The Sigla Blog

Today is World Book Day so here are 10 random book-related links:
1) You’ve watched the TV programme, now read the book: Boy A has won the inaugural Books to Talk About award announced to coincide with WBD.
2) Eloise Miller reminds me how much I loved Lolly Willowes. Must dig that out and reread it.
3) […]

Just as the paper demise of Mongrel and Foggy Notions has been announced (FN will still be online, but I’ll miss those free CDs), today State Magazine hits the shelves.
Declaration of interest: the recent London day of hell was to interview Goldfrapp for the magazine.
Apart from that I got my paws on it at […]

Last month, Fústar had a bookish brainwave - to start an online short story club (”Dreadful Thoughts“) with two objectives:
1) to gather interested folk together at a specified time online to discuss a chosen short story. The story will be one found online and culled from the ghost/supernatural/horror genres. If you can’t make the designated […]

Another blog that should have been on the Best Arts & Culture shortlist is Declan Burke’s excellent
Crime Always Pays. A journalist who has had two crime novels published, Declan must have a cache of typing monkeys holed up in the attic given the frequency of his posts. There are reviews, author Q&As and features - […]

Honestly didn’t expect a hat trick for Best Arts and Culture Blog, so thank you to those who nominated and judged, it’s most appreciated. In my haste to get off the stage, I forgot to thank Poetry Ireland for their sponsorship of the category. Thank you. David is looking for written contributions to the Poetry […]

The postman was quite late arriving yesterday, but it’s finally arrived. Yes, Twenty’s Order of the Phoenix Park, the first novel to be published by an Irish blogger.
This bit made me laugh out loud “Tom looked down and saw the hole in his Che Guevara T-shirt. As a veteran of the turf wars between […]

The Sigla Blog is delighted to have made two shortlists in this year’s Irish Blog Awards. First up is Best Post, but this category is due another cull and there are too many fantastic posts up for it, including the jaw-dropping brilliance of Fatmammycat’s Fox hunting, horses and a girl’s awakening (go read it). […]

Fústar has come up with a fantastic idea that might interest bloggers, writers and anyone with even a passing interest in horror. His new project, ‘Dreadful Thoughts’ is a double-pronged affair. Part one is the ‘Dreadful Thoughts Story Club’, where the man himself and/or readers suggest an online horror/ghost/spooky story for interested parties to […]

Amid the hundreds of blogs longlisted for this year’s Irish Blog Awards, this blog is humbled to be nominated in five categories: Best Arts and Culture blog, Best Music Blog, Best Blog, Best Blog by a Journalist and - very surprised by this one - Best Blog Post for this post.
Thank you, whoever you […]

The Irish Blog Awards are far from a sinking ship, but this year it seems to be springing leaks all over the place.
Here’s the longlist for Best Designed Blog:
www.primalsneeze.com
www.annierhiannon.blogspot.com
www.thechancer.ie
www.irishkc.com
www.kimotay.com/phototay
www.kenmc.com
www.goodonpaper.org
www.homebug.net
www.irishelection.com
www.davidbehan.com
www.greetingsearthlings.net
www.bt2.typepad.com/guru
www.magooo.org
www.beaut.ie
www.theredscrapbook.blogspot.com
www.poetryireland.ie/
www.irelandlogue.com
www.design-undercover.blogspot.com
www.thedossingtimes.com
www.themenace.com
www.fustar.info
www.sabrinadent.com
www.sluggerotoole.com
www.clamnuts.com/rants
www.words.iced-coffee.com
www.nialler9.com/blog/

Yesterday, my friend Paul sent me a link to this post by Andrew Sullivan entitled “Is Blogging Harder Than Writing A Book?”.
Sullivan compares the two media:

“I’d say they’re just very different genres and each can be hard in their own way. I have to say that producing a book - I have four […]

The Goldfrapp interview and London day-of-hell (due to closed runways, not Alison) last week are for the forthcoming first issue of State Magazine. The print version hits the shelves on March 6th, but in the meantime, the website has just gone live in the last few minutes. They’ve got an interview with Hot Chip and […]