SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Swimming on the Moon
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Dublin
STATE:
COUNTRY: Ireland
NATIONALITY: Irish
LAST VOLUME: SATA 384
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1971, in Coatbridge, Scotland; married; wife’s name Orla; children: Rosie.
EDUCATION:University of Glasgow, M.Litt.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Previously an English teacher at the secondary-school level in Dublin, Ireland. Has also taught in Scotland and Italy. Worked variously as a painter, decorator, disk jockey, actor, and bartender; cofounder of Vanishing Point Theatre Company.
AVOCATIONS:Playing guitar, watching movies, exercising.
AWARDS:Costa Children’s Book Award, 2016, for The Bombs That Brought Us Together; UKLA Book Award, 2018, with Sarah Crossan, for We Come Apart; Irish Book Award for Teen & Young Adult Book of the Year, 2018, for The Weight of a Thousand Feathers.
WRITINGS
Contributor to periodicals, including the Guardian, Telegraph, Irish Times, and the Huffington Post.
SIDELIGHTS
A native of Scotland, Brian Conaghan now resides in Dublin, Ireland, and is a writer and former educator whose interactions with his teenaged students have inspired his young-adult novels. These include The Boy Who Made It Rain, When Mr. Dog Bites, The Bombs That Brought Us Together, We Come Apart, written with Sarah Crossan, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, The M Word, and his first middle-grade novel, Cardboard Cowboys.
In The Boy Who Made It Rain readers meet Clem, a sixteen-year-old Scot whose experiences in a new school illustrate the violence, vindictiveness, and depravity that can result from teen bullying. An exceptional student in Eastbourne, England, Clem moves north to Glasgow, Scotland, when his father, a traveling salesman, gets a new job in the city. At his new school, Clem immediately becomes a target of bullies because of his English accent and his academic standing. The situation deteriorates to the point that he is physically attacked by these young thugs and has his face slashed so badly that he is permanently scarred. Within Clem’s story, Conaghan explores the roots of bullying and brutality among the young and questions why such behavior occurs, who is responsible, and why adults sometimes allow it to continue.
When Mr. Dog Bites also chronicles the travails of a teenage outsider. Attending a special-needs school, sixteen-year-old Dylan Mint has interests and problems much like those of other young men his age, with one major exception: he suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological condition that causes uncontrollable tics, movements, and verbal outbursts. Even worse, Dylan’s symptoms include coprolalia, the inappropriate and often badly timed use of curse words and vulgar language. When he overhears his mother talking to his doctor, he misinterprets their conversation as revealing that he has only a short time to live. In response, Dylan lists the things he wants to achieve before he “cacks it.” These goals include having sex with Michelle Molloy, a pretty classmate diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder; helping best friend Amir find a new pal to take Dylan’s place; and seeing his soldier father return home from Afghanistan. With single-minded determination, and despite several unfortunate manifestations of his condition, he sets about achieving his goals, chronicling his efforts in a colorful narrative that captures his gradual realization that things may not be quite what they seem.
When Mr. Dog Bites is based in large part on Conaghan’s own experiences with Tourette’s syndrome, and Dylan is a “tremendously engaging character, grappling with his condition and his circumstances with courage and goodwill,” according to School Librarian reviewer Lesley Martin. In Voice of Youth Advocates, Debbie Wenk praised the work as “an unusual coming-of-age tale that is thoroughly engaging,” and a Publishers Weekly critic noted that Conaghan “does an excellent job of portraying his unconventional and memorable protagonist.” When Mr. Dog Bites “is an uninhibited and compelling look inside the mind of a teen living with Tourette’s,” concluded Tammy Turner, writing in School Library Journal.
The Bombs That Brought Us Together, Conaghan’s 2016 young-adult novel, won that year’s Costa Children’s Book Award. Its protagonist, Charlie, lives in an alternative version of the present in a place called Little Town. Charlie becomes friends with Pavel Duda, his new neighbor, and a refugee from the enemy country across the border. Charlie is bullied because of his relationship with Pavel. Meanwhile, he nurses a crush on a female classmate and has a run-in with Big Man, the leader of a powerful gang.
In an article he wrote on the Irish Times website, Conaghan explained: “The notion of piggy-backing upon whatever cultural, social or political zeitgeisty issue has the social media brigade salivating over tends to make me squirm. That’s why I chose to set The Bombs That Brought Us Together firmly in a fictional world, a kind of Everyman world. My intention was to examine the subject matter allegorically as opposed to literally. Naturally I wanted the wrecking-ball policies of those power-wielding aggressors to permeate my book, but my writing process itself was very much influenced by the realpolitik of the Scottish referendum.” In an interview with Anna James, a contributor to the Books for Keeps website, Conaghan stated: “I wasn’t writing a book about refugees—I wanted to write a book about friendship, kids, teenagers, wherever they’re from in the world. We all want to be better looking, we all fancy girls, we all see our flaws in the mirror. That transcends boundaries and religion and nationalities.”
Reviewing The Bombs That Brought Us Together in Horn Book magazine, Sarah Hannah Gomez remarked, “Unlike dystopian fiction set comfortably in the future, Conaghan’s dystopia … is all too easy to envision today.” A Publishers Weekly critic suggested that the book offers “a compelling situation with no easy answers; it’s easy to sympathize with Charlie’s moral and ethical dilemmas.” “Readers will fly through the last portion of the book in one sitting,” predicted Seth Herchenbach in School Library Journal. Writing in School Librarian, Joy Court commented that the book “has danger, drama and tension in plenty” but that it is “leavened with the irrepressible humour” that is a hallmark of Conaghan’s writing.
Discrimination against immigrants also features prominently in We Come Apart, a novel Conaghan wrote with Sarah Crossan. The immigrant in this volume is Niku, a teenager from Romania who is living with his family in England. After being assigned community service for a shoplifting charge, he meets Jess, a troubled teen facing abuse at home. Jess clashes with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. She and Niku become close, and a romance between them develops, but their differences may be too great to overcome. “This crushingly honest story effectively confronts issues of racism, abuse, and bullying,” asserted Ilene Cooper in Booklist. Writing in Horn Book, Jessica Tackett Macdonald commented, “This contemporary star-crossed love affair is convincing and moving—and also a heartbreakingly timely portrayal of discrimination and bullying in Brexit-era London.” Court, the School Librarian reviewer, described the book as “moving, tender and important in the way it makes you face up to some difficult realities of modern life.” School Library Journal critic Marissa Lieberman called it “a fast-paced and memorable story that will resonate with teens.”
In The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, a teenager named Bobby Seed is the caretaker for his brother and mother, who are both ill. When his mother asks him to assist in her suicide, Bobby is faced with a terrible choice. Meanwhile, he deals with romantic relationships, a complicated friendship, and school. A Kirkus Reviews critic described the book as “uncompromising, unflinching, and unsentimental.” Writing in School Librarian, Lesley Martin commented, “This is a stellar example of a book that makes you—almost forces you—to live through it with the characters. Truly outstanding.” Beth McIntyre, a reviewer in Booklist, called it “a heavy, well-written examination of ethics and family bonds.”
Conaghan’s 2019 novel, The M Word, features Maggie Yates, who lives with her mother and is going to study art at the local college. Maggie is a young woman in distress: her best friend, Moya, recently died, and her mother lost her job and is suffering now from serious depression. One way Maggie copes is by carrying on imaginary conversations with Moya. At the college, Maggie slowly makes new friends, including with a boy named Davis, and also has the beginnings of a relationship with her counsellor, Anna. Maggie also slowly comes to realize that there are no easy fixes in life and maybe talking with a dead friend is not the best way to deal with grief. Reviewing The M Word in the online Amazing Distance, Fatina Mudz felt that it is a “good story that carries a heavy topic; mental health, grieving, loss, family, and friendship.” Similarly, Derek Carney, writing in the online Paper Lanterns, commented: “ The M Word is a fantastic read with brilliant characters. Its portrayal of grief is unflinching and powerful.”
(open new)Teens again deal with difficult home lives and tragic deaths in Treacle Town, released in 2023. It stars Connor, a Scottish youth, who is mourning the death of a friend alongside his other mates, Trig and Nails. Each character deals with the tragedy differently. The dead friend’s mother is determined to find a way to prevent more senseless violence in their struggling town. Trig plots ways to get back at the person who killed his friend, while Nails puts her energy into becoming better at her chosen sport. Connor goes to Glasgow, where he happens upon a slam poetry reading and finds himself inspired. He channels his pain into poems that communicate his feelings. Writing in School Librarian, Judith Palka offered a favorable review of Treacle Town, describing the book as “an eye-opener.” Palka also suggested: “The characters bring the town to life and are so realistic.”(close new—more below)
Conaghan offers his first middle-grade novel with the 2021 Cardboard Cowboys, focusing on Lenny, who is twelve and not having a very good time. Lenny is a big kid but gets bullied at school because he likes singing, reading, and writing haiku. When things get too tough, Lenny goes to his favorite bench by a canal to think. One day, after thinking for a time, he crunches up a can of a soft drink and tosses it in the canal. But this earns him the ire of a homeless man, Bruce, who has built a cardboard house on the banks of the canal and does not appreciate people littering. Slowly, however, this unlikely pair form a friendship that helps both boy and man deal with life in a better fashion.
Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Louise Ward termed Cardboard Cowboys a “heartfelt, lovely story of a young boy who’s really doing it tough. … It deals with loneliness, grief, misunderstanding and hurt in a gentle, sensitive way.” Reviewing the novel in the online My Best Friends Are Books, Zac McCallum also had praise, commenting: “ Cardboard Cowboys is one of those books that you want to keep reading, so that you can find out how the story ends, but you desperately don’t want the book to end and have to say goodbye to the characters. … [It] is an incredible, unforgettable story about two unlikely friends and the bond that grows between them. I loved every minute that I spent with Lenny and Bruce.”
In an interview with McCallum on the My Best Friends Are Books website, Conaghan commented on the inspiration for Cardboard Cowboys: “I simply had the idea for this 12-year-old character, who evolved into Lenny. However, like all my books, my inspiration is always the same: find an engaging story with an interesting set of characters, chuck some obstacles in their way and tell their story in the most entertaining manner I can think of.”
(open new) Conaghan next novel for middle-grade readers was the 2023 volume, Swimming on the Moon. It finds a girl named Anna dealing with multiple difficult family issues. Her parents have been arguing often, which has made for a stressful situation at home. On a family trip to Italy, she learns the uncomfortable secret behind the fighting. Meanwhile, Anna navigates the complexities of communicating with her autistic twin brother, Arno, as she attempts to protect him from others’ insensitive comments. Jo Sennitt, reviewer in School Librarian, offered a favorable assessment of Swimming on the Moon, commenting: “Finely observed and very believable, this is a moving family tale.”(close new)
Conaghan told SATA: “I first got interested in writing when I went to university to study theatre and film,” Conaghan once noted. “I set up a theatre company afterwards and began writing and devising for theatre. That led me on to writing poetry, essentially for performance. … I began writing my first novel in 2003, and have now completed six of them.
“The music I listen to influences my work: Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Morrissey. I am also influenced by the teaching job I used to do, a world where there is a rich tapestry of characters and dialogue.
“I write every day from Monday to Friday and take the weekends off. In essence, I try to treat it as I would a 9-to-5 job. I write 1,000 words per day, sometimes less, but very often more. When I finish a project, I put it aside for a few months and begin something new. I then return to the original project and ‘fix’ all the problems with some fresh eyes. I’ve learned that the world of publishing happens at a snail’s pace and that ‘writer’s block’ is aligned to laziness and procrastination. It’s very difficult meeting contractual demands. And the self-doubt never goes away, no matter how successful you may be.
“I want my readers to feel that they have shared in some sort of journey with the characters in my books. Moreover, I want readers to experience some of these characters’ emotions along the way. However, the overriding aspect is that I want my readers to be entertained by my books.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, July 1, 2014, Krista Hutley, review of When Mr. Dog Bites, p. 86; May 15, 2017, Ilene Cooper, review of We Come Apart, p. 53; November 15, 2018, Beth McIntyre, review of The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, p. 56.
Guardian (London, England), January 31, 2014, Philip Womack, review of When Mr. Dog Bites.
Horn Book, September-October, 2016, Sarah Hannah Gomez, review of The Bombs That Brought Us Together, p. 103; May-June, 2017, Jessica Tackett Macdonald, review of We Come Apart, p. 90.
Kirkus Reviews, April 16, 2014, review of When Mr. Dog Bites; December 1, 2018, review of The Weight of a Thousand Feathers.
Publishers Weekly, March 31, 2014, review of When Mr. Dog Bites, p. 67; June 20, 2016, review of The Bombs That Brought Us Together, p. 157; April 24, 2017, review of We Come Apart, p. 94.
School Librarian, summer, 2014, Lesley Martin, review of When Mr. Dog Bites, p. 125; summer, 2016, Joy Court, review of The Bombs That Brought Us Together, p. 116; summer, 2017, Joy Court, review of We Come Apart, p. 116; fall, 2018, Lesley Martin, review of The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, p. 186; autumn, 2023, Jo Sennett, review of Swimming on the Moon, p. 62; winter, 2023, Judith Palka, review of Treacle Town, p. 67.
School Library Journal, May, 2014, Tammy Turner, review of When Mr. Dog Bites, p. 126; July, 2016, Seth Herchenbach, review of The Bombs That Brought Us Together, p. 75; April, 2017, Marissa Lieberman, review of We Come Apart, p. 150; December, 2018, Suzanne Gordon, review of The Weight of a Thousand Feathers, p. 80.
Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2014, Debbie Wenk, review of When Mr. Dog Bites, p. 55; October, 2016, Jane Van Wiemokly, review of The Bombs That Brought Us Together, p. 74.
ONLINE
Amazing Distance, https://www.amazingdistance.com/ (March 20, 2020), review of The M Word.
Authors Abroad, https://www.authorsabroad.com/ (March 7, 2019), author profile.
BBC, https://www.bbc.com/ (January 4, 2017), author interview.
Ben Illis Agency website, http://www.the-bia.com/ (March 7, 2019), author profile.
Bent Agency website, https://www.thebentagency.com/ (March 28, 2024), author profile.
Bloomsbury Publishing website, http://www.bloomsbury.com/ (October 14, 2014), “Brian Conaghan.”
Books for Keeps, http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/ (March 7, 2019), Anna James, author interview.
Confessions of a Readaholic, http://amandeepmittal.wordpress.com/ (April 24, 2014), Aman Mittal, author interview.
Daily Asian Age, https://dailyasianage.com/ February 8, 2020), “A Cnversation with Brian Conaghan.”
Edinburgh International Book Festival website, https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/ (March 7, 2019), author profile.
Irish Times, https://www.irishtimes.com/ (April 22, 2016), article by author.
My Best Friends Are Books, https://bestfriendsarebooks.com/ (May 6, 2021), Zac McCallum, review of Cardboard Cowboys; (May 10, 2021), Zac McCallum, “Interview with Brian Conaghan.
New Zealand Herald, https://www.nzherald.co.nz/ (June 8, 2021), Louise Ward, review of Cardboard Cowboys.
Paper Lanterns, https://paperlanternslit.com/ (July 23, 2020), Derek Carney, review of The M Word.
Royal Literary Fund website, https://www.rlf.org.uk/ (March 28, 2024), author profile.
Scottish Book Trust, https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/ (March 28, 2024), author profile.
Waterford News & Star, https://waterford-news.ie/ (November 7, 2020), Libby Marchant, “View from the Green Room,” author interview.
After 20 years of living abroad where, among other things, he taught in Italy and Ireland, Brian Conaghan now lives and works in the Scottish town of Coatbridge. His 2014 novel, WHEN MR DOG BITES, was shortlisted for both Children’s Books Ireland (CBI) Award and the Carnegie Medal. This was followed by THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER which won the 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award. In 2017, WE COME APART - a co-authored collaboration - won the United Kingdom Literary Award (UKLA). His 2018 novel, THE WEIGHT OF A THOUSAND FEATHERS, won the An Post Teen & YA Irish Book of the Year and CBI Honour Award. The 2019 novel, THE M WORD, to date, has been shortlisted for the An Post YA and Teen Book of the Year, the UKLA and nominated for the Carnegie Medal. His most recent work, CARDBOARD COWBOYS, his first middle grade novel, will be published in April 2021. Twitter: @BrianConaghan
Brian Conaghan lives and works in the Scottish town of Coatbridge. He has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow, and worked as a teacher for many years. His novel When Mr Dog Bites was shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal. The Bombs That Brought Us Together won the 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award, The Weight of a Thousand Feathers won the 2018 Irish Book Award for Teen/YA Book of the Year, and We Come Apart, a verse novel co-authored with Carnegie Medal-winner Sarah Crossan, won the 2018 UKLA Book Award. Cardboard Cowboys, Brian’s first middle-grade novel, published in 2021 and is full of his trademark heart, humour and crackling dialogue. Swimming on the Moon is his second middle-grade novel. @ConaghanAuthor
Brian Conaghan
All of the information on this page has been provided by the author. If you need an author to have specialist skills, experience or knowledge beyond their creative work, please ask for more information about this ahead of booking them for an event. Please note that authors do not have to have a PVG to be listed.
Contact: brianconaghan@yahoo.co.uk
Local authority: North Lanarkshire
Languages: English
Author type: View all authors with author type:Writer
Brian Conaghan's headshot
I have been writing full-time for almost ten years, and during that time I have written eight Young Adult and Middle Grade novels. My books have won the Costa Award, UK Literary Award and The Irish Book Award; I’ve also been shortlisted for a variety of others, most notable the Carnegie Medal.
Drawing on over a decade of English teaching experience I have delivered and facilitated events (workshops, talks, readings etc.) throughout the UK and Ireland for readers aged twelve and over with an aim of promoting literacy, creativity and the joy of reading.
Brian Conaghan
Writer for young adults, Radio/tv/screenwriter
University of Strathclyde
Brian Conaghan is an award-winning author of ten young adult and middle-grade novels, which have been published in a variety of languages. His work is primarily focussed on the lives and relationships of working-class teens, and those characters who live within the margins of society. His 2014 book, When Mr Dog Bites (Bloomsbury 2014) was shortlisted for the Carnegie medal, while his book, The Bombs That Brought Us Together (Bloomsbury 2016) won the Costa Children’s Book award. The Weight of a Thousand Feathers (Bloomsbury 2018) won the An Post Irish Teen and Young Adult Book of the Year as well as the Children’s Books Ireland Honour award. His forthcoming novels include Swimming on the Moon (Bloomsbury 2023) and Treacle Town (Andersen Press 2023).
Brian is also a screenwriter and at present has four projects in development for film and television. Two of these projects are modern interpretations of The Great Gatsby and Dangerous Liaisons respectively. Moreover, he is adapting his novel, When Mr Dog Bites, for an eight-part television series and also has a police procedural show in the pipeline. Brian makes regular school, festival and community group visits where he gives talks and creative writing workshops, among other things, to a range of age groups.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Brian worked as an English, Theatre Studies and Classics secondary school teacher where he taught in Scotland, Italy and Ireland. After twenty-one years of work/travel, Brian currently lives back in his hometown of Coatbridge.
Brian Conaghan
Contact
Email: brianconaghan@yahoo.co.uk
Fellowships
University of Strathclyde 2023/24
Brian Conaghan
Represented by Nicola Barr
Brian is author of WHEN MR DOG BITES, first published in the UK in January 2014 to great critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Carnegie Medal.
THE BOMBS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER was published to yet more acclaim in 2016 and went on to win the 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award.
His next book, the co-authored WE COME APART won the United Kingdom Literary Award in 2017.
His 2018 novel THE WEIGHT OF A THOUSAND FEATHERS won the Irish Teen and YA Book of the Year and the Children’s Books Ireland Honour Award for fiction.
THE M WORD was shortlisted for both the UK Literary Award and the Irish Book Awards.
Brian's first middle-grade book, CARDBOARD COWBOYS, published in 2021, has, to date, been longlisted for the UK Literary Award.
Brian has a Master of Letters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. Over the years he has worked as a painter and decorator, a barman, a DJ, an actor, a teacher and now a writer. After almost 20 years of living in Italy and Ireland Brian currently lives in Scotland.
QUOTED: "an eye-opener"
"The characters bring the town to life and are so realistic."
Conaghan, Brian
Treacle Town
Andersen Press, 2023, pp304, [pounds sterling]8.99, 9781839133619
Tragedy. Gang Warfare. Deprivation
An eye-opener into a world of gang warfare, unemployment, and tragic death. A town that traps young people unless they have enough talent, money, and the will to leave. This moving novel opens at Connor's mate's funeral and explores his friends and families hopes and fears. His deceased friend's mum does not want any more deaths or violence, Nails wants to find her way out through sport, but Trig wants revenge. When Connor discovers a poetry slam group in Glasgow, he begins to see the world through the eyes of other poets and starts realising there is a way out for him and his friends if they are willing to take it. The powerful prose is interspersed in parts with engaging slam poetry. The characters bring the town to life and are so realistic that you could imagine them walking down the street. This is a book that should be read by older teenagers as it will give them an understanding of what life is really like in the 'Treacle Town' lookalikes that exist throughout the UK.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Palka, Judith. "Conaghan, Brian Treacle Town." School Librarian, vol. 71, no. 4, winter 2023, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A775549590/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ec4a88d8. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.
QUOTED: "Finely observed and very believable, this is a moving family tale."
Conaghan, Brian
Swimming on the Moon
Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2023,
pp318, [pounds sterling]7.99
9781526653925
Families. Autism. Neurodiversity.
Another sensitive and perceptive book by the amazing Brian Conaghan, who has a deft touch with difficult subjects and creates very readable stories and realistic characters you really empathise with. Anna's parents are fighting--a lot. She thinks a family holiday to Italy might bring them all closer, but then she discovers the truth behind the arguments and has to deal with some difficult feelings. Her twin brother Anto is autistic and communicates through a complicated system using Lego bricks, and this also brings some painful moments when her friends aren't understanding or tolerant. Finely observed and very believable, this is a moving family tale for middle grade, and a must-have for promoting diversity and empathy.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Sennitt, Jo. "Conaghan, Brian Swimming on the Moon." School Librarian, vol. 71, no. 3, autumn 2023, p. 62. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766964537/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8df4a471. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.