In just about any profession in Ireland, if you work with children or vulnerable people, you’ve probably had to go through a background check by the Gardaí – Ireland’s police force – but for children’s writers and illustrators, it can get especially complicated and repetitive. If you’ve been doing this long enough, you’ll know exactly what I mean. I’ve…
This post is for people in the children’s book industry who’ve never been to a sci-fi/fantasy convention and for regular attendees of those conventions. I think it might be of interest to both, centred as it is around the strangeness and peculiar charm, not of the attendees, but the way in which cons are organized. And if you’ve never…
Children’s Book Festival – in terms of events, it’s the busiest time in the year for most children’s book authors (and to a lesser extent, illustrators) in Ireland. Officially, it runs from the beginning to the end of October, although it tends to bleed into September and November too. Libraries, schools and bookshops all over the country will be…
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…
I was delighted to hear that, in a recent poll of readers in libraries in County Offaly, I was voted Favourite Irish Author, ahead of some serious stars. The list went like this: Me! Marita Conlon-McKenna David Donohue Eoin Colfer Dolores Keaveney John Boyne Roddy Doyle Judy Curtin (Joint Place) Derek Landy, Maeve Binchy and John Connolly Of the…