Conor Kostick (born 26 June 1964) is an Irish historian and writer living in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. He is the author of many works of history and fiction.
Works
''
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements
Epic or EPIC may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
'' was his first novel and was awarded a place on the
International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland.
IBBY history
In 1952, Jella Lepm ...
Honours list for 2006
[
] and on the
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
Best Fantasy Books for Youth list for 2007.
[
] The sequel to ''Epic'' is ''Saga'', first published in Ireland late in 2006; ''Edda'', published in 2011, completes the 'Avatar Chronicles' trilogy. At their 2009 awards, the Reading Association of Ireland gave him the Special Merit Award 'in recognition of his significant contribution to writing for children in Ireland.'
Career
Conor Kostick was the editor of ''Socialist Worker'' in Ireland and a reviewer for the ''
Journal of Music in Ireland
''Journal of Music'' (formerly ''Journal of Music in Ireland'', or ''JMI'') is an Irish music magazine founded in 2000. It "has been a critical voice in Traditional and Contemporary musics since 2000". In 2009 it was relaunched as the ''Journal of ...
''. He was twice chairperson of the ''
Irish Writers' Union
The Irish Writers' Union (IWU) is an organisation devoted to furthering the professional interests and needs of writers in various media in Ireland. The Union is based in the Irish Writers Centre building, in the centre of Dublin at 19 Parnell ...
''. He was awarded the
Farmleigh
Farmleigh is the official Irish state guest house. It was formerly one of the Dublin residences of the Guinness family. It is situated on an elevated position above the River Liffey to the north-west of the Phoenix Park, in Castleknock. The est ...
writer's residency for the summer of 2010
[
] and a place on the nominees list for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012
and 2013.
In 2015, Conor Kostick became Chairperson of the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency and was President of the Irish Jury for the
EU Prize for Literature
The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...
,
and in that year too he was appointed to the Board of the
National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...
.
In 2018, the
Kerala Literature Festival
Kerala Literature Festival (KLF), founded in 2016, is an annual literary festival held on the beaches of Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
The Festival on the beach is a non-aligned platform, committed to providing an open and liberal forums for debates ...
, India, chose to showcase Irish literature and Conor Kostick was one of seven Irish writers invited to participate.
[
] In August that year, he was recruited by the UK's Ockham Publishing to lead a new imprint, Level Up publishing, with a remit to publish
LitRPG
LitRPG, short for literary role playing game, is a literary genre combining the conventions of computer RPGs with science-fiction and fantasy novels. The term was introduced in 2013. In LitRPG, games or game-like challenges form an essential part ...
.
In 2019, Conor Kostick again was president of the Irish Jury of the EU Prize for Literature.
As an historian, Conor Kostick's awards include a gold medal from ''
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
'',
first prize in the 2001 ''Dublinia Medieval Essay Competition''; fellowships from the ''
Irish Research Council
The Irish Research Council ( ir, An Chomhairle um Thaighde in Éirinn) was launched in 2012 and operates under the aegis of the Department of Education and Skills. The core function of the organisation is to support research across a number ...
'' and the ''
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
''; a ''
Marie Curie Career Integration Grant'';
and, in 2015, the ''
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
s Rising Star Engagement Award.
He is the brother of the playwright Gavin Kostick
[
] and a member of
Independent Left
The Independent Left (french: Gauche indépendante, GI) was a French parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies of France of the French Third Republic during the interwar period.
It was not a political party but a technical group formed by ind ...
.
Games
Conor Kostick was a designer for the world's first
live action role-playing game
A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters.(Tychsen et al. 2006:255) "LARPs can be viewed as forming a distinct category of RPG because of two unique feature ...
, ''
Treasure Trap
Treasure Trap was a live action role-playing game established at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire in April 1982. Various splinter groups broke from the original system, some retaining the Treasure Trap name, and helped to shape the later British ...
''.
A former winner of Manorcon (2000), now one of
Europe's grand prix ''
Diplomacy
Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
'' events,
Conor Kostick was a member of the Irish team that won the
Diplomacy National World Cup in 2012.
Publications
Fiction
The Avatar Chronicles
* ''
Epic
Epic commonly refers to:
* Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
* Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements
Epic or EPIC may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and medi ...
'' (O'Brien Press, 2004; Viking Children's Books, Spring 2007).
* ''
Saga
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
'' (O'Brien Press, 2009).
* ''
Edda
"Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been attributed by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poem ...
'' (O'Brien Press/Viking Children's Books, 2011).
Eternal Voyager (mini-ebooks)
* ''Kudos'' (Curses & Magic, 2015).
* ''Aliens'' (Curses & Magic, 2015).
* ''Revenge Upon the Vampyres'' (Curses & Magic, 2015).
* ''Dancers Beyond the Whorl of Time'' (Curses & Magic, 2015).
* ''The Siege of Mettleburg'' (Curses & Magic, 2015).
* ''The Murder Mystery'' (Curses & Magic, 2015).
Other books of fiction
* ''The Book of Curses'' (O'Brien Press, 2007, Curses & Magic, 2013).
* ''Move'' (O'Brien Press, 2008).
* ''The Book of Wishes'' (Curses & Magic, 2013).
* ''The Dragon's Revenge'' (Level Up, 2019).
* ''The Retreat'' (Red Stag, 2020).
Non-Fiction
On games
* ''The Art of Correspondence in the
Game of Diplomacy'' (Curses & Magic, 2015).
* ''Inclusive Yard Games: With Rule Changes for Visually Impaired Players'' (Curses & Magic, 2020), co-author with Maya Kostick.
Other non-fiction books
* ''Irish Writers Against War'' (O'Brien Press, 2003), co-editor with Katherine Moore.
* ''The Social Structure of the First Crusade'' (Brill, 2008).
* ''Revolution in Ireland'' (Cork University Press, 2009
996
Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...
.
* ''The Easter Rising, A Guide to Dublin in 1916'' (Fifth Edition: O'Brien Press, 2009
000
Triple zero, Triple Zero, Zero Zero Zero, Triple 0, Triple-0, 000, or 0-0-0 may refer to:
* 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number
* "Triple Zero", a song by AFI (band), AFI from ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your ...
, with Lorcan Collins.
* ''The Siege of Jerusalem'' (Continuum, 2009).
* ''Medieval Italy, Medieval and Early Modern Women – Essays in Honour of Christine Meek'' (Four Courts, 2010), editor.
* ''The Crusades and the Near East: Cultural Histories'' (Routledge, 2010), editor.
* ''Strongbow'' (O'Brien Press, 2013).
* ''Michael O'Hanrahan'' (O'Brien Press, 2015).
* ''Making the Medieval Relevant'' (De Gruyter, 2019), co-editor.
References
External links
Level Up editorEPIC by Conor Kostickat O'Brien Press
Interview with Kostick as historianInterview of Kostick as novelist*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostick, Conor
1964 births
Living people
People from Chester
Irish children's writers
Irish Trotskyists
Writers of young adult science fiction
Irish male novelists