[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-irelands-mountains-to-sea-festival":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"So here are the top superheroes behind one of the best book festivals I've ever been to! Meet \u003Ca href=\"http://tomdonegan.org/\">Tom Donegan\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.sarahwebb.info/\">Sarah Webb\u003C/a>, Ireland's ultimate dream team: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_TomDoneganSarahWebb-73c0338176.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe sun was shining bright and Dun Laoghaire (pronounced 'dun LEER-y'), just next to Dublin, felt like being on the Mediterranean riviera. And I got to hang out with one of my best friends, writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.philipreeve.blogspot.co.uk/\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a>! We strolled along the promenade with Irish filmmaker \u003Ca href=\"http://www.sarahwebb.info/\">Frank Kelly\u003C/a>, who kindly agreed to take this author photo for the book I'm working on with Philip right now, \u003Ci>Oliver and the Seawigs\u003C/i>. My studio mate, Gary, just looked over my shoulder and said I look like a mermaid, so that's perfect. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_McIntyreReeve_harbour-67ca3ab3c6.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOn the first evening, Tom and Sarah took me for dinner with Philip, writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.marcussedgwick.com/\">Marcus Sedgwick\u003C/a> and top librarian \u003Cb>Dr Marian Thérèse Keyes\u003C/b>, who took the photo. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_ReeveTomWebbSedgwk-40b5d6d1dc.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAfter dinner, Marcus, Philip and I went along to hear Sarah Webb talk about her book and writing, along with lots of other writers for adults and young adults, including \u003Cb>Cathy Kelly, Katie Fforde, Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, Sinéad Moriarty\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Marita Conlon-McKenna\u003C/b>. Our dinner had run overtime a bit, so we were sitting way, way in the back and couldn't see all that much. The panel gave a great talk, but the three of us were quite jolly from dinner and I made stupid drawings of us.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_philipsarahmarcus-43e14eaf6c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for an EPIC blog post under the cut!-->\\r\nThe next morning, Philip and I did a big MONSTERS & GOBLINS stage event, in front of something like 300 kids. It was loads of fun! Here's Philip with a miniature version of a bratapult, a weapon of war which plays quite a key part in his \u003Ca href=\"http://www.philip-reeve.com/goblins.html\">\u003Ci>Goblins\u003C/i>\u003C/a> book. In fact, his main character spends something like two chapters falling after being hurtled from such a device. We fired goblins into the audience to make some merry chaos.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Reeve_bratapult-ee8c5fa77e.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo via \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mountainstosea\">@mountainstosea\u003C/a>\u003C/font>\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nAt two different events, we introduced ourselves while the other person drew an attractive portrait. We weren't allowed to look at our portrait until it was finished. You can get a glimpse over my shoulder here of Philip's drawing of me, which set the kids in the audience absolutely howling. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_monstergoblins1-16946fba00.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo via \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mountainstosea\">@mountainstosea\u003C/a>\u003C/font>\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\nI grossed out the kids with a reading from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/morris.php\">\u003Ci>Morris the Mankiest Monster\u003C/i>\u003C/a> and then the kids helped us invent new monsters, and Philip and I took turns drawing how we thought some of the characters in \u003Ci>Goblins\u003C/i> might look, including Trolls and Boglins. Here's Philip's Boglin. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_reeve_boglin-2d9e3dfff0.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThen we turned the kids into a tribe of goblins by having them each design a goblin face. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Goblins_drawings-ac9e251534.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was fun seeing the kids' work when they came up to get their books signed. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Reeve_Goblins_signing-3a56c33067.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHee hee! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_ReeveIsStoopid-e75d509115.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAs ever, I can't post photos of the schoolchildren's faces, which is a shame, but they look quite nice with books for heads. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_gobin_covers-3c8077c9ff.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAfter the show, we recorded an interview for national television, RTE2's \u003Ca href=\"http://www.rte.ie/trte/elev8/\">Elev8\u003C/a> programme (the same show \u003Ca href=\"http://www.garynorthfield.com/\">Gary Northfield\u003C/a> and I took part in a couple years ago, which you can see \u003Ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Z7iuVYypQ\">here\u003C/a>). It'll go live in the show's next season, probably some time in October. Here are camera crew \u003Cb>Elaine Buckley, Julian Hills\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Orla Morris-Toolen\u003C/b>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_RTE2_Elev8_1-13291f3c1e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOrla (in the polka-dot dress) was an amazing interviewer; the camera crew would ask her to do something a bit different, and she'd quickly think about it and come up with a good way to ask us a question that fitted in well with the flow of the programme. Not many kids can think on their feet as calmly as that, I was really impressed.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_E8_Orla_MorrisToolen-083a641a9b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nLater on in the festival, I ran into Moldovan Elev8 presenter \u003Ca href=\"http://www.rte.ie/trte/elev8/presenters.html\">Diana Bunici\u003C/a>, who'd interviewed Gary and me last time. You can follow her on Twitter as \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/DeeBTweets\">@DeeBTweets\u003C/a> and read her \u003Ca href=\"http://www.dianabunici.com/\">blog here\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_sarah_DianaBunici-bd50f34989.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's the fabulous illustration exhibition Tom Donegan put together in the County Hall! Scholastic UK let the festival have sneak peeks at two spreads in my new book, \u003Cb>\u003Ci>Superkid\u003C/i>\u003C/b> with \u003Ca href=\"http://www.clairefreedman.co.uk/\">Claire Freedman\u003C/a>, coming out next spring. Here they are, printed up large:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_illo_exhibition3-6559bc76df.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nBoth times Philip and I had some time off, we took the chance to stroll along the beautiful Dun Laoghaire harbour. Philip took a photo of me in front of this big sea urchin sculpture and said I looked like something painted on the front of a B-52, the thought of which pleases me to no end.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_sarah_urchin-688d2de1f2.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nYou can just about see the \u003Ca href=\"http://www.dun-laoghaire.com/profile/joyce_tower/index.html\">James Joyce Tower\u003C/a> in the background. I really should know what this is. *Makes note to self to try to get into \u003Ci>Ulysses\u003C/i> again, despite several failed attempts*\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_seafront_shadows-fd31ea8a43.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's some of the jolly gang from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.childrensbooksireland.ie/\">Children's Books Ireland\u003C/a>! \u003Cb>Mags Walsh, Jenny Murray\u003C/b> (and \u003Cb>Aoife\u003C/b> (pronounced 'EEF-ah') \u003Cb>Murray\u003C/b> arrived a bit later); bookseller and blogger \u003Ca href=\"http://www.kimharte.org/\">Kim Harte\u003C/a>, writer and bookseller \u003Ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/site/lynskeybooks\">Adrian White\u003C/a> and Tom. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_CBIgang-8d484fb3f1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe next day, Philip and I led a Comics Jam workshop in the lovely posh yacht club, with about 20 kids. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_McIntyreReeve_wkshop-8a2c6e2f50.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWe started out by talking about character design. Here's one Philip drew:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_reeve_comics_jam6-712904777e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd a kid's drawing. Isn't it fabulous?\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_comics_jam5-065c42e394.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThen we took our characters and put them into a comics story. Here's one Philip and I bashed out at great speed, taking turns with each panel, with story material based on suggestions from the kids. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_SarahPhilip_comicsjam-a5832c2a82.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThen we set the kids off on their Comics Jam! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_comics_jam3-30223510db.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThey had five minutes to draw a panel, then everyone passed their papers to the next person and for the next five minutes in the second panel, took up the new story where their neighbour had left off. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_comics_jam2-ccdf0f5e22.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd so on, passing every five minutes until the four panels were filled.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_comic_jam-f5f855b5ef.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAt the end of 20 minutes, they had some great results. Here's one that made us laugh.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_comics_jam1-215b0c2149.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOne of the cool things about doing events is meeting kids who are really stuck into comics already. Here's \u003Cb>Finn\u003C/b>, who brought along his notebook to show us and will obviously be an awesome comics artist if he keeps working as hard as he's doing now. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_ReeveMcIntyre_Finn-450faf4eae.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI was thrilled to see he'd been studying my favourite comic strip, \u003Ci>Calvin & Hobbes\u003C/i>. Copying is a great way to learn in detail how another artist works, and I remember copying pages and pages of Archie comics when I was his age. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_finn_notebook2-8b5ecad09d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd he's coming up with great stuff of his own! Philip laughed and pointed out this Will-You-Need-a-Gas-Mask-o-Meter. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_finn_notebook-4c8631676e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nYou can definitely see the influence of other comics on Finn's work, and it's great to see how he's exploring them and starting to add his own creative elements. Look out for this guy, he made be making appearances at small press comics fairs in the next few years. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_finn_notebook3-9f6da25e36.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAfter our comics jam, we met up with lots of other writers on the yacht club deck to go for the \u003Cb>Monster Book Lunch\u003C/b>. I didn't get to talk with them as much as I would have liked to, but that's \u003Ca href=\"http://clairehennessy.com/\">Claire Hennessey\u003C/a> on the left (whom I hardly got to meet), \u003Ca href=\"http://denisedeegan.com/\">Denise Deegan\u003C/a>, in the middle, whom sadly I didn't really get to meet at all, and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.judicurtin.com/\">Judi Curtin\u003C/a>, with whom I chatted briefly and is really lovely. Apparently her books are as popular in Ireland as Jacqueline Wilson's books are in England, so look out, English people, you might be seeing more of this lady. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_lunch_drinks-aa5b2e1c11.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo via \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mountainstosea\">@mountainstosea\u003C/a>\u003C/font>\u003C/i>\\r\nWhen I walked into the lovely banquet room, I was kind of expecting the table I was sharing with Philip Reeve to be packed with girls in tea party dresses. And most of the tables were like this, except ours, which was entirely seated with ROWDY BOYS. Ha ha! They were gentlemen enough to warn me not to drink the squash, which had salt and pepper added to it. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_monster_book_lunch-7531a530a0.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAt most tables, the esteemed writers were having gracious conversations with their table mates, but that wasn't going to happen at ours. Instead we played a Monster Consequences game, and made some pretty awesome creatures. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_monster_lunch_pics-c1952503e2.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was loads of fun meeting kids who already knew my work, including \u003Cb>Shauna\u003C/b> here, who was a huge fan and sent me a lovely e-mail which I read on my phone at the airport on the way home.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_shauna-cf5e7a1c3e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's our marvellous bookseller for the festival, the ever-energetic \u003Cb>Bob Johnston\u003C/b>, who runs \u003Ca href=\"http://gutterbookshop.com/\">The Gutter Bookshop\u003C/a> in Dublin's Temple Bar area. His shop's been getting lots of publicity and winning loads of awards recently, and he and his team ran the whole book sales side of things completely smoothly. Thanks, Bob! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Gutter_BobJonstone-aae4ce47a5.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI left the Monster Book Lunch a bit early to do another Comics Jam workshop for older kids than the first one I'd done with Philip. Finn was there, but the rest were teenagers and a couple adults. They'd come to hear \u003Ca href=\"http://stevesimpson.com/\">Steve Simpson\u003C/a> give a talk on Superhero Illustration, but he had a family emergency, and the people at the workshop were great about letting me step in. Here are a couple of the Comics Jam results:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_teencomicsjam2-97663c4f4d.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_teencomicsjam1-11ffd92e36.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nMeanwhile Philip Reeve was getting ready to go on a panel with writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.michelleharrisonbooks.com/\">Michelle Harrison\u003C/a>, and I managed to dash in to listen, just as they were getting going. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Harrison_Reeve_talk2-066b9de950.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe panel was a project for the three girls interviewing Michelle and Philip. They'd had the chance to choose writers they'd like to interview, get them invited to the festival, and spend quite a lot of time preparing for the interview. They knew the writers' books well, and were able to ask some great questions. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Harrison_Reeve_tal-3a7ca7528c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI was interested to find out that, like Philip, Michelle also does some illustration (as does Marcus Sedgwick, whom I mentioned earlier). And both she and Philip were very influenced by the early work of Brian Froud, who designed the looks for \u003Ci>The Dark Crystal\u003C/i> and \u003Ci>Labyrinth\u003C/i> films. Michelle writes a lot of horror stuff, and read from her recent book, \u003Ci>Unrest\u003C/i>, inspired by the sleep disorders she's encountered in people she knows. Here's the trailer video, and you can find out more \u003Ca href=\"http://www.michelleharrisonbooks.com/\">over on her website\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"2012\"/>\\r\n\\r\nHere's the fab panel, being VERY SCARED. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Reeve_Harrison_1-b2eb155940.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOr is that speakers being VERY SCARY? (Ha ha, click \u003Ca href=\"http://makeagif.com/i/2zvRsX\">here\u003C/a> for the animated version.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Reeve_Harrison_2-f1ab567cef.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nOne of the great things about Mountains to Sea is that the festival's all within walking distance and everyone stays at the same place. So we were always bumping into people, including the writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.eoincolfer.com/\">Eoin Colfer\u003C/a> (creator of \u003Ci>Artemis Fowl\u003C/i>), who wasn't even taking part in the festival this year! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_HarrWebbReeveColfer-f3370ba148.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's the Royal Marine Hotel, a lovely Victorian candybox of a place: \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_hotel-6c0104b596.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI got to sit across from Michelle at dinner, and meet writer \u003Ca href=\"http://www.muchamore.com/\">Robert Muchamore\u003C/a>. I didn't really know Robert's work, but he's the writer of the \u003Ci>Cherub\u003C/i> graphic novels, which my friend \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/johnaggs\">John Aggs\u003C/a> illustrates, so it was great to meet him. Michelle (\u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MHarrison13\">@MHarrison13\u003C/a>) tweeted: \u003Ci>Sat next to @RobertMuchamore at dinner earlier. He threw olives at me and pulled my hair.\u003C/i> ...I think I will say nothing about that.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_HarrisonMuchamore-0f9cda24d4.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThe next day, writer-illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://chrisjudge.4ormat.com/\">Chris Judge\u003C/a> and I went to the People's Park to take part in the \u003Cb>Picture Book Picnic\u003C/b>. I'd met Chris once before, at the \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/490219.html\">festival at Tales on Moon Lane\u003C/a>, but I'd been so busy keeping my group of kids from dumping paint on the bookshop floor that I didn't have much time to see him in action. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_chris_judge_picnic2-3b5c4554ad.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere I am, reading from \u003Ca href=\"http://www.jabberworks.co.uk/princess-pirate.php\">\u003Ci>You Can't Scare a Princess\u003C/i>\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_sarah_picnic-7e5e6bd2e0.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nChris did a great job reading from \u003Ca href=\"http://thelonelybeast.4ormat.com/\">\u003Ci>The Lonely Beast\u003C/i>\u003C/a> and \u003Ci>The Great Explorer\u003C/i> and getting the kids to respond. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_ChrisJudge_book-2cc618fb50.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nIt was so obvious that all the kids, parents, festival volunteers, everyone, really love him. That's something so nice I'm noticing about Ireland. They don't have a huge home-grown publishing scene, but those they do have, they really get to know and cherish them. I really like that. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_chris_judge_picnic1-26b827e245.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWe both did some drawing with the kids. Here's Chris showing us how to draw the walrus from his book.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_ChrisJudge_walrus-980a399784.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSo many kids showed up that some of them had to share clip boards. I love this photo.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_whereswallydrawing-40a8554daa.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd this one, too. The team of volunteers was brilliant. And can I just say that if I was making an epic action film, I would want to cast this awesome-looking one in the lead role? This is designer-illustrator \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/simonecrowley\">Simone Crowley\u003C/a> and I spent some of the picnic admiring her and her tattoos from afar. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_simone_crowley-d17a7a171b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd one more photo with Chris. The weeping willow in the Secret Garden section of the park made for a wonderfully atmospheric storybook kind of place. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_JudgeMcIntyre_picnic-f3d3460119.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAfter the picnic, Tom and a lovely volunteer named Jenny hustled me off to County Hall for \u003Cb>The Big Picture Panel Discussion\u003C/b> with Chris, \u003Ci>Inis\u003C/i> magazine editor \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/davidmaybury\">David Maybury\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.davidmackintosh.co.uk/\">David Mackintosh\u003C/a>.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_illustration_panel-b88c164ff4.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nNo event involving the whirlwind that is David Maybury can be anything other than terribly exciting, and this panel was no exception. The best part for me was finding out about David Mackintosh's work. I'd never even heard of him, but his books are SO beautiful. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_picturebk_panel-7c4bee4c94.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nDavid's now London-based, but he was born in Belfast and grew up in Australia. And he worked as a graphic designer before moving into making his own picture books. And you can really tell: his understanding of typography, colour, how to use space on the page is exceptional.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_DavidMackintosh_books-bfd75a21b2.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI'm already such a fangirl. Here's the dedication in one of the books I bought:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_DavidMackintosh_dedic-637c71ed8b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAren't these pictures the best thing ever? \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_DavidMackintosh_1-1c19455f53.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_DavidMackintosh_2-b313c64489.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI talked a bit about self-publishing during the panel, and at the end, two members of the audience came up and gave me copies of their self-published books, \u003Ci>The Enlightened Light Bulb Boy\u003C/i> by Dublin-based Brazilian illustrator \u003Ca href=\"http://www.tarsilakruse.com.br/enlightened-light-bulb-boy/\">Tarsila Krüse\u003C/a> and the \u003Ci>Yum! Yum! Recipe Booklet\u003C/i> by Tarsila and her friend \u003Ca href=\"http://www.rubywave.ie/\">Paula McGloin\u003C/a>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_smallpress-50b4409677.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nGoogling their names, I saw their blog post about the annual \u003Ca href=\"http://www.tarsilakruse.com.br/dublin-zine-fair/\">Dublin Zine Fair\u003C/a>, which looks like something worth visiting or taking part in if you're in town. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_smallpress2-0e58e3d71d.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAfter the panel, CBI's Jenny Murray set me up for my interview for \u003Ca href=\"http://www.inismagazine.ie/\">\u003Ci>Inis\u003C/i> magazine\u003C/a> with \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/CethanLeahy\">Cethan Leahy\u003C/a>, and we had a good chat.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c_JennyMurray_CethanLeahy-1b1858288b.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThen it was time to go home. Jenny whisked me off for a late lunch at the bagel place, then I got a festival taxi to the airport with Philip's agent, \u003Cb>Philippa Milnes-Smith\u003C/b>, and \u003Cb>Sara Wingate Gray\u003C/b>, who runs \u003Ca href=\"http://www.tipl.info/\">The Itinerant Poetry Library\u003C/a>. Philippa and I listened, enthralled, to all the stuff Sara's been getting up to with her suitcase of poetry books, providing her 'guerilla public library service'. She was one of the first librarians to know about Twitter, which you can guess from her succinct Twitter name, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Librarian\">@Librarian\u003C/a>. I mentioned Audrey Niffenegger's graphic novel, \u003Ca href=\"http://audreyniffenegger.com/visual-books\">\u003Ci>The Night Bookmobile\u003C/a>\u003C/i> and short story \u003Ca href=\"http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/450206.html\">\u003Ci>Moths of the New World\u003C/i>\u003C/a>, and we decided that Sara had probably crawled out of the pages of one of those books before they were even written.\\r\n\\r\nOh, and this is my lovely new companion, a 'zonk' which I have named Webbster Donegan. She loves flying, even though her wings aren't terribly aerodynamic.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_dublin_airport_duck-341daec252.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI was sad to leave. Someone \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jabberworks/status/244914104760934401\">tweeted a Dr Seuss quotation\u003C/a> during the Paralympic Closing Ceremony that evening - 'Don't be sad it's over. Be glad it happened.' - and I thought that was a good way to look at it.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_dublin_airport-55d243d52e.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nGoodbye, Ireland! An enormous thanks to Tom, Sarah, Marian, David, Jenny, Philip, CBI, Bob, Orla, the team of volunteers, and loads more people who made this festival such a wonderful experience. If you like, you can see a few more photos over in a \u003Ca href=\"http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152138499280287.910609.903715286&type=1\">Facebook album\u003C/a>.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_dublin_from_the_air-3150af96ca.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI feel like sleeping for a week now, and I'm sure the festival team do, too, but wow. That was amazing.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/m2c12_Dublin_clouds-8e546d4da1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003Ci>Edit: You can read other authors' accounts of the festival: \u003Ca href=\"http://philipreeve.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/mountains-to-sea.html\">Philip Reeve's\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.judicurtin.com/2012/09/my-weekend-in-dun-laoghaire/\">Judi Curtin's\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"http://www.stevecolebooks.co.uk/steves-space/blog/2012/sep/blog09-06-2012/\">Steve Cole's\u003C/a>... more coming soon, I'm sure! \u003C/i>","2012-09-10T21:31:00.000Z","irelands-mountains-to-sea-festival",[],"ireland's mountains to sea festival",1776628724168]