Conor Kostick

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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]

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

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]

In May 2025, Conor Kostick was elected to the Board of the European Writer's Council.[16]

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[17] and 2013.[18]

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;[19] and, in 2015, the British Academy's Rising Star Engagement Award.[20]

A former winner of Manorcon (2000), now one of Europe's grand prix Diplomacy events,[21] Conor Kostick was a member of the Irish team that won the Diplomacy National World Cup in 2012.[22]

Personal life

He is the brother of the playwright Gavin Kostick[23] and a member of Independent Left.[24]

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).
  • Sinead, the Sword and the Stone (Curses & Magic, 2017)
  • The Dragon's Revenge (Level Up, 2019).
  • The Retreat (Red Stag, 2020).
  • Clíona agus an Claíomh (Léigh Leat, 2023)

As Oisin Muldowney

  • Summoned! To an RPG World (Curses & Magic, 2022).[25]
  • 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.[26]
  • Marxism and Medieval History (Curses & Magic, 2021).[27]

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

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External links

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