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Award from the Artist Support Scheme 2020
Galway County Council's Arts Office has selected my work for an award under the Artist Support Scheme 2020.
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Fantasycon 2018
Newly arrived in Chester, UK for the start of the always-fun Fantasycon weekend, I’m dressed appropriately. I’ll be on the following panels: 5 pm on Saturday, 20 October The Horror Writers Association Panel I’m moderating, and also attending is Marie O’Regan, Ramsey Campbell, CC Adams and Phil Sloman 6 pm on Saturday, 20 October Screenwriting for TV I’m moderating a panel with Stephen Volk, Terry Grimwood, Gavin Williams and Stephen Gallagher. 8 pm on Saturday, 20 October Brave New Words I’m on the Brave New Words podcast with Ed Fortune, Anna Stephens, Rebecca Derrick, Anne Fortune and Claire North 1 pm on Sunday, 21 October Strange Fictions I’m on the…
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Interviewing at the Galway Film Fleadh 2018
I’ll be conducting Q&As after the screenings of three films at the Galway Film Fleadh this year: Possum Wednesday, 11 July at Pálás Screen 1 – film begins at 22:00 I’ll be chatting to writer/director Matthew Holness (Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace) about his dark debut feature, and its development from short story to screen. Holiday Thursday, 12 July at Pálás Screen 1 – film begins at 20:45 I’ll be discussing this challenging feature film debut by Swedish filmmaker Isabella Eklöf (Notes from Underground). Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Saturday, 14 July at Pálás Screen 1 – film begins at 22:45 I’ll be talking to screenwriter Ed Solomon (Men in Black) about…
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Adapting your Voice workshop
At the Junior Film Fleadh in Galway this Saturday I’ll be giving a workshop on Adapting Your Voice: Tailoring Stories for Various Media. It’ll be a two-hour whistlestop overview of the basics of storytelling, with tips and suggestions on how to tailor your story idea for different media: prose, Film/TV/Internet, theatre, games, comics, and radio/podcast. All for €12.50! The Junior Film Fleadh is the young people’s arm of the prestigious Galway Film Fleadh, and offers four days of fun and useful events aimed at budding filmmakers and young film fans.
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Fantasycon 2017
I’ve always found the British Fantasy Society’s annual convention, Fantasycon, to be a welcoming and friendly event, so I’m looking forward to another fun weekend of conversation and perhaps the occasional tipple at Fantasycon 2017 (29 Sept – 1 Oct). Here’s my schedule for the event: FRIDAY Writers and Computer Games – 4 pm (Panel Room 1) Maura McHugh (mod), Chris Brookmyre, Allen Stroud, Nate Crowley, Jonathan L. Howard Book launches by PS Publishing – 5 pm (Broadway Suite) I’ll only be at the event for a short time, but it should be a fun occasion TV Treasures – 5.30 pm (Panel Room 2) Maura McHugh (mod), Anne Lyle, Stephen Gallagher, Steve J. Shaw, Gavin Williams SATURDAY…
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We Are The Martians – The Legacy of Nigel Kneale
After a change of publishers I’m delighted to say that the We Are The Martians – The Legacy of Nigel Kneale, edited by Neil Snowdon, is now available for pre-order from PS Publishing. It is due to be published next month. This is a collection of essays and observations about the film and TV work by the incredibly influential and ground-breaking British screenwriter, Nigel Kneale. Here’s the Table of Contents for this terrific anthology, which will be a must for anyone who was a fan of Kneale’s work. CONTENTS Foreword – Mark Gatiss Introduction – Neil Snowdon King Of Hauntology – Mark Chadbourn The Literary Kneale – Tim Lucas The…
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dynamic trio
I utterly failed to post images last week, as I promised, so I’m endeavouring to do better this week. This dynamic trio is Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Hawk Girl, and was a small splurge on my part while I was in Dublin last week. I was smitten with the expression on Hawk Girl’s face in particular. There is also a Harley Quinn in this set, but alas she sold out first (no surprise). I was up in Dublin last week for the 2011 ZeBBie Awards Ceremony, the annual awards voted upon by the members of the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild. It’s an event that honours Irish writers of radio,…
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Octocon 2010
This weekend I’ll be a guest at the 2010 Octocon convention in the Camden Court Hotel, Dublin. The Guest of Honour is George R.R. Martin, best known as the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels. The first novel in the series, Game of Thrones, is currently being filmed in Northern Ireland as a HBO mini-series. Its tone has been described as ‘Sopranos with Swords’, and since HBO rarely does anything badly, this could be the fantasy television series of a generation. It’s a considerable coup for an Irish convention to have such an established author as a guest, and I hope there will be a…
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monstrous women are rarely rewarded
I’ve been meaning to write something for Women in Horror Recognition Month, which is a campaign to promote women who work within the horror genre during the month of February. I’m going to look at two films that I think deserve some attention and discussion: Ginger Snaps (2000) and Jennifer’s Body (2009). These two films serve as a useful balance, since the first is smart and thought-provoking, while the second is interesting but muddled. Ginger Snaps is based on a story by Karen Walton and John Fawcett, the screenplay was written by Walton, and directed by Fawcett. It’s a film about two sisters, Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigette (Emily Perkins),…
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blogging screenwriters
I’ve been busy lately working on a new project. This coming November the first World Conference of Screenwriters will be taking place in Athens, Greece. I’m running the official blog for the event on behalf of the Federation of Screenwriters Europe, who are co-organising the event with the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds. I’ll also be liveblogging from the conference. It’s already been a fun challenge, and I’m looking forward to travelling to Athens, a city I’ve never visited before. Although, I suspect I’ll be too busy working at the conference to sample many of the city’s phenomenal historic attractions. I would love to see the new Acropolis Museum, however.…
