Dalkey Creates....Some Amazing Writing Workshops!!!

So looking forward to the Dalkey Creates Festival! Dates 13th -16th October....Sharing the days with some great writing friends....

For more details on the festival click HERE.

Publishing Day @ IWC

Saturday July 7th: 11am - 4.30pm

The Irish Writers' Centre is hosting an information day on publishing. The day will feature talks from industry experts and will offer the opportunity to pose questions to the speakers. The day will feature talks with: Novelist, Arlene Hunt Editorial Director with Hachette Ireland, Ciara Doorley Publicity Director of Penguin Ireland, Cliona Lewis Literary Agent with Walsh Communications, Emma Walsh CEO of ePub Direct, Gareth Cuddy The day will start at 11.00am and run until 4.30pm. Tickets are €60 (€50 for Members) and can be booked by paying online or calling the Centre. Ciara Doorley - Editorial Director, Hachette Ireland Through the course of her talk Ciara will explain key aspects of her job like the acquisition and editing process. She will also provide information that may be of use to writers sending work out to publishers such as: how to submit material to publishers, current trends and they type of books Hachette are looking for at the moment. Ciara Doorley is Editorial Director at Hachette Ireland, the Irish publishing division of Hachette UK --- parent company of Orion, Little, Brown, Hodder & Stoughton, Headline, John Murray, Octopus, HachetteIndia and Australia and sister company to Hachette Book Group USA. Ciara has worked at Hachette Ireland since 2007 and is responsible for commissioning and publishing a host of bestselling fiction authors including Ciara Geraghty, Fiona O’Brien, Roisin Meaney, Martina Reilly and Christy Kenneally, as well as bestselling non-fiction titles including the acclaimed Vanishing Ireland series. Gareth Cuddy - CEO of ePub Direct Gareth will provide an overview of the eBook industry, discussing everything from formats and retailers through to examples of highly successful self-published eBook authors. A questions and answers session will allow all those attending to quiz Gareth on all things eBooks. Gareth Cuddy is the CEO of Europe's leading eBook Company, ePubDirect. Based in Cork, the company creates and distributes eBooks to over a thousand on-line retailers and over 25,000 libraries. Cliona Lewis - Publicity Director, Penguin Ireland Cliona Lewis will discuss all aspects of publicity in a changing media landscape. She will talk about the importance of media strategy from the outset of a book’s life, when it is being acquired by the publisher; how to identify and target the correct media for an author’s audience; the key role of social media; planning and implementing a publicity campaign; managing the media, and, crucially, author care. Her talk will cover publicity for both fiction and non-fiction titles. Cliona Lewis is the Publicity Director for the Penguin Group in Ireland. As well as devising publicity campaigns for the Penguin Ireland imprint, she works on key titles for the Penguin UK group across all its imprints including Viking, Hamish Hamilton, Michael Joseph and Allen Lane. Prior to joining Penguin in 2005, she worked as Publicity Manager for Gill & Macmillan for five years. She also worked in the UK, selling foreign rights for Templar Publishing and Andromeda Oxford Ltd. Emma Walsh - Publishing Consultant and Literary Agent Publishing & Literary Consultant Emma Walsh will be exploring how to approach the publishing industry from a commercial perspective. Emma’s talk will encompass: The best way to approach an agent and/or publisher Ways to develop and refine your work Building a profile in your field How to maximize your chances of getting closer to publication Understanding the commercial market The business side of book publishing – what you need to know The pros and cons of self-publishing vs traditional publishing. This session will be an informal session and attendees will be invited to ask questions throughout to steer the talk so that they get the most out of the session. Emma Walsh has over 14 years’ experience in the book & publishing industry in Ireland. She has worked in almost every facet of the Irish Publishing Industry developing a broad foundation of knowledge that is sought after from a diverse range of clients in the book and publishing arena. Emma has worked with a range of clients from large corporations to individual fledgling authors and from established publishing houses to developing new imprints. Emma has agented three top ten Irish titles and regularly reviews books on television, radio and in newspapers. Arlene Hunt, Author Crime Writer Arlene Hunt will discuss striking out alone as an author, and her experiences developing her own publishing house, Portnoy Publishing. Arlene Hunt is the author of seven crime fiction novels, five of which feature the popular QuicK Investigation duo, John Quigley and Sarah Kenny. She is also the co-owner of Portnoy Publishing. She lived in Barcelona for five years and now resides in Dublin. Her books have been translated into three languages and her current novel – a stand alone set in the US – entitled The Chosen, was voted as TV3's Book of the Month for November 2011. An earlier novel, Undertow (2008), was short listed for best crime novel at The Irish Book Awards. Arlene has also contributed to many anthologies, including, Down These Green Streets, Requiems for the Departed and Console. Irish Writers' Centre, 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. Tel: +353 1 8721302 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +353 1 8721302 end_of_the_skype_highlighting Email: info@writerscentre.ie

Official Press Release!

PRESS RELEASE
HACHETTE BOOKS IRELAND

New voice in Irish crime writing

Hachette Books Ireland acquires new psychological crime author Louise Phillips in a two book deal struck between Ciara Doorley, Editorial Director, Hachette Books Ireland and Ger Nichol of The Book Bureau for Irish and UK Commonwealth rights.

Red Ribbons, the first book in the deal, centres round the abduction and murder of a twelve-year old school girl and the main character Julie Pearson, criminal psychologist who is drafted in by the police to help them find the killer.

Ciara Doorley of Hachette Ireland says of Louise. ‘With overtones of Sophie Hannah and Tana French, Louise is a supremely talented writer. She subconsciously creates parallels between her characters, and this really challenges the reader. Her writing is tense, atmospheric and we’re really excited to be launching a new voice in Irish crime.’

Red Ribbons is told from three perspectives: the main character Julie; Ellie Brady, an inmate of St Michael’s Mental Institute (convicted of killing her own daughter fifteen years earlier); and the killer.

RED RIBBONS ---- The ‘bad man’ is everywhere . . . can you see him?

Hachette Books Ireland will publish Louise’s first book Red Ribbons in Trade Paperback September 2012 and her second novel The Doll’s House will be published in 2013.

Author Biography

RED RIBBONS, is Louise Phillip’s debut novel.  Born in Dublin, she began writing in 2006, when her youngest son turned thirteen. Since then, Louise has won the Jonathan Swift Award with her story Last Kiss. She was a winner in the Irish Writers’ Centre Lonely Voice Platform, short-listed for the Molly Keane Memorial Award, Bridport UK, and long-listed twice for RTE Guide/Penguin short story competition.  Louise has been published as part of many anthologies, including County Lines from New Island, and various literary journals.  From an early age, Louise has been an avid reader, and always held the dream that one day she would write a novel. Red Ribbons is the culmination of that dream.

Dreams Can Come True - BIG NEWS!!!

Hi everyone,

Firstly, before I tell you all the news, I want just to say that even though I'm writing this post, I still can't quite believe it myself!

Regular visitors to this blog will know about my Novel Madness/ Writing Journey, some might even remember a post I wrote a while back under the 'When You Were Small' label, all about little girl dreams.  If you did, then you will know that my dream was to one day write a book, see it sitting on a shelf in a book shop looking all interesting, and obviously with my name on it.  Well folks that dream is just about to be turned into a reality. 

I am over the moon to let you know that I have been given a 2 book deal with Hachette Publishing.  I will be working with their lovely editor, Ciara Doorley, and my debut novel 'Red Ribbons', will be in book shops from October 2012 - yes I know - hard to believe, but it's true, honestly, it is really happening.

I can't express how excited and delighted I am with the news, I'm feeling a little lost for words at the moment (not like me!), but I just wanted to send out a very big thank you to everyone who has followed me either here on the blog or @LouiseMPhillips on Twitter, and here's hoping that in 2012, many more dreams will come true. x