Conor Kostick


Conor Kostick is an Irish historian and writer living in Dublin. He is the author of many works of history and fiction.

Works

Epic was his first novel and was awarded a place on the International Board on Books for Young People Honours list for 2006 and on the Booklist Best Fantasy Books for Youth list for 2007. The sequel to Epic is Saga, first published in Ireland late in 2006; Edda, published in 2011, completes the 'Avatar Chronicles' trilogy. At their 2009 awards, the Reading Association of Ireland gave him the Special Merit Award 'in recognition of his significant contribution to writing for children in Ireland.'

Career

Conor Kostick was the editor of Socialist Worker in Ireland and a reviewer for the Journal of Music in Ireland. He was twice chairperson of the Irish Writers' Union. He was awarded the Farmleigh writer's residency for the summer of 2010 and a place on the nominees list for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2012 and 2013.
In 2015, Conor Kostick became Chairperson of the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency and was President of the Irish Jury for the EU Prize for Literature, and in that year too he was appointed to the Board of the National Library of Ireland. In 2018, the Kerala Literature Festival, India, chose to showcase Irish literature and Conor Kostick was one of seven Irish writers invited to participate. In August that year, he was recruited by the UK's Ockham Publishing to lead a new imprint, Level Up publishing, with a remit to publish LitRPG.
In 2019, Conor Kostick again was president of the Irish Jury of the EU Prize for Literature.
As an historian, Conor Kostick's awards include a gold medal from Trinity College, Dublin, 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; and, in 2015, the British Academy's Rising Star Engagement Award.
He is the brother of the playwright Gavin Kostick.

Games

Conor Kostick was a designer for the world's first live action role-playing game, Treasure Trap.
A former winner of Manorcon, now one of Europe's grand prix Diplomacy events, Conor Kostick was a member of the Irish team that won the Diplomacy National World Cup in 2012.

Publications

Fiction

The Avatar Chronicles

On games