Category Archives: Eurocon

Well that was unexpected!

Award, Eurocon, Young Adult,

Today I found out that I’ve been awarded the The Spirit of Dedication Award For Best Author of Children’s Science Fiction and Fantasy by the European Science Fiction Society at their annual Eurocon convention in St. Petersburg. I never win things. This is just so amazing! I can’t quite believe it yet. I get an award jointly with the Russian illustrator Anton Lomaev, whose art is simply breathtaking!

The lovely Gar Kavanagh is bringing it back for me and in the meantime sent me photos!

The Spirit of Dedication Award For Best Author of Childrens Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Spirit of Dedication Award For Best Author of Children’s Science Fiction and Fantasy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The full list of awards is available on the ESFS website here. So it really is real and my goodness what a list to be on! Congrats to everyone on it, especially Song of the Sea (can’t wait to see it) and Liz Bourke! 

I’m over the moon! (no pun intended!), especially after a very bleak week. Thank you so much!

What I did on my Summer Holidays (Worldcon and Eurocon post)

Eurocon, Life Happens, New Books, New releases, Out and About, Worldcon

So here I am running late again. Still recovering from our trip to London for the Worldcon event (Loncon3) and then back to Dublin for Eurocon (Shamrokon).

A brilliant time was had by all.

In Loncon we particularly liked the Fan Village, with its village green for playing, vegging and socialising. We did a lot of socialising. There were two tardis (tarises? tardisi?) which may have caused a rupture in the space time continuum but we were in the right sort of company to deal with that. The games tent was another big hit, especially with the small people who had to be removed with a crowbar (almost literally). I was on a few panels which was enormous fun. My fave was probably the one on “What does Ireland have to offer?” but mainly for the random course Liz Bourke, Susan Connolly, K. A. Laity and myself took it on. And Susan’s storytelling.

Then we came back to Dublin for Shamrokon which was also a brilliant brilliant convention. A little more sociable perhaps as it was a lot smaller. Still massive for an Irish convention. We had a preview launch for my new book A Crack in Everything (out on Monday 1st), and I got to hang out with Laura Anne Gilman, C. E. Murphy, Susan Connolly, Kate Sheehy, Mikaela Lind and many more. And puppets. It’s a long story.

But I don’t think I advise taking a puppet on a late night bus. Or giving one to Laura Anne in a crowded area. 😉

I miss everyone. Although I’m seriously exhausted and over stimulated. But it was so much fun.

 

Book launch proper this day next week – 4th September, 6.30pm in the Gutter bookshop, Cow’s Lane. Please come! All welcome.

Inordinate Excitement

Eurocon, Out and About, RNA, Worldcon,

As the summer rolls around I’m starting to prepare for conferences and conventions. Here’s where I’ll be:

The Romantic Novelists Conference, Harper Adams University, Telford, UK – 10th-13th July

I’m here mainly for the giggles, I fully admit, but I plan to be steampunked out with the best of them at the Love of the Past Book Fair at Blists Hill on 11th July and I will have some books on sale for anyone interested.

 

Loncon3 (ie WORLDCON!!!), Excel Arena, London – 14th-18th August

I’m heading over to London for a combined holiday and Worldcon visit. I’ll be at Worldcon itself from Thursday to Monday and I’m on three panels. The draft schedule is as follows –

Writing 101: Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction

Saturday 18:00 – 19:00

Young adult and middle grade genres are booming. Still, there’s confusion around these genre categories. Moreover, how are these genres related to children’s and juvenile fiction? Panelists discuss the ins and outs of young adult and middle grade fiction from reading age to diversity, content, characters, and more. How far can you go with language, violence, and sex without crossing the line? What about series, such as Harry Potter, that jump categories mid-stream? How do all of these element affect what we write and publish for middle grade and young adult readers?

Reluctant, or Just Not Interested?

Sunday 11:00 – 12:00

Are reluctant readers being failed by the education system, or is the publishing industry just not giving them what they want?

Tumblr: Dispensing with the Myths

Sunday 19:00 – 20:00

Tumblr is used by companies, politicians, television networks, fans, justice groups, pornographers and pretty much every other type of community found online. Yet to those who don’t use Tumblr it is often a mystery wrapped in an enigma, while those who do use it often keep to their own communities. In this session we discuss Tumblr as a form of social media, its benefits and limitations,  how it is used in general, how it is used within fan cultures and how it is encouraging the evolution of fandom.

 

Shamrokon (Eurocon!!!), Doubletree Hilton, Dublin – 22nd-24th August

Will let you know what I’m up to there when I do, but it’s going to be awesome!

 

So there we go. All the excitement and we haven’t even got to the launch of A Crack in Everything yet…