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Gerry Daly @gerrydalyart.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Nowhere for a Ghost to Sleep The fabbest spooky new book for sleepy heads from @erikamcgann.bsky.social and @clivemcf.bsky.social out now from @theobrienpress.bsky.social 💜

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

All welcome to attend Helen Carr’s new book launch ‘Irish Gothic - Dark Tales from Le Fanu to Stoker’ – coming this October! Join us at The Gutter Bookshop on 14th October, 6.30pm. @gutterbookshop.bsky.social

book cover on red background with white text

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Here's my piece for @thebookseller.com about the issue of increasing admin demands on authors and illustrators doing kids' book events, and the impact the Karshan ruling by the Supreme Court could have on those events in Ireland. (not my choice of headline) www.thebookseller.com/comment/kars...

thebookseller.com

The Karshan ruling is crushing kids' book events

Changes to the rules around self-employment in Ireland is having a swift and serious impact on children's book events, writes Oisin McGann.

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Clive McFarland @clivemcf.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Out now! Nowhere for a Ghost to Sleep is officially out in the world. I’ve loved collaborating with @erikamcgann.bsky.social over three books now. This one is about a little ghost in search of a place to belong. I hope you will check it out 👻 Thank you @theobrienpress.bsky.social

Book cover featuring a white ghost against a black background

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🎉🎉 Pub Day 🎉🎉 Nowhere for a Ghost to Sleep by me and @clivemcf.bsky.social is out now!

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Got a great book idea? Think you can pitch it in ten minutes flat? For one night only, this is a unique opportunity to pitch directly to one of Ireland’s leading independent publishers. Application enquiries should be sent to culturenight@obrien.ie

black text in yellow and white rectangle with blurred books background

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Shannon Bergin @shannonbergin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The countdown is on 'till the release of "Swim Little Otter" by @erikamcgann.bsky.social Tom McCaughren and myself! Here's a little look at one of the illustrations, some development sketches, really tiny thumbnails and some postcards that are ready to share with you all!

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Children's Books Ireland @childrensbooksireland.ie · 07/09/2026

Introducing: The Best Irish Books of 2026 From débuts to our Laureates na nÓg, fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels and verse, this guide is a treasure trove of talent from the island of Ireland. Discover your next Irish read here 📚 childrensbooksireland.ie/our-recommen... 📘🖌️: Grace Enemaku

The cover of Children's Books Ireland's 2026 reading guide. It is an illustration of children enjoying reading, centralised around a giant book.

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Swim Little Otter, by Tom McCaughren, Shannon Bergin and me coming this October! 🌟

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

It's Too Dark, Puffling boardbook edition by me and @gerrydalyart.bsky.social is available now!

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Halfway up the Stairs @halfwayupbooks.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Join us at 4:30 pm on Saturday 12th September for the launch of our good friend, @alnolan.bsky.social’s new book, Lights, Camera, Mayhem, the latest in the Grand Hotel Cinema Club series. Age 8+ Preorder a signed and dedicated copy at www.halfwayupthestairs.ie @theobrienpress.bsky.social

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Gerry Daly @gerrydalyart.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Puffling’s shiny new batch of postcards ready for upcoming events 🙃 Puffling and the Stormy Sea by @erikamcgann.bsky.social and me is out now from @theobrienpress.bsky.social #puffling #illustrationforkids #childrensbooks #postcardart #illustrator

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

LOOK NORTH, a new grassroots campaign celebrating picture-book talent in Northern Ireland! 🌟 This gorgeous selection includes Nowhere for a Ghost to Sleep, illustrated by Clive McFarland (and written by me 😊)

Poster for Look North campaign. Features four picture book covers. First is Follow Me Moon featuring a child on a blue background pulling the moon like a kite. Second is Nowhere for a Ghost to Sleep featuring a ghost in a little hat with one eye closed. Third is Starmaker with a magical scene of a boy chasing a star through snow. Fourth is The Good Neighbourhood with a boldly-coloured scene with unusual characters spread across a pedestrian crossing.

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Sinéad O'Hart @sineadohart.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Got a smallie starting school this week? Maybe they'd like to meet Ellora McGee! In her first adventure, she has to start at a new school - and she's trying to keep her budding banshee powers under wraps, too! Words by me, art by @unawoods.bsky.social. Grab a copy: www.easons.com/the-new-scho...

easons.com

Ellora McGee, Trainee Banshee: The New School

Discover Ellora McGee, Trainee Banshee: The New School by Sinead O'Hart, a children's book with fun, humour and page-turning young-reader appeal.

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

We have a wonderful selection of new picture books coming this Autumn. From sleepy ghosts to sentient jars of jam, these stories will bring joy to readers young and old. @clivemcf.bsky.social @erikamcgann.bsky.social @shannonbergin.bsky.social

book covers on illustrated background with brown text

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A gentle reminder. (violent reminders will follow, closer to the time) #SpeirGorm

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

blurred books with white text box with black and orange writing

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

A heartwarming tale about belonging – coming this September! @erikamcgann.bsky.social @clivemcf.bsky.social

Book cover and illustration with white text

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Halfway up the Stairs @halfwayupbooks.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

1/ Halfway up the Stairs is delighted to present our Children’s Comic Book Festival, Jumping off the Page, taking place on Oct 2nd & 3rd in The Whale Theatre, Greystones. Full programme & booking details here halfwayupthestairs.ie/2026/05/27/j...

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

After my Sci-FI and Fantasy Course in September, I'll be running a 6-Week Book Illustration Course in the @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social in October. This is about communication, not making pretty pictures, so only basic drawing skills are required. irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/book...

A promo graphic for the course, with a photo of me, a middle-aged white guy with glasses and greying hair. The course is in person in the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin, running for six weeks from the 6th of October, from 6.30 to 8.30.

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

My sister's brilliant new book, coming this October!!

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Ruth Ennis @rurooie.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Booked Up is BACK! Thanks to support from the Dun Laoghaire Arts Office, I’m beyond delighted to say Booked Up: Futures for Young Readers will be back from September 2026 to June 2027. The series aims to introduce teenagers to the opportunities available in the Irish literature sector.

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Puffling Seaside Nature Trail is back! 🌊 Call in to the wonderful @halfwayupbooks.bsky.social for some summer magic ☀️

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Gerry Daly @gerrydalyart.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

It’s Too Dark, Puffling by @erikamcgann.bsky.social & me is out today as a #boardbook Published by @theobrienpress.bsky.social 🥳🎈 Reading to children from the very, very, very beginning leads to all the best things. The studies are there 😊 #picturebook #illustration #puffling

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Fabulous to see @zainabboladale.bsky.social's YA book 'Looking for Aurora' be reviewed by youngsters this morning on @rteradio1.bsky.social - an important story on the age of social media.

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Irish Writers Centre @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Coming up as part of our Irish Writers Centre Summer Sessions... we still have a number of taster workshops available to book, taking place over lunchtimes every day next week! irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Another gorgeous book on the way!Swim, Little Otter written by me and Tom McCaughren, and beautifully illustrated by @shannonbergin.bsky.social coming this autumn from @theobrienpress.bsky.social ✨️

Cover of children's picture book Swim, Little Otter by Tom McCaughren and Erika McGann and illustrated by Shannon Bergin. The cover image is an underwater scene with blue/green water and red/brown earth at the bottom of the river. Around the title of the book in the centre is a circle of wildlife including blue/grey and yellow/red fish and an otter cub with a happy, friendly expression.

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

💤 Nowhere for a Ghost to Sleep 💤 by me and the wonderful Clive McFarland coming this September!

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Artists, show us something epic! A bit of Irish cyberpunk. #SpeirGorm

A cyberpunk scene set in a futuristic Dublin at night, with tall sleek buildings in the high background and the corner between two back alleys in the main background below. Two flying Garda vehicles, high up on either side, are giving chase to three motorcylces. Two of the riders are coming down the alley on the left. The bike on the right foreground is soaring towards us with two offbeat characters, one black, one white, having used the front of a sports car as a ramp. There’s a streetsweeper vehicle in the foreground to the left, and all the logos in the cityscape are alternative brands like LibreOffice, Firefox and DuckDuckGo.

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Ruth Ennis @rurooie.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

A little late posting but there's a new @booksireland.bsky.social article up: my interview with @thatstephendaly.bsky.social We chatted about his debut novel The Last Death Poet (@rocktheboatnews.bsky.social), all things Belfast, and the importance of humour in Irish YA

booksirelandmagazine.com

'The best stories happen in the in-between'—Stephen Daly - Books Ireland

Stephen Daly talks to Ruth Ennis about his debut YA novel, The Last Death Poet.

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

'Webb teaches readers aged nine-plus an authentic history lesson from a fascinating period of social change' www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ar... @sarahwebbwriter.bsky.social

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Erika McGann @erikamcgann.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

✨️ Belarusian edition of 'Tabitha Plimtock and the Edge of the World', published by Gutenberg ✨️ Including @phildrawsthings.bsky.social's stunning illustrations, and made possible with the wonderful support of the Irish embassy in Lithuania 💚 Thanks so much to them and @theobrienpress.bsky.social!

Copies of children's novel Tabitha Plimtock and the Edge or World in Belarusian language. The book cover features a young girl exploring a fantasy world with strange creatures and plants, some glowing in blues, pinks, yellows and greens.

Black and white illustration inside the book. An old rickety wooden house perched on the ledge of a cliff wall. Two forlorn-looking people are featured - a man leaning out of a window at the front of the house plucking items from a sack on the porch, and a woman hunkered on a windowsill at the side of the house picking herbs from a box nearby.

A double-spread black and white illustration from inside the book. It features an array of fantastical creatures, labelled as if for scientific study. Some look like huge versions of real animals - a toad, a weasel, a porcupine, a lizard, a bat.

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Children's Books Ireland @childrensbooksireland.ie · 02/06/2026

🌈The Read with Pride reading guide is back for 2026! 🌈 Featuring 100 LGBTQ+ inclusive stories and 100 ‘read also’ suggestions 📚📚📚 That’s 200 books celebrating LGBTQ+ love, joy, and identity. Find out more and download for free at the link below 🔗 childrensbooksireland.ie/our-recommen...

The cover of the Read with Pride Reading Guide being help up in front of a bookshelf with a Pride flag draped over it.

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

It’s the morning after a big storm. Badger, Red Deer, Owl and Pygmy Shrew hear a strange sound. It’s coming from across the river, beyond the Big Tree, over the rocks … One by one, they set off to investigate. Just what is that sound? It’s kind of … spooky … @gerrydalyart.bsky.social

book cover and illustration with green text

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

The sun is out and so is our sweet Dandelion! Pick up this charming read at your local bookshop and fall in love with Nicola Reddy’s story and @roisinhahessy.bsky.social's bright illustrations.

book cover and illustration with black text

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Seeing as the heatwave is prompting conversation about #ClimateChange, a reminder that I’ve written and illustrated a basic explainer on the subject. #ClimateCrisis @littleislandbooks.bsky.social www.littleisland.ie/products/sho...

The cover of my book, A Short, Hopeful Guide to Climate Change. The image is of a white cartoon cloud with the title in it, with a sun poking out from behind it like a weather report symbol, all against a sky blue background. My name is at the bottom in white.

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

A personal piece. I hadn't done a cyberpunk pic in ages and I wanted to take my time with something and put some real work in. I also wanted to set it in Ireland, with alternative brands for those must-have logos littering the cityscape. I loved working on this. I'm open for commissions! #SpeirGorm

A cyberpunk cityscape at night, with towering corporate buildings in the distant background, but a rundown corner between two back streets in the immediate setting, below two overpasses. Two motorbike riders are racing in from the left, past a streetsweeper vehicle, and on the right a bright red, futuristic motorbike leaps over a sports car, flying through the air towards us. The rider is a black woman, with short hair and green and red headset. She is in an orange jacket and green combats, and as a cybernetic left arm. She's whooping with joy. Her pillion passenger is a white woman with a purple streak in her dark hair. She's leaning back and taking a selfie, with a flying Garda vehicle (Ireland's police force) in the air above them. Another Garda patroller is swooping in on the left above the other two bikers. The around the city are most open source tech like LibreOffice, Firefox and Krita, and a couple of Irish brands, Centra and An Post.

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Working on a personal piece, a cyberpunk thing. Here are some sneak peeks. #SpeirGorm

A close-up of a brown-skinned rider on purple motorbike, its headlights bright. The rider is wearing a pink, open-faced helmet with big cartoon eyes on it, and a couple of cameras built into one side.

A view of a section of run-down, back-street buildings with a orange, brown and red colour scheme.

A close-up of a section of the rear of an orange, futuristic sports car. There is water spraying around it.

A vehicle that looks like a cross between a car and a helicopter, with an office building in the background. The flying car has roof-lights and the badge and yellow markings of a Garda vehicle (Ireland's police force).

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Sinéad Gleeson @sineadgleeson.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

This is well worth reading, by @naoisen.bsky.social, on the "quiet" defunding of Irish arts festivals, in favour of tourism initiatives. Lots of people visit Ireland for arts festivals, which Fáilte Ireland doesn't seem to recognise. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

irishexaminer.com

Naoise Nunn: I'm an arts festival organiser — our funding has been gutted in the name of tourism

A policy to defund arts festivals arrived with little fanfare as funding for tourism-led initiatives moved to a different government department

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I’ll be doing one of these on illustration. Check out the full list, there’s loads going on. #SpeirGorm

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Gerry Daly @gerrydalyart.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Thank you very very much @hodgesfiggis.bsky.social for the lovely recommend for What’s That SpOOky Sound? in the front window ❤️ ‘A charming tale of friendship and facing your fears’ There are signed copies inside all doodled too 😊 @theobrienpress.bsky.social

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Have you got your hands on Alex Dunne’s new enchanting found-family novel, ‘Small Magics?’ Available in all bookshops! @alexdunnewrites.bsky.social

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Halfway up the Stairs @halfwayupbooks.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Join us tomorrow (Saturday) at 4pm for the launch of @sarahwebbwriter.bsky.social ’s new book, The Bookshop Sisters!

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Children's Books Ireland @childrensbooksireland.ie · 05/05/2026

We love highlighting exciting new books from exciting new voices. Now you can get ahead of the curve and discover these soon-to-be-not-so-hidden gems for yourself with this month’s RTE Kids Book Club. Click the link below to check out the selection in full: www.rte.ie/kids/book-cl...

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The O’Brien Press @theobrienpress.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

‘Nowhere for a Ghost to Sleep’ – a new picture book from author @erikamcgann.bsky.social & illustrator @clivemcf.bsky.social, coming this Autumn!

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Gerry Daly @gerrydalyart.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

So fab to visit the lovely @halfwayupbooks.bsky.social yesterday 😊 Well done all the kids drawing along too, brilliant work by all! I signed and doodled a huge pile of books 🙃 @theobrienpress.bsky.social #illustrationforkids #picturebook

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