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Conor Kostick
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 lifeKostick 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] CareerConor 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 worksEpic, 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] GamesConor Kostick was a designer for the UK's first live action role-playing game, Treasure Trap.[10] Other rolesKostick 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 awardsAt 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 lifeHe is the brother of the playwright Gavin Kostick[22] and a member of Independent Left.[23] PublicationsFictionThe Avatar Chronicles
Other books of fiction
As Oisin Muldowney
Non-FictionHistory
On games
Other non-fiction books
References
External links
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