlisted in France for the ‘Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2011′. It’s in the category ‘Roman jeunesse étranger’, (number six on the list of categories on the award’s site). I’m up against some pretty tough competition. Here’s the full list for the category: Le Sortilège…
This post is dedicated to various aspects of not doing things the normal way. I’m going to start with a recent article in the Meath Chronicle about a class in St Fintina’s Post Primary in Longwood, County Meath. Each of the first year students has been provided with a Fizzbook Spin tablet-style laptop. The school worked with The Educational…