The Forbes list of the World’s highest paid authors is always keenly awaited – and this year was no exception. While there are still four men in the top slots, this year three female authors are the movers and shakers, with Janet Evanovich in at number three followed hotly by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games) and JK Rowling. Indeed, Forbes believes next year will present a very different picture for female authors as Alison Flood says in The...

I came across this blog post last week viaTwitter, where Jonathan Gunson, on his ‘Bestseller Labs’ blog, shares some thoughts about three simple mistakes which can, ‘kill your chances of having a best seller’. Yikes – better read that, thought I! The advice shared in the post is perhaps nothing startlingly new, but it is definitely worth reminding ourselves of those writing traps we can so easily fall into in our quest to get published....

You’ve probably spotted the photos of these fabulous book cupcakes doing the rounds on the web – we just had to share them with you, and tell you where you can find them! Victoria Gadson moved to London in 2009, and inspired by a desire to combine her passions for design and baking, had the opportunity to be taught by some of the capital’s best cake decorators. Having then studied cake design in New York,...

Writing historical fiction is sometimes like looking for buried treasure. Researching locations, ways of life, dress, food and language from times gone by is an exciting, but sometimes exhausting process. ‘Why don’t I just set my novel in the year 2012?’ I whine, when I find that I’m getting bogged down in researching treatments for head lice in the late 1800s or finding out how the very poor in Victorian London disposed of their dead....

The Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar is a wonderfully exotic tale of family, faith – and feathers. From the very first lines of this magical, mystical novel, I was completely  intrigued and totally entranced. Moving between 1923 and present-day London, the novel carries two very different, and yet inter-weaving stories, which complement and never detract from each other. In 1923, a restless, independent young English woman – Evangeline (Eva) English – and her sister Lizzie, are travelling from...

There are some books that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime, and I would argue that J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ is one of them being, arguably, one of the best loved children’s books of all time. Below, I give my reasons why. If you are convinced, and would like to win a copy of The Hobbit, please send an email to books@writing.iewith ‘The Hobbit’ in the subject line and your name and address in the...

In more positive news for Irish authors, it was reported this week that Penguin Ireland has acquired Niamh Boyce’s debut novel, The Herbalist, for publication in 2013. ‘Good news!’ Boyce reports on her blog. Good news indeed! Boyce won the Hennessy XO New Irish Writer of the Year award in 2012 and she has been shortlisted for the Francis McManus Short Story competition 2011, the Hennessy Literary Awards 2010, the Molly Keane Award 2010 and...

Every writer should carry a notebook, right? A little book (or perhaps a big one), tucked away at the bottom of a favourite handbag or nestling inside a well-worn coat pocket, waiting patiently among the crumpled up tissues and packets of mints, for that moment of inspiration to strike its owner. Then it has its moment of glory; hastily grabbed for the brilliant plot idea, or the description of a just-seen location, or the perfect...

Everybody loves an awards ceremony, right? The glitz, the glamour, the acceptance speeches … Well, now is your chance to have a taste of some of that. Nominations are now open for ‘Blog Awards Ireland 2012’ which, in its own words, ‘will bring together the Irish online community collaborating in a single event in October to celebrate blogging in Ireland. The Awards will offer businesses an opportunity to increase their visibility and prominence in social media circles....

Sienna MacAnna was at Dublin UNESCO City of Literature’s European Literature Night and reveals just what it was all about… On Wednesday 16th May European Literature Night kicked off in cities all across Europe. First launched in Prague, the night has now become a major international event promoting European cultural heritage by presenting contemporary writers, both well-known and up-and-coming to the broader European public. Literature is at the heart of Dublin. With a flourishing industry of publishers,...