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2000AD Talent Search 2021
Watch the video of the 2000 AD Thought Bubble scriptwriting talent search judging panel that I participated in, along with Ram V and Oliver Pickles.
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Animate Europe Awards ceremony and exhibition
I’ll be attending, and speaking, at the Animate Europe International Comics Competition 2017 Award Ceremony on 11 July at the Belgium Comic Strip Centre in Brussels, where the overall winner of the competition will be announced. It’s been a pleasure to serve on this jury and read a wide variety of ideas on how to ‘Re-Animate Europe’. It was a tough job to whittle it down to the seven finalists, but here they are: Jordana Globerman (UK): “My Uncle’s Dream” Stefan Haller (Switzerland): “Back to the Grass Roots” Štepánka Jislová (Czech Republic): “How to Save the World” Noelle Kröger (Germany): “There’s a Way” Magdalena Kaszuba (Germany): “Spaziergang durch Europa/ A…
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Re-Animate Europe
I’m pleased to say that I’m part of the jury for the 2017 Animate Europe comic book competition, organised by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. This is the third round of the competition and its theme this time is ‘Re-Animate Europe’. Here’s what it’s all about: After many external crises and internal shake-ups, from the migration crisis to Brexit to a lack of trust, the once strong and confident body of the European Union seems tattered and tired. The European heartbeat has lost its rhythm. How can we help to get Europe back on its feet? Who or what will be the healer, who can find the magic potion for…
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healthy competition?
I’ve noted before that I’m fond of the BBC Masterchef series in all its incarnations. My main reason is that I enjoy seeing people who are passionate about their hobby/profession demonstrating their skill, as well as watching their talent being nurtured over the course of the programme. Not all reality TV shows do that. Often there are competitive elements within the show that are orchestrated to create conflict between the contestants for the entertainment of the viewer. This can mean that the best and most talented person does not win the show. I can’t bear watching the worst examples of this kind of reality TV show. They’re just heartless. I’ve…
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blasted winners
I took the above picture of graffiti and tags in Temple Bar in Dublin today. Despite being in the vicinity I never got a chance to drop by to Octocon‘s Dead Dog get-together in the Porterhouse as I was busy in the afternoon. Since I was on the jury for the Golden Blasters Short Film Competition with Michael Carroll and Dave Lally I figured I should mention the winners of the competitions: Golden Blaster Award for Best Short Film (Jury Award): ‘Ubermensch’, directed by Simon Temple and written by Daniel Poole, based on a short story by Kim Newman. Silver Blaster Award for Best Short film (Audience Award): ‘The Astronomer’s…
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end of summer round-up
I’ve never had such a long gap between blog posts before, I guess that means I’ve been busy. Time to herd some news stories across the prairies. I sold my sf-horror story, “Empty Mind Came Back With the Pearl”, to M-Brane SF a while ago. It will appear in issue 9. I’m delighted this story will get to an audience. I wrote it at Clarion West, during the week Nalo Hopkinson was our teacher. She described it as the love child of Clive Barker and Brian Aldiss I believe. I’m co-writing a three-issue comic book, called Róisín Dubh, with Rob Curley of Atomic Diner publications, and the fabulous Sub City…
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the garden of death
This month Fantasy Magazine ran a competition for writers to come up with a story in ten lines based on a piece of artwork. I found the challenge interesting, and picked “The Garden of Death” (1896) by Finnish artist Hugo Simberg (1873 – 1917). Fantasy Magazine decided to shortlist ten stories. A readers’ poll will decide the three winners, which will be podcast. My piece, also called “The Garden of Death”, is among the top ten. All the stories are strong, but if you think mine is among the best, I’d appreciate it if you would vote for me. The poll will remain open until June 12th.
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silver!
Earlier today I heard from Stephen M. Wilson, the poetry editor at Doorways Magazine, that I placed second in their annual poetry competition. My poem, “Grave Taster”, will appear in issue #8. The three judges were Corrine De Winter, Linda D. Addison, and John Edward Lawson. Congrats to Robert Borski who took first place with his poem, “Scent & Sensibility”, and Penny-Anne Beaudoin who won third place with her poem, “The Magician’s Assistant”. I’m stoked.
