writeon- book news

E Books Your New Writing Career?

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:34:00 +0000

With the Kindle having dropped below the £100 sterling mark, and Amazon announcing that e-book sales have outsold paper books for the first time, it is clear that E books are here to stay.
So the only argument left is which platform is going to win out and which e-book reader is the best.
For writers it is more and more important to start getting their content on line.
If you are already published- check the contracts on your back list and see who owns the electronic rights. There are many ways of launching your e-book career as an author, especially if you already have books listed on Amazon, your new e-editions can be listed along side.
If you are not yet published, then why haven't you considered e-publishing as a platform? If you have a series of 'rave rejections' it just means that no paper publisher can see a big enough market to justifythe risk of publishing your book on paper. But if it's good enough for a rave rejection, then there are plenty of people put there who will read it, and enjoy it, and tell their friends. But they can't read it if it's not published!

New look page

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:55:00 +0000

Test. This is a new look page

Julie Parsons and Paul Carson- Crime night

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 11:55:00 +0000

Irish PEN in association with Dublin City Council's Arts Office
present a night devoted to the art of crime-writing. Crime writers constantly top the best seller list and have developed a wide ranging devoted following. The approach to writing a good crime novel, research, sense of place, creating a hero/heroine will all be covered.

Paul Carson: number one bestselling author of 'Betrayal', 'Scalpel'.
Julie Parsons: Best- selling author of 'The Hour Glass', 'Mary, Mary'.

Two of Ireland's most popular crime writers read from their latest books and talk about their work as we delve into the mystery of the thriller.

Thursday 12 Oct 2006, 8pm
The United Arts Club,
3 Upper Fitzwilliam st,
Dublin 2

Booking essential:
irishpen@ireland.com
tel: 087 9660770

Thirty and Fabulous Launch -The photos!!

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 09:49:00 +0000

The 'Irish Girls' would like to express a special thank you to all the Staff of Hughes and Hughes Bookshop St Stephen's Green, who gave us a wonderful night. Especially thanks to manager Liam Morrissey and to Marta Starosta who took the pictures

The writers outside Hughes and Hughes Bookshop St Stephen's Green

Paula Campbell and Blathnaid ni Chofaigh

Le Cake! (Pink!)

Le Cake, again (we like cake)

Sarah Webb and Melissa Hill

Melissa Hill, (Denis Daly), Tracy Culleton and Catherine Daly

All photos copyright Marta Starosta c/o Hughes and Hughes Bookshop, St Stephen's Green Shopping centre.

October 4th- Fabulous Book Launch!

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 09:37:00 +0000

A short story collection:
Thirty and Fabulous- celebrating thirty years of Poolbeg

Will be launched on:
Wednesday October 4th, at 7pm in Hughes and Hughes St Stephen's Green
Many of the writers from the writeon site (Poolbeg writers past and present) are involved, so we hope to see loads of you there on the night to support us!

(Author royalties from the collection are going to Woman's Aid)

Poolbeg Press Release
_________________________________________
Poolbeg Press, Ireland’s leading publisher of fiction by women for women, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. To mark this occasion, Poolbeg will publish Thirty and Fabulous, a collection of thirty short stories, celebrating 30 years of Poolbeg, which will be available from all leading bookstores from 1st October 2006. Published in conjunction with the charity Women’s Aid, all authors’ royalties from the sales of the book will go directly to the charity.

Poolbeg has nurtured some of Ireland’s best-loved authors including Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy, Patricia Scanlan, Cathy Kelly and Sheila O’Flanagan. Set up in 1976, Poolbeg began by publishing non-fiction, progressing to more commercial female focused fiction in the 1990’s. Poolbeg is synonymous with women’s popular fiction in Ireland and abroad. Over the last decade, Poolbeg has supported and developed young talent in this genre and continues to be instrumental in the growth and success of female fiction.

Commenting on Thirty and Fabulous and Poolbeg’s 30th anniversary, Publisher Paula Campbell, said

‘ We strive to maintain the highest possible standard in good writing and enjoyable storytelling and we hope that our readers enjoy this special collection from our writers old and new.

In celebration of its anniversary, Poolbeg approached thirty of its past and present leading authors to pen a short story. The foreword to Thirty and Fabulous is written by Marian Keyes, with stories from leading authors including, Maeve Binchy, Melissa Hill, Martina Reilly, Sharon Owens, Martina Devlin, Suzanne Higgins, and Anna McPartlin. The short stories range in topic from the hilarious to the harrowing, appealing to women of all ages, from 18 to 90.

Thirty and Fabulous, is on sale 1st October 2006 priced €14.99 ISBN: 1-842-232-665

October 12th- It's a crime!!

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 11:03:00 +0000

Irish Pen presents:
Thursday October 12th, 8pm
The United Arts Club,3 Upper Fitzwilliam st,Dublin 2

Paul Carson: number one bestselling author of 'Betrayal', 'Scalpel'.
Julie Parsons: Best- selling author of 'The Hour Glass', 'Mary, Mary'.
Two of Ireland's most popular crime writers talk about their work and read from their latest books as we delve into the mystery of the thriller.

Booking essential.
irishpen@ireland.com
tel: 087 9660770

Reading for life Sat 30th Sept 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 13:32:00 +0000

A Reader and Writers’ Day
Guest speaker: No 1 bestselling author, Patricia Scanlan

Programme of the Day

If you love books, this day is for you. Listen to some of Ireland’s top women writers talk about their writing lives and their work. Find out what makes a book sell – is it the cover or the publicity? And hear how best selling author and ex librarian, Patricia Scanlan got her first break.
Book early to avoid disappointment. And best of all, it’s free!

Saturday 30th September 2006
Crown Plaza Hotel, Santry
Free admission
Booking details - 01 8906237 or artsoffice@fingalcoco.ie

10.00 Welcome
Assumpta Hickey, Librarian and Sarah Webb, Author

10.00 - 10.45 My Favourite Books for Readers and Writers

Denise Deegan
Clare Dowling
Jacinta McDevitt (to be confirmed)
Followed by favourite books from the floor - your chance to share your personal favourites.

10.45 - 11.30 Getting Personal: How much ‘real life’ goes into novels?

Sarah Webb
Anita Notaro
Claudia Carroll (to be confirmed)
Kate Thompson (to be confirmed)

11.30 to 12.00
Coffee and Bookshop with thanks to Dubray Books
Your chance to meet and get a book signed by one of your favourite authors

12.00 - 12.45
This Writer’s Life: Patricia Scanlan in conversation
One of Ireland’s most popular authors talks frankly about her life and work

12.45 - 1.45
Lunch and Bookshop - with thanks to Dubray Books
Your chance to meet and get a book signed by one of your favourite authors

1.45 - 2.15 Writing Short Stories
Authors, including Hennessy short story award winner, Martina Devlin and Clare Dowling talk about the art of writing short stories.

2.15 to 2.45 Poolbeg, Past, Present and Future: 30 years of Poolbeg
Paula Campbell, Publisher at Poolbeg and some of her authors, past and present talk about this successful local publisher

2.45 - 3.00 Coffee and Bookshop

3.00 to 4.00 What Lies Beneath: The Marketing and Promotion of a New Novel

How Can I Help Sell My Book?: What publishers expect from their authors
Marisa Mackle, Dodder Books, and a representative from Poolbeg Press

Dealing with the Press – An experienced book pr tells us about her job, dealing with journalists, and the truth about getting reviewed

The Importance of Covers – Booksellers talk about the power of the cover

Marketing Your Own Book - 5 practical things any author can do
Tina Reilly and Denise Deegan give other authors some practical advice

Setting up and maintaining your own website - Catherine Daly

Questions from the floor

What every writer needs to know

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 17:28:00 +0000

Irish Pen presents the first of the season's eveing lectures and kick off in style with:

WHAT EVERY WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW!

Patricia Deevey: Editor, Penguin Ireland.
Samantha Holman: The Irish Copyright Licensing Agency
Gordon Judge: Lawyer (publishing/ film etc)
Moira Reilly: Publicist Harper Collins
Eoin McHugh: Book Buyer for Eason’s.Chairman ‘The Irish Booksellers Assoc.’

If you’ve published a book, a story, poetry, written a script then this evening is for you, as we turn our attention to the book business with a panel of experts.

Copyright. PLR. Dealing with a publisher? Will your book sell? What about the jacket! How can you get publicity? Selling subsidiary and foreign rights? Changing publisher! Writing a different genre!The world of publishing is our oyster as we discuss the topics and gain a better understanding of this exciting and intricate business.This event is best suited to those who have previously published
Thursday 14th September 2006 at 8.pm
The United Arts Club,
3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street,
Dublin 2.
Booking by email or phone is essential due to limited space in the club:
Tel: 087 9660770 email:irishpen@ireland.com

alg: P&Ls and how books make (or don't) money: part the first: the mass market original complete failure

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 09:10:00 +0000

Ok, I admit it, I'm a total book geek and this article will probably send most people to sleep- but I found it interesting. It follows the money trail in publishing and selling a book. Bear in mind that this is the US model, and not the European- any UK or Irish Publihsers out there interested in comparing (or challenging?) the figures?

P&Ls and how books make (or don't) money: part the first: the mass market original complete failure

March Newsletter.

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 13:05:00 +0000

Hi everyone and welcome to your March newsletter- only just making it in March!!

At the end of this newsletter, I've put the details of the May 27th readers' day in Deansgrange- so have a look, it promises to be a great day.
Sarah Webb has managed to secure 10 priority places for Writeon-irishgirls members- the first 10 to e-mail her get the place.
For everyone else- the booking details are as follows:

Tickets will be available for this event on a first-come, first-served basis, with a maximum of 2 tickets per caller. The booking line will be open from 10.30am on Tuesday 25th April. Please phone Deansgrange Library 285 0860 or email deansgrangelib@dlrcoco.ie
from this date to reserve your place. Tickets will be given at registration on 27th May. €5 payable at door includes light lunch.

Sarah woudl also like to remind you that Take A Chance is out in paperback and is in proptions in Dubray bookshops aswell as Dunnes Stores.

Judi Curtin is launching her new book Almost Perfect in O'Mahony's in Limerick at 6.30 on Weds April 5th and would love to see you there. (Click on the 'recent releases' link to the right to see her yummy cover!

IRISH PEN Thursday 6th April in the United Arts Club at 8.pm .
Irish PEN in association with Dublin City Council present; Dublin - A Writer's City with Dermot Bolger, Philip Casey Christine Dwyer Hickey and Peter Sheridan. Each will read from their work and discuss how the city has shaped and influenced their writing. All welcome and no admission fee but booking essential. (visit Irish Pen site for details)

And finally:
Thanks to Tracy for this wonderful account of the launch of my own novel-A French Affair
I was lucky enough to be at Catherine's launch last night and it went brilliantly! There was a terrific turn-out including members of the press! so hopefully you'll be able to read about in the papers. Catherine looked gorgeous and amazingly calm, right up until she had to make her speech when her voice wobbled a bit! She read us out a descriptive section of A French Affair and I have to say we were all tempted to rush to the door up to the airport to fly straight over there, her descriptions were so wonderful. John Murray did a great job of launching her book too!One of the most beautiful boquets of flowers I had ever seen was presented to Catherine and her husband Dennis looked suitably modest at our oohs and aahs. Only afterwards did I discover that the flowers were actually from Catherine's brother andDennis was just looking for a bit of unwarranted admiration! Just as well , because if he had sent them, there would have been words had in the Harris-Culleton household later that evening I can tell you!The writers there included Tina Reilly (along with her gorgeous daughter Caoimhe), Mary Bond, Marita Connon-McKenna, Kate Thompson, Suzanne Higgins and Marisa Mackle back from her sojourn learning Irish. We of course said things to her like, 'Conas a ta tu,' and suchlike, and thought we were the very bones of wit, but she had heard it all way too much in the past week to be very imrpessed with us. Afterwards we went to Ba Mizu for further drinks and further chat. I was supposed to be collected by Peter and Tadhg at about 9.30 but when they rang to say they were outside I was too comfortably ensconced (besides the food had just arrived and I was STARVING) and I said for them to park up and join us. So we sneaked Tadhg into the bar (it was totally empty apart from ourselves anyway). Tadhg has a trick at the moment of holding his index finger up to hide behind it and he did this now. Must have worked because the bar staff a)either didn't see him or b) pretended not to see him. We just stayed for another 20 mins or so after that, and regretfully I left just as the real craic was starting. They all looked well settled and I look forward to hearing further news from those who remained.All in all a great evening, so thank you Catherine. And I've got a sore throat and claggy head today so I'm having a duvet day. Nothing to do with the fact that A French Affair was sitting there calling me to read it! I'm well into it now and enjoying it hugely. Well recommended.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Libraries in Association with The Irish Girls present

A Sense of Place
A Readers’ Day
Saturday 27th May 2006
Deansgrange Library

With Special Guest Speaker: Bestselling Author, Sheila O’Flanagan

A day you won’t forget!

Readers’ Day Programme

10.00 Welcome - Sarah Webb, Author

10.15 - 10.45 My Favourite Travel Books (Novels, Biographies, Travel Literature)
Chaired by Marisa Mackle

Martina Devlin, Author
Marita Conlon McKenna, Author
Vivienne Whyte, Book Club Member

Followed by - My Favourites from the Floor: your chance to share your own personal favourites

10.45 – 11.15 Award Nominees
Chaired by Sarah Webb

Award Nominees Tina Reilly (IMPAC) and Kate Kerrigan (Romance Novel of the Year) will read from their award nominated books and answer questions on their work

11.15 – 12.00 A Sense of Place - Setting and its Importance in Fiction
Chaired by Mary Bond

Catherine Daly - on France in ‘A Foreign Affair’
Karen Gillece – on Brazil and Ireland in ‘Longshore Drift’
Orna Ross – on Wexford, London and San Francisco in ‘Lover’s Hollow’

12.00 - 12.30 Coffee and Bookshop
With thanks to Dubray Books
12.30 - 1.15 This Writer’s Life

Sheila O’Flanagan in conversation with Catherine Daly

1.15 – 2.00 Lunch and Bookshop
With thanks to Dubray Books
Your chance to buy one of the speakers’ books and get it signed

EFT demonstration with Tracy Culleton

2.00 – 2.45 Dogs and Soda Bread – Researching the Novel
Chaired by Martina Devlin

Tina Reilly on researching vets and other animals for ‘Wish Upon on a Star’
Julie Parsons on researching Garda procedure for ‘The Hourglass’
Kate Kerrigan on researching Ireland in the 1930’s and contemporary New York for ‘Recipes for a Perfect Marriage’

2.45 - 3.45 The Write Stuff
Practical tips on writing and submitting your manuscript
Chaired by Tracy Culleton

Writing Groups, Writing Courses and Other Ways of Getting Started - Marisa Mackle

The Next Step - Finishing your novel, staying motivated and beating writers’ block - Tracy Culleton

Story of a 1st time published writer - Ger Gallagher, Poolbeg
Story of an unpublished writer - Megan Wynne

Getting an Agent and the Author/Agent Relationship - Marita Conlon McKenna

The Editor/Writer Relationship – Orna Ross

Questions from the floor

3.45 Close

Speakers in Order of Appearance

Sarah Webb (5)
Sarah Webb worked in the book business for many years and now writes full time as well as working as a children’s book consultant. She has written five bestsellers, Three Times a Lady, Always the Bridesmaid, Something to Talk About, Some Kind of Wonderful and It Had to Be You. Her sixth novel, Take a Chance has just been published in paperback. She also compiled and edited Travelling Light, a non-fiction travel book in aid of Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda. Sarah has programmed many popular and successful readers’ days including this one. http://www.sarahwebb.info/

Marisa Mackle
Marisa Mackle is the author of Mr Right for the Night, So Long Mr Wrong and The Mile High Guy. Her latest book is Chinese Whispers. Her work has been translated into Japanese, German and Russian and is also on the English Literature degree course at Salzburg University. She is single and lives with her big black unfriendly cat. Her favourite authors are Candace Bushnell, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and Sarah Webb.
www.marisamackle.com

Martina Devlin
Omagh-born Martina Devlin started writing fiction after winning a Hennessy Literary Award for her first short story in 1996. This was followed by four novels: Three Wise Men, Be Careful What You Wish For, Venus Reborn – nominated for the Sunday Independent-Hughes and Hughes Irish novel of the year – and Temptation. In addition to writing fiction, she is a columnist for the Sunday World magazine and the Irish Independent. Her latest book is Hollow Heart, a memoir. www.martinadevlin.com

Marita Conlon McKenna
Marita Conlon-McKenna is an award winning Irish children's writer. Her first novel, Under the Hawthorne Tree, sold 250,000 copies in the Irish market alone. Her debut adult novel, The Magdalen, was a number one bestseller in Ireland, followed by Promised Land and Miracle Woman. She lives in Dublin with her husband and four children and is the Chairman of Irish PEN. Her latest book is The Stone House.

Tina Reilly
Tina Reilly (Martina Murphy) is the author of four teenage books, including Dirt Tracks which won a Bisto Merit Award. As Tina Reilly, she has written six best-selling women’s novels – Flipside, The Onion Girl, Is This Love?, Something Borrowed, Wedded Blitz and Wish Upon on a Star. Something Borrowed was recently nominated for the IMPAC Award. Her burning ambition is to write sit-com and in her spare time, she freelances for the Irish Independent, teaches drama and co-manages her son’s under-9 soccer team.
http://www.martinamurphy.com/

Kate Kerrigan
Kate Kerrigan lives in Ballina, Co Mayo with her family. Her novel, Recipes for a Perfect Marriage was short listed for the Romance Novel of the Year Award and has been sold in fifteen different languages.

Mary Bond
Mary Bond’s first novel Absolutely Love was published last year. Her second novel, All Things Perfect, has recently hit the bookshelves. Mary is working on her third book and she fits her writing in around her day job as a Training Officer. Mary lives in Dublin with her husband and has two daughters and a son.

Catherine Daly
Writing was not a lifelong ambition for Catherine, but rather a natural progression from her love of reading and her passion for a good story. A pharmacist by profession, she started writing during a ‘temporary’ career break and her first book All Shook Up was published in March 2004. Charlotte’s Way was published in Spring 2005, and her third book, A French Affair split in location between Ireland and France, was published in March 2006. www.catherinedaly.com

Karen Gillece
Karen Gillece was born in Dublin in 1974. She studied Law at University College Dublin and worked for several years in the telecommunications industry before turning to writing full-time. She was short-listed for the Hennessy New Irish Writing Award in 2001 and her short stories have been widely published in literary journals and magazines. Her first novel Seven Nights In Zaragoza was published in 2005 to widespread acclaim. Her second novel Longshore Drift was published in February 2006.

Orna Ross – photo sent – early on – not sure of number, sorry
Orna Ross (aka Aine McCarthy) was brought up in the Co. Wexford village of Murrintown. Amongst other things she has worked as a teacher, a saleswoman, an aerobics instructor, a waitress and as a freelance journalist in Dublin and London. In the late-1990s, while living in Cheshire, she began to write fiction. She now lives in Dublin with her husband and two teenage children, where she combines a career as a novelist with teaching creativity and creative writing. Lovers' Hollow is her first novel.
www.ornaross.com.

Sheila O’Flanagan
Sheila O’Flanagan is the No 1 bestelling author of Isobel’s Wedding and How Will I Know? as well as the short story collections Destinations and Connections. Following a successful career in financial services she now writes full time and her novels are now translated into over 23 languages. www.sheilaoflanagan.net

Tracy Culleton
Tracy was born in Dublin in the last millennium, and now lives in Carlow with her husband Peter and 10 year old son Tadhg (whom she home-educates). She is the author of three novels: Looking Good (which won the 2003 Poolbeg 'Write A Bestseller' Competition), Loving Lucy and More Than Friends. She's also a practitioner of EFT (acupuncture without the needles) and has just written a book giving step-by-step instructions for using EFT to clear writers' blocks (www.unleash-the-writer.com).
www.tracyculleton.com

Julie Parsons (photo on file from last time?)
Julie Parsons was born in New Zealand and has lived most of her adult life in Ireland. She has had a varied career - artist's model, typesetter, freelance journalist, radio and television producer - before turning to writing fiction. She lives outside Dublin, by the sea, with her family. Her new novel, The Hourglass has won much critical acclaim.

Ger Gallagher
Ger Gallagher lives in Dublin with her husband and two daughters. A Life Left Untold, is her first novel. After leaving school she worked as a P.A in the property business for seven years. She attended the Gaiety School of Acting and went on to work in film and theatre for four years. She signed a three book contract with Poolbeg last spring and is currently working on her third novel.

Megan Wynne
Megan Wynne has just completing her second novel. Last year she had her first short story published in Woman's Way and a poem in a local collection. This May she will have a story published in Ireland's Own Magazine. Megan was a teacher and is currently writing full time.

The Irish Girls
The Irish Girls is a group of women writers who meet regularly to discuss books and writing (among other things!). They have also collaborated on several charity books including Travelling Light and Irish Girls are Back in Town. For more details on future readers’ days and other events check out http://www.writeon-irishgirls.com/ or contact sarah@sarahwebb.info

There would be no readers’ day without the help of the following people - thanks to Marian Keyes, Senior Librarian, Culture; Eliane (Marian – second name please!!); all the staff at Deansgrange Library; Paula Campbell of Poolbeg; Susan Walsh of Dubray Books and the staff at Dubray Bookshop, Bray; Tracy Culleton; all the authors; and finally, you, the audience. We do hope you enjoy the day!

New titles

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 12:05:00 +0000

A French Affair - By Catherine Daly.
"You have no idea, sweetheart," Evie thought nervously as she watched her daughter playing near her, "that our lives could be about to change forever." Because the week ahead, originally planned to be Evie’s first childless holiday since Holly was born, had suddenly developed the potential to bring her past rushing up to confront her.

Evie has a secret she has kept from her family and friends, and even from her best friend. But her past is about to be blown open during a holiday to visit Monique, an estate agent in France's picturesque Dordogne area. And Monique too has a secret, but hers is far more dangerous. It could even be lethal.
Together the friends must come to terms with the past and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives when their fates collide with explosive consequences.

Almost Perfect by Judi Curtin

Jill and Cormac have just hosted a massive party for their precious daughter's first Holy Communion, but now the baloons have all burst, the lawn is a mess of broken wine glasses and mashed cocktail sausages, and Jill feels empty and lonely. However, the reappearance of an old flame brings the memories of a time in life when everything seemed possible...

Will to Win by Suzanne Higgins
From a wedding in Wicklow to the vineyards of Spain, from swimming with turtles in Barbados to the ultimate boardroom battle . . . Samantha White has it all – looks, intelligence and Ireland’s most eligible bachelor waiting for her at the top of the aisle. When her estranged mother staggers into the Hello!-style wedding and stops the whole show, life takes a serious downturn. Sam’s mother has beencarrying too many dark secrets for far too long.Rose Judge, the mother of the groom, is the only one who knows the whole truth but she would rather die than reveal it.While the groom heads to the beautiful white sands and turquoise seas of Barbados, Sam runs away to the Rioja region of Spain where she uncovers more truths that throw an entirely different slant on her life. When Sam returns to Ireland she soon discovers who her real enemies are and what sort of battle she has on her hands.

Take a Chance by Sarah Webb

The story of three sisters, Wendy, Gemma and Mia and their Abba tribute band, AbbaFab. Bittersweet, touching and laugh out loud funny, this is a book to savour.

Book Launch- A French Affair

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 09:56:00 +0000

I thought I'd post some pics of Tuesday's book launch. I'm doing this on the fly, so I'm not going to put captions on them- You'll have to guess who's who!!

Chart chance for unsigned writers

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 09:28:00 +0000

Want to get some feedback for your unpublished writing? Check out htis BBC report below:

BBC NEWS Entertainment Chart champions unsigned writers

Blackwell Publishing aims to be First Global Publisher To Become CarbonNeutral

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:02:00 +0000

Publishing is an industry which has a significant impact on the environment- in paper consumption, energy use and transportation of their product. Blackwell has worked with Carbon Neutral, an Edinburgh based company to examine ways of reducing their CO2 emmissions and of investing in forestry.
Read more:

Response Source Press Releases - Blackwell Publishing Is First Global Publisher To Become CarbonNeutral

Wexford Book Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 17:12:00 +0000

Just a bit of advance notice about some events at Byrne's Bookstore during the Wexford Festival:

New writers join past winner on Orange longlist

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 09:37:00 +0000

Now in its eleventh year, the Orange prize remains the only prize in the English language which is restricted towomen writers. This year's longlist has just been announced and it provides huge variety and months' worth of reading.

Guardian Unlimited Books Special Reports New writers join past winner on Orange longlist

Bibliofemme: Book Quiz

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 09:53:00 +0000

Another Bibliofemme Book Quiz:
Test your knowledge of male characters:

Bibliofemme: Book Quiz

The Observer | Review | Our top 50 players in the world of books

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 09:32:00 +0000

Coinciding with the London Book Fair, The Guardian Observer have come up with a list of the fifty most influential people in publishing in the UK.
It's an interesting list, not just for the people on it, but for the jobs they do and how they exert their influence.
Amanda Ross, the creator and producer of the 'Richard and Judy Show' holds the number one slot (as Oprah did in a similar list last year in the US) and positions two and three are also held by women.

Read the full list on:

The Observer Guardian Review Top 50 players in the world of books

Print on Demand technology breathing new life into old books and encouraging self-publishing

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 11:25:00 +0000

The book world is still wary of the whole 'digitisation' process. From the arguments over Googles scanning project, to dire predictions that the day of the book is numbered, all we seem to hear are doom and gloom scenarios.
But so far, what has really have been born out of digitisation? It isn't the manufacture of hand-held 'electronic books readers'; even audio books, while increasing their share of the market, have yet to put a real dent on book sales. The only industry to have really benefited from digitisation is Print-on-demand - a means of publishing an otherwise non-economic title by scaling down the costs substantially.
Print on demand has obvious advantages for the publishing industry in that out of print titles can be produced relatively cheaply or professionally produced review copies can be printed ahead of the main print run for publicity purposes.
But to me, the one thing that the mushrooming of the print-on-demand shows us is that there is still, and will always be, a huge demand for paper books.
Read more:

Guardian Unlimited Technology Technology Click, download, publish

The world of Imprints

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:16:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what imprints were all about? In the telegraph article linked below, Juliet Annan explains why she is setting up Fig Tree, Penguin's first new hadback imprint in two decades:

Telegraph Arts Under the covers

FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:57:00 +0000

Hi all and welcome to this months newsletter.
There's loads to get through so lets get going.:

Readers' Day - A Sense of Place - 27th May
There will be an Irish Girls' Readers' Day in Deansgrange Library on My 27th. Speakers will include Sheila O'Flanagan, Martina Devlin, Karen Gileece, Orna Ross, Kate Kerrigan (Morag Prunty), Tina Reilly, Sarah Webb, Marita Conlon McKenna, Julie Parsons, Marisa Mackle and Catherine Daly. More speakers to be confirmed. There will also be a special talk for writers and aspiring writers and Megan from the write on site will be involved in that. The day was programmed by Sarah Webb, in association with the south Dublin libraries.
Time 10am till 4.00 pm, lunch included. The whole event is free!
Booking from 2nd April on. Sarah Webbwill post booking details on the write on website in late March.

Open Door Launch
The Open Door series 5 will be launched on Tues 28th Feb in Eason, O'Connell Street by Mary Hannifan, TD. The series includes titles by Cecelia Ahern, Roddy Doyle, Nick Hornby, Patricia Scanlan and Sarah Webb. Do drop in if you are in town.
Look out for the books in your local bookshop. The Open Door series was set up to provide good books for adult learner readers and has been a huge success both in Ireland and abroad.
Sarah's book is called Behind Closed Doors and the proceeds will go to the Kisiizi Hospital in Uganda. More details on her website - www.sarahwebb.info

Competition to meet Judi Curtin
Message for anyone with girls aged 9-12. If they check out this month's issue of Girl Talk magazine, they can enter a competition based around Judi's 'Alice Next Door.' The prize is............lunch with Judi. The lucky winner gets to travel to London for the privilege, and they also get a trip on The London Eye, a visit to a musical, and a shopping spree in New Look.

Competition to win a copy of Sarah Webb's book
Sarah Webb's new paperback, Take a Chance, will be published on 2nd March. To celebrate the publication Sarah is offering 10 readers the chance to win a personally signed copy of the book. Just email your name and address to sarah@sarahwebb.info before the end of March to enter the draw. And don't forget to include the special message or dedication you'd like on your book.
Good luck! More details of the competition on www.sarahwebb.info

Irish Pen March Meeting

Non-Fiction
For everything you've wanted to know about writing non-fiction, come along to Irish PEN to listen to:

Michael O’Brien, publisher
Patricia O’Reilly fiction and non-fiction author
Fr J Anthony Gaughan, non-fiction author

They will read from and speak about their work.
Venue: The United Arts Club, 3 Upr Fitzwilliam St, Dublin 2
Date: Thursday 9 March 2006 at 8 o'clock
All welcome but booking necessary: Phone: 296 4679; or:e-mail: irishpen@ireland.com

Tracy's new e-book
A first I think from on of our members- Tracy Culleton has released an e-book about using EFT (tapping on the acupuncture points) to clear all sorts of issues which block us from writing. Details are available from http://www.unleash-the-writer.com/.

Kathleen Sheehan O'Connor's first novel finds favour with book collectors
Nesta Tuomey (secretary Irish Pen) has been trawling the internet and has some rather exciting news about Kathleen's book Silver Harvest (1992), now out of print, but still very much sought after -
At Abebooks.com - limited copies of this book are available and are now fetching $411 in New York.
UK prices for the same book vary from top of the market $109 (Alibris) to slightly lower $80.71 (Abebooks) .
So Congrats to Kathleen -for having written a book that people want so much they will pay those prices!

Our latest on line interviewee -Tina Reilly went down a storm- read the interview here. And any writers out there- if you'd like to do an interview, get in touch.

My Own book Launch, For 'A French Affair' will take place on Tuesday 21st March at 6:30pm in Hughes and Hughes Bookstore in the St Stephen's green centre. I'm delighted that John Murray has agreed to launch the book for me, so I look forward to seeing loads of you there.
I've uploaded a preview of A French affair onto
http://www.catherinedaly.com/French_affair_extract.html
It should be out just in time for mother's day-Happy reading!

And finally- a special report by our member Megan:

Susanne O'Leary's launch:
I arrived at the book launch early so that I could check out the shop Hughes and Hughes. The first thing I noticed was that one side of the front window was devoted entirely to Susanne’s book ‘Fresh Powder’. I was mightily impressed with that! All powder blue posters and snowflakes!
I’d never been to a proper book launch in town before so I was interested to see what form it would take. A table stood near the back of the shop with glasses of red and white wine. There were also tumblers of water and orange juice (I was delighted to see them as I’ve noticed a definite correlation of late between the number of sore throats I get and the amount of alcohol I drink!) I didn’t nab a drink yet though as I didn’t want to appear too greedy. Susanne hadn’t even arrived!So instead I got stuck into her novel ‘Fresh Powder’ and it was great. I was half way down an aisle of books standing upright, with bags and a coat hanging out of me completely lost in the world of Lucy and Claire having a row ten years ago in Dublin. Then Catherine Daly came up and said ‘Hello’ and I came out of my trance. It was good to see her. Minutes later the star of the evening arrived – Susanne! I was delighted to see her and to be at her book launch. Susanne has been so supportive to me on the website, always answering my questions about writing and giving me encouragement, so I wanted to buy her book and support her back. Catherine, who has been to many more book launches than I, had the bright idea of nabbing Susanne early to sign our books. It was a good plan and I now have my own copy of ‘Fresh Powder’ with ‘To Megan with love from Susanne’ inscribed in the front!Quite a few of the Irish Write on Girls were there: Tracy Culleton arrived from Donegal looking as fresh as a daisy and I met Mary Bond again. She was a newly published writer last year and her second book is due out in May. It was good to chat to them both.Then the speeches began. Christine Dywer Hickey was launching the book. For those of you who don’t know her, she wrote a book called ‘Tatty’ about a young child who grew up in the family of an alcoholic. It has won loads of awards and done really well. She is a real straight talker and I enjoyed her speech. She said that she enjoyed the mood of ‘Fresh Powder’ and that it is a very European book. She also said that anyone who loves ski-ing would enjoy it and anyone who doesn’t, but intends to bluff that they do (like her!), will also get a lot out of it! She compared Susanne’s descriptions of snow to those in ‘Miss Smila’s Feeling for Snow’ by (I think!) Peter Hoeg – very high praise indeed! It’s a great book!After that Susanne spoke. She thanked her agent Aine McCarthy and her editor in New Island, Deirdre Nolan for being gentle with her! I liked the sound of that! And she told a funny story about one copy of her book being lost in the post. She looked lovely as always and glowing with good health. ( I thought I must check out one of her non-fiction books on good health, she is a good ad for them!)Finally her publisher from New Island spoke ( Edwin Higel) and he said how in the 1970’s in Ireland very few people spoke of skiing or had anything to do with it! But now all are au fait with trendy skiing terms and so he is delighted to be publishing Susanne’s book and is sure that it will be a best seller.

Megan keeps us all in touch with what's going on, so trawl through the Forum for her informative posts. And if anyone else wants to report on a book event near them- e-mail it to me, or post it online in the Forum and I can pick it up for the newlsetter.

Keep the news coming- with the blog format it's easier to put news up as it comes in.
And don't forget to read beyond the the newsletter at other posts. You can access old posts by clicking on the links to the right. Older posts are archived on a monthly basis.

If you want to comment on any of the posts, click the comment link and follow the instructions!

that's all for now

xx catherine

Long-Distance Book Signings- Margaret Atwood's latest venture inot the world of the future

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 12:15:00 +0000

Do you cherish your signed books? Would you queue for hours to get your favourite author to make their mark on their title page? Or do you stay at home and bid for signed volumes on the internet?
If you said yes to any of the above- you might be interested in the following article:

Independent Online Edition > News

Boing Boing: Why Publishing Should Send Fruit-Baskets to Google

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:48:00 +0000

There are just so many arguments about the google booksearch project, that I don't think anyone has go their head around it yet. But to keep the deabte alive- here's yet another interesting article. And for a change this one is relatively long, and well-argued. No knee-jerk reactions here.

Boing Boing: Why Publishing Should Send Fruit-Baskets to Google

HarperCollins to offer free book content online

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 11:13:00 +0000

Some publishers are suing Google for putting books on line- Harper Collins seem to have decided to play them at their own game. They are digitising books and putting entire volumes up on line, free to virew. The scheme is to be advertiser driven, and different from what Google is planning in that they hold copyright to what they are uploading. It's about control and deciding what goes on line, say Harper Collins.
To read more:
HarperCollins to offer free book content online - BOOKS - MSNBC.com

To Comment, click on the link below this post.

Bookaid auction

noreply@blogger.com (Catherine Daly) — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 18:15:00 +0000

Sinead Moriarty (Perfect Match -Penguin) has passed on the following:

Fundraising auction

supported by Jeremy Paxman

in aid of the charity Book Aid International

The event takes place during the evening of Tuesday 21st February, is generously hosted by Bloomsbury Auctions, Mayfair, London.

Book Aid International works to support reading and learning in some of the world’s poorest countries. Education offers a route out of poverty and books are the foundation of lifelong learning, yet the majority of people in Africa cannot afford books of their own. We work in 18 countries with a wide variety of partners including libraries, universities, hospitals and refugee camps, who help us get books to some of the most disadvantaged people in the world.

More than 30 original, handwritten works have been kindly donated by well renowned authors for our fundraising auction. Examples include JK Rowling, Jacqueline Wilson, Julian Fellowes, Sebastian Faulks and Richard Curtis, who has written an original Blackadder sketch. Alexander McCall Smith’s piece is illustrated by Hannah Firmin, famous for her cover designs of his ‘No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency’ series. There will also be the chance to bid for a trip for two on the Simplon Venice-London Orient Express, afternoon tea with Jacqueline Wilson at the Hay Festival 2006 and other exciting opportunities.

Colin Dexter, David Mitchell, Dick King-Smith, Eoin Colfer, Frederick Forsyth, Iain Banks, Ian Rankin, Louis Theroux, DBC Pierre, Sebastian Barry, Cathy Kelly, Babette Cole, Joanna Lumley, Joanna Trollope, Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig, Lynne Truss, Maeve Binchy, Sue Townsend, Susan Fletcher, Susanna Clarke, Wendy Holden, P.D James, Sinead Moriarty, Dr Maya Angelou and Sir Tim Rice have also donated lots for auction.

The inclusion of a one-off original piece by JK Rowling means the event is already generating a lot of excitement. Tickets, priced at £75, are now on sale and they are limited to 250 places. A champagne reception will begin at 6.30pm, followed by the auction at 7.30pm.

We would be delighted if you would consider supporting our work in Africa by attending this event. For tickets please email me at madeleine.langford-allen@bookaid.org or telephone 020 7733 3577.