Conor Kostick

Conor Kostick
Kostick in 2007
Kostick in 2007
BornConor Kostick
(1964-06-26) 26 June 1964 (age 60)
Chester, Cheshire, England
OccupationWriter, historian
CitizenshipIrish
GenreFantasy, science fiction, LitRPG, children's literature
Notable worksEpic

Conor Kostick (born 26 June 1964) is a historian and writer living in Dublin. He is the author of many works of history and fiction. A former chairperson of the Irish Writers Union and member of the board of the National Library of Ireland, he has won a number of awards.

Early life

Kostick is the eldest of two boys born to teachers Gerrie and Marjorie Kostick in Chester, England. His father was Jewish-Irish, brought up in Dublin but having moved to the UK in the 1950s, where he became a physical education teacher, while his mother was a teacher of maths.[1] One set of grandparents were Polish Jews, who moved to Ireland to escape pogroms.[2] Kostick attended a local comprehensive school in Chester.[3]

Career

Conor Kostick was the editor of Socialist Worker in Ireland and a reviewer for the Journal of Music in Ireland.[4]

A historian, he holds a doctorate, and has lectured and researched at Trinity College Dublin.[4] He has been awarded research fellowships by the Irish Research Council and the University of Nottingham.[5]

In August 2018, he was recruited by the UK's Ockham Publishing to lead a new imprint, Level Up publishing, with a remit to publish LitRPG.[6]

Notable works

Epic, a LitRPG volume, was his first novel and was awarded a place on the International Board on Books for Young People Honours list for 2006[7] and on the Booklist Best Fantasy Books for Youth list for 2007.[8] It sold more than 100,000 copies.[5] The sequel to Epic is Saga, first published in Ireland late in 2006; Edda, published 5 years later, in 2011, completed the 'Avatar Chronicles' trilogy.[9]

Games

Conor Kostick was a designer for the UK's first live action role-playing game, Treasure Trap.[10]

Other roles

Kostick was twice chairperson of the Irish Writers Union. He was awarded the Farmleigh writer's residency for the summer of 2010.[11][5] In 2015, Kostick was made chairperson of the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency.

He was President of the Irish Jury for the EU Prize for Literature in 2015,[12] and in that year too he was appointed to the Board of the National Library of Ireland.[13]

In 2018, the Kerala Literature Festival, India, chose to showcase Irish literature and Conor Kostick was one of seven Irish writers invited to participate.[14] In 2019, Conor Kostick again was president of the Irish Jury of the EU Prize for Literature.[15]

Nominations and awards

At their 2009 awards, the Reading Association of Ireland gave Kostick the Special Merit Award 'in recognition of his significant contribution to writing for children in Ireland.'[9]

Kostick was a nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012[16] and 2013.[17]

As a historian, Kostick's awards include a gold medal from Trinity College Dublin,[4] 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;[18] and, in 2015, the British Academy's Rising Star Engagement Award.[19]

A former winner of Manorcon (2000), now one of Europe's grand prix Diplomacy events,[20] Conor Kostick was a member of the Irish team that won the Diplomacy National World Cup in 2012.[21]

Personal life

He is the brother of the playwright Gavin Kostick[22] and a member of Independent Left.[23]

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).

Other books of fiction

  • Move (O'Brien Press, 2008)
  • The Book of Curses (O'Brien Press, 2007, Curses & Magic, 2013).
  • The Book of Wishes (Curses & Magic, 2013).
  • Eternal Voyager (Curses & Magic, 2015).
  • The Dragon's Revenge (Level Up, 2019).
  • The Retreat (Red Stag, 2020).

As Oisin Muldowney

  • Summoned! To an RPG World (Curses & Magic, 2022).[24]
  • Summoned! To Grimworld (Curses & Magic, 2023).

Non-Fiction

History

  • 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).
  • Making the Medieval Relevant (De Gruyter, 2019), co-editor.[25]
  • Marxism and Medieval History (Curses & Magic, 2021).[26]

On games

  • The Art of Correspondence in the Game of Diplomacy (Curses & Magic, 2015).
  • Inclusive Yard Games: With Rule Changes for Visually Impaired Players (Curses & Magic, 2020), co-author with Maya Kostick.

Other non-fiction books

  • Irish Writers Against War (O'Brien Press, 2003), co-editor with Katherine Moore.

References

  1. ^ Smith, Andrea (16 September 2013). "When it all suddenly rhymed". Independent.ie. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  2. ^ "In Conversation: Sanctuary with Gavin and Conor Kostick". Phibsborough Public Library. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. ^ Murray, Elizabeth Rose (15 August 2011). "Conor Kostick's Epic Journey". Writing.ie.
  4. ^ a b c "Bloomsbury Author Info". Bloomsbury. 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  5. ^ a b c "Conor Kostick | Childrens Books Ireland". childrensbooksireland.ie. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Author to Commissioning Editor: Conor Kostick at Level Up Publishing". writing.ie. 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Honour List 2006". International Board on Books for Young People. 2006. Retrieved 9 June 2007.
  8. ^ Mattson, Jennifer (15 May 2007). Top 10 Fantasy Books for Youth: 2007. Booklist Online. Retrieved 9 June 2007.
  9. ^ a b "Two Awards for O'Brien Press Books". O'Brien Press Blog. 26 September 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Treasure Trap and LARP". Level Up Publishing. 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Farmleigh Writer's Residency". Office of Public Works. 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  12. ^ "EU Prize for Literature national juries". EU Prize for Literature. 2015. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  13. ^ "National Library of Ireland Board 2015". National Library of Ireland. 2015. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Kerala Literature Festival from February 8". The Hindu. 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  15. ^ "EU Prize for Literature national juries". EU Prize for Literature. 2019. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012 Candidates". Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  17. ^ "Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2013 Candidates". Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. 2013. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  18. ^ "Marie Curie Career Integration Grant Aids Weather Pattern Research". The University of Nottingham. 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  19. ^ "British Academy award for Conor Kostick". The University of Nottingham. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  20. ^ "Manorcon results 2000". Diplomatic Pouch. 2000. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  21. ^ "World Diplomacy Team Championship results 2012". Stabbeurfou.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  22. ^ Kostick, Conor (2008). The Social Structure of the First Crusade. Leiden: Brill. p. ix.
  23. ^ "Features by Conor Kostick". Independent Left. 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Writing a Web Serial". Irish Writers Union. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  25. ^ Kostick, Conor (2019). Making the Medieval Relevant. Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-054631-6.
  26. ^ Kostick, Conor (2021). Marxism and Medieval History. Dublin: Curses & Magic. ISBN 978-1739938505.