Conor Kostick

Conor Kostick
Kostick in 2007
Born	Conor Kostick (1964-06-26) 26 June 1964 Chester, Cheshire, England
Occupation	Writer, historian
Citizenship	Irish
Genre	Fantasy, science fiction, children's literature
Notable works	Epic

Conor Kostick (born 26 June 1964) is an Irish historian and writer living in Dublin. He is the author of many historical, political, and cultural works.

Works

Epic was his first novel and was awarded a place on the International Board on Books for Young People Honours list for 2006^[1] and on the Booklist Best Fantasy Books for Youth list for 2007.^[2] 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.'^[3]

Conor Kostick was the editor of Socialist Worker in Ireland and a reviewer for the Journal of Music in Ireland. He was twice chairperson of the Irish Writers' Union. He was awarded the Farmleigh writer's residency for the summer of 2010^[4] and a place on the nominees list for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012^[5] and 2013.^[6] 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,^[7] and in that year too he was appointed to the Board of the National Library of Ireland.^[8]

As an historian, Conor Kostick's awards include a gold medal from Trinity College, Dublin,^[9] first prize in the 2001 Dublinia Medieval Essay Competition; fellowships from the Irish Research Council and the University of Nottingham; a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant;^[10] and, in 2015, the British Academy's Rising Star Engagement Award.^[11]

Games

Conor Kostick was a designer for the world's first live action role-playing game, Treasure Trap.

A former winner of Manorcon (2000), now one of Europe's grand prix Diplomacy events,^[12] Conor Kostick was a member of the Irish team that won the Diplomacy National World Cup in 2012.^[13]

Publications

Fiction

The Avatar Chronicles

• Epic (O'Brien Press, 2004; Viking Children's Books, Spring 2007).
• Saga (O'Brien Press, 2009).
• Edda (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).

Non-Fiction

On games

• The Art of Correspondence in the Game of Diplomacy (Curses & Magic, 2015).

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 [1996]).
• The Easter Rising, A Guide to Dublin in 1916 (Fifth Edition: O'Brien Press, 2009 [2000]), 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).

References

External links

• Official website
• EPIC by Conor Kostick at O'Brien Press
• Interview of Kostick as historian
• Interview for readers from Poland
• Interview of Kostick as novelist
• Conor Kostick at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Conor Kostick at Library of Congress Authorities, with 13 catalogue records