I’ve been struggling to keep up with all the reading I want to do, mostly because of all the reading I feel I have to do – for research for work, or because I’ve had a book loaned to me, or because I’m going to be meeting the author, or have met them, or I’m reviewing something (I do…
For anyone interested in writing for kids, there are still a couple of places left on the online course I’ll be running for Creative Writing Ink in September-October. Here’s the outline of the course: I will cover the basics of storytelling and the specific aspects of writing for children and young adults. Areas that will be looked at include:…
The illegal copying and distribution of digital books. We knew this was coming – in fact, it’s been possible for a while. Ever since book production went digital, and distribution went online. But thanks to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing and some handy pieces of dodgy software, any git with a smidgeon of computer savvy can now rip off somebody…
These are aren’t necessarily my favourite films from the last few months, but they’ve stuck in my head, which I suppose is as good a reason as any for talking about them. I’m going to start with a movie, simply entitled ‘Monsters ‘. I just sort of picked this one off the shelf in Xtra-Vision. It seemed to be…
I found out recently that, in the UK, libraries and schools are starting to bring in policies that demand people like me – who go in to do storytelling, talks and drawings – have public liability cover of £5 million. I’m not sure what I could do to a person or property during one of my sessions that would…
On Saturday, I was at Prince’s concert in Malahide Castle. It was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. I came out knackered and hoarse. My feet and legs ached from dancing in a confined space for nearly three hours. Actually, it was more jumping up and down – it’s hard to dance very expressively in a…
I’ve long been interested in how our relationship with text is changing as the means of producing it changes. For many people, the term ‘ebook’ means the same text you read in a book, displayed on the screen of a eReader, an iPad or a computer. For designers, illustrators and computer programmers, and even film-makers, it’s something that potentially…
Caroline Horn has an article in ‘The Bookseller’ that tells a sobering story about the current state of the children’s publishing industry in the UK – one that can obviously be applied to Ireland as well. Many well established children’s authors and illustrators are really struggling to make a living, partly due to a reduction in sales, partly due…
The language and subject matter in this post may not be suitable for younger readers. I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide. I’m thoroughly sick of the callous and arrogant way the Catholic Church has dealt with the overwhelming number of cases of child abuse by their people. Not only have they permitted it to happen, created…
I’m not to going to say too much about this, as Patrick says it so well himself. If you love books, you should listen to this; it’s his speech on winning the Carnegie medal for ‘Monsters of Men’ (an excellent conclusion to a brilliant trilogy – I’ll get to posting something on it later). He’s an excellent speaker, and…