Children’s Book Festival October 2013 Award winning Authors and Illustrators that will be visiting nine of our libraries in Tipperary Libraries this year include: Marita Conlon McKenna, Michael Smith, Oisin McGann and Alan Nolan.
OisĂn McGann was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1973 and spent most of his childhood living there and in Drogheda, County Louth.[1] He had an interest in writing and illustrating from an early age, doing a foundation art course in Ballyfermot Senior College in 1990-1991, Dublin before joining a diploma course in animation at Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design in 1991. He dropped out of college in 1992 to set up as a freelance illustrator/artist later becoming Background Layout Designer for Fred Wolf films in 1997. In February 1998, he left Dublin for London where he spent most of his time as an illustrator and copywriter in an advertising company. After four and a half years he returned to Ireland, initially working as a freelance illustrator, but now as a full-time author and illustrator. He is married with three children. Young Adult Books The Gods And Their Machines (2004) The Harvest Tide Project (2004) Under Fragile Stone (2005) Small-Minded Giants (2006) Ancient Appetites (2007) Strangled Silence (2008) The Wisdom of Dead Men (2009) Merciless Reason (2012) Rat Runners (2013) Mad Grandad Series Forbidden Files Series Armouron Novellas for Random House Barrington Stoke The Goblin of Tara (2007) The Evil Eye (2009) Awards and Recognition 2005: The Gods and Their Machines won a Bisto Children's Book of the Year Merit Award. 2005: The Gods and Their Machines and The Harvest Tide Project were both shortlisted for the Reading Association of Ireland Award 2006: The Gods And Their Machines, published by Tor in the United States, shortlisted for Locus Magazine's Best First Novel Award. 2006: Under Fragile Stone shortlisted for the Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award. 2008: Ancient Appetites shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book of the Year Award. 2008: Small-Minded Giants shortlisted for the Coventry Inspiration Book Award. 2009: Strangled Silence shortlisted for Falkirk Council’s 2010 RED Book Award. 2011: The French edition of Ancient Appetites, Voraces, shortlisted for le Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire in the Young AdultNovel category. 2011: Voraces shortlisted for the Prix Imaginales 2011 in the Jeunesse category. 2012: Voraces shortlisted for les Mordus du Polar, a French award that focuses on mystery stories. 2012: "The Wildenstern Saga" long-listed (one of ten titles) for the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire in the Young Adult (Foreign) Novel category.
Marita Conlon-McKenna (born 1956 in Dublin) is an Irish children's novels author. She was born in Dublin in 1956 and brought up in Goatstown. She is the author of the Children of the Famine Trilogy which was inspired by the Great Irish Famine. Marita has won several literary awards, including the International Reading Association Award', the Osterreichischer Kinder und Jugendbuchpreis, the Reading Association of Ireland Award and the Bisto Book of the Year Award (1993).
Works Under the Hawthorn Tree (1990) (The Children of the Famine Trilogy) (with Donald Teskey) Wildflower Girl (1991) (The Children of the Famine Trilogy) (with Donald Teskey) The Blue Horse (1992) (with Donald Teskey) Little Star (1993) (with Christopher Coady) The Very Last Unicorn (1995) (with Christopher Coady) Safe Harbour (1995) Fields of Home (1996) (The Children of the Famine Trilogy) (with Donald Teskey) No Goodbye (1997) Granny MacGinty (1999) In Deep Dark Wood (1999) The Magdalen (1999) Faoin Sceach Gheal (2000) (with Donald Teskey , Maire Nic Mhaolain) Promised Land (2000) Good Girl (2001) (Short story) Im Drachenwald (2002) Miracle Woman (2002) A Girl Called Blue (2003) The Stone House (2004) The Hat Shop on the Corner (2006) The Matchmaker (2008 forthcoming)
Alan Nolan was born in Dublin, studied at the National College of Art and Design and became a graphic designer. Between 2004 and 2008 he published, through 20,000 Leagues, five issues of Sancho, a series about a Mexican ex-priest and paranormal investigator, co-created with Ian Whelan. In 2009 he created The Big Break Detectives, a strip about three schoolchildren who investigate mysteries during their lunch break, for the Irish language comic Rí-Rá. In May 2010 he began an association with The Irish Times, drawing a single-page comic strip for its Aviva Stadium Supplement. In June he created Ag Imirt Pelé, a two-page strip about the Brazilian football legend for the paper's World Cup Magazine, and beginning in November 2010, he has been drawing Prof Butterknut and Kronk, a monthly strip about science for its "Bang" supplement. In January 2011 he was named at number 73 in the Sunday Tribune's Hot 100, having signed a deal with The O'Brien Press for six graphic novels for children. The first book, Death by Chocolate, a "Murder Can Be Fatal Mystery", was published in August 2011, followed by a second in the same series, Six Million Ways to Die, and The Big Break Detectives Casebook, later the same year. A third "Murder Can Be Fatal" book, Destination Homicide, was released in May 2012, and a fourth, And the Blood Flowed Green, in autumn 2012.
He has been working for some time on two forthcoming projects with co-writer and artist Davy Francis, The 4 Fathers, about a group of demon-hunting priests, and Thunderbags, about a group of retired superheroes. He has also contributed to Puny Earthling (2006), Duke Étrange's World of Weird (2007) the Irish Comic Challenge (2007-8), Sorry I can't take your call right now but I'm off saving the world (2008) and Zarjaz (2009), and drawn covers for Donnie Got Laid (2007) and Tales from the Emerald Isle (2010). He won the 2011 Irish Comic News award for Best Self-Published Irish Artist. He lives in Bray, County Wicklow, with his wife and three sons.
Michael Smith is an author and journalist who specialises in the history of Polar exploration. He has written books on Polar history for adult audiences and children, lectured extensively and contributed to a wide range of television and radio programmes, newspapers, magazines and websites. Michael’s first book, An Unsung Hero – Tom Crean Antarctic Survivor (2000) was short-listed for the Banff Mountain Book Festival 2002. His other books are: I Am Just Going Outside – Captain Oates (2002); Sir James Wordie – Polar Crusader (2004); Captain Francis Crozier – Last Man Standing? (2006); Tom Crean – An Illustrated Life (2006) was shortlisted for the Irish Published Book of the Year 2007. He has also written two books for children: Tom Crean – Iceman (2003); Shackleton – The Boss (2004). Michael is a regular visitor to schools and libraries and has frequently participated in the annual Children's Book Festival, Ireland and other events aimed at younger readers. Michael began writing books in the late 1990s after more than 30 years as an award-winning journalist covering business and political issues. His posts included: Industrial Editor and Political Correspondent, The Guardian; City Editor, Evening Standard; Business Editor, The Observer.
Tom Crean Iceman This is the awe-inspiring story of Tom Crean written especially for children. It is a saga of adventure, courage and survival in the Antarctic, the world’s most hostile environment. Tom Crean ran away from home at the age of 15 to join the navy and volunteered to join Captain Scott’s first voyage to the Antarctic on Discovery. He was among the last see Captain Scott alive near the South Pole in 1912 and saved the lives of two companions in the greatest single-handed feat of bravery in the history of exploration. Crean joined Shackleton’s epic Endurance expedition in 1914, helping to sail a small open boat across raging seas and making the first forced march over the mountains and glaciers of South Georgia.