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LOLA wins Méliès d’Argent Award
I was on the jury for the Méliès d'Argent Award at the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, and we gave the prize to LOLA, directed by Andrew Legge.
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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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2012 Junior Film Fleadh
Since 2009 I’ve been involved with jury work for the Junior Film Fleadh in Galway, and I’m delighted to be on the jury of the Script Pitching Competition again this year. The competition is organised in association with the Galway Film Centre and SpunOut (a leading national youth organisation). The three short-listed finalists will have to deliver their film concept in front of an audience of their peers, and the jury, at noon tomorrow in the Town Hall Theatre. I have nothing but admiration for these young people who are brave enough to enter this competition and describe their ideas to a live audience. The Junior Film Fleadh starts today…
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knotting threads
There have been a number of dangling threads I haven’t knotted off lately, so here are a few things I should mention. First off, FantasyCon in Brighton at the end of last month was a fun and enjoyable convention. I love the city, and a wonderful crowd of people attended. The fire alarm in my hotel went off at 3.30am one morning, and after a late night in the bar this was not a fun wake-up call. I have never heard such a terrible din. My cognitive faculties weren’t the best, but the alarm seemed designed to disrupt any ability to think. I looked like a demented hobo as I…
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FantasyCon 2012
This evening I’m on a flight to England, followed by a train to Brighton for the annual conference of the British Fantasy Society, FantasyCon 2012. I had a great time at the event last year and I’m very much looking forward to catching up with friends and talking shop. Plus, I love Brighton! Here’s my schedule for the weekend: On Friday, the first day of the con, from 3pm – 4pm in the Fitzherbert Room, I’ll be moderating a panel on Does Gender Matter? My fellow panelists are: Ramsay Campbell, Joseph D’Lacey, Alison Littlewood, and Suzanne McLeod. From 5 pm – 6pm on Saturday in the Fizherbert Room I’ll be…
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2011 Shirley Jackson Awards Short-list
For the past six months I’ve been serving on the jury of the Shirley Jackson Awards. It’s been time-consuming and far more work than I anticipated, but it’s also been richly rewarding. I’ve enjoyed reading extensively across the fields of dark fantasy and horror, I’ve discovered new authors, and developed a deeper appreciation for firm favourites. At last, the 2011 Shirley Jackson Awards Nominees has been announced: NOVEL The Devil All the Time, Donald Ray Pollock (Doubleday) The Dracula Papers, Reggie Oliver (Chômu Press) The Great Lover, Michael Cisco (Chômu Press) Knock Knock, S. P. Miskowski (Omnium Gatherum Media) The Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan (Canongate Books, Ltd.) Witches on the Road…
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BFS Awards juror
It’s been officially announced: I’m a member of the inaugural jury for the 2012 British Fantasy Awards. My fellow jurors are: James Barclay Hal Duncan Esther Sherman Damien G. Walter So I’m in excellent company. I’m currently in the last throes of reading for the Shirley Jackson Awards, so I’ll be keeping the momentum going into the BFS Awards. I will enjoy being given a short-list of material to read, and not every title/story that’s eligible. If you’re a member of the BFS please nominate your peers for this year’s Awards, and give the jury grounds for a lively debate. I may not want to read anything else for a…
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junior winners 2011
For the past few years I’ve been involved in judging for the Galway Junior Film Fleadh, which is a task I enjoy tremendously. I love witnessing the enthusism among young people for cinema. Previously I was part of the jury for the Script Pitching competition, which is a live event delivered in front of an audience – a feat that would make most adults nervous. This year I couldn’t be part of the jury due to a schedule clash, but I’m pleased to report that the 2011 winner is Amanda Honan Coyle from St Joseph’s Community College, Kilkee, Co Clare. Her project, titled “A World of Our Own”, wins her…
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The Shirley Jackson Awards 2011
I’m pleased to be able to announce that I’ve been asked to be a member of the jury for The Shirley Jackson Awards 2011. The Shirley Jackson Awards were established in 2007 to recognise outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic. Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) wrote such classic novels as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, as well as one of the most famous short stories in the English language, “The Lottery.” My fellow jurors this year are: Laird Barron, Matthew Cheney, Kaaron Warren and Gary K. Wolfe. The administrator of the Awards is JoAnn Cox. The rules…
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Übermensch
If you would like to watch ‘Übermensch’, which won the Golden Blaster for Best Short Film at Octocon, here it is: https://dailymotion.com/video/xdm0p6?width=480&iframe=1&additionalInfos=0&autoPlay=0&hideInfos=0 ÜbermenschScreenplay by Daniel Poole, adapted from a short story by Kim Newman; Director: Simon Temple. For those who were at Octocon you can now watch the closing title sequence in full, which I recommend.
