Traditional methods of bookbinding, such as oversewing (where pages fall out) or double-fan adhesive binding (where margins are lost), will soon have to make way for Otabind. An article I read over at hyphenpress.co.uk explains the Otabind method in perfect layman’s terms. Hardback (or ‘perfect binding’) books already separate the textblock from the book cover, to allow for pages to lie flat and still remain intact. For paperback (or ‘softbound’) books, however, there has been little improvement in terms of the technical. Creased and broken spines, loose pages, or pages […]
Tag Archives | words
Kilclooney Woods by Micheal O’h-Aonghusa
Last week, Selfpublishbooks.ie printed Micheal O’hAonghusa’s new book, Kilclooney Woods, a brief history of Fenianism and the events of 1867 in East Cork. I had a quick chat with Micheal and asked him if he had always wanted to write. “I have never been into writing,” says Micheal, “but I have always been into history, and especially local history. I was involved for years in Republican politics, and at the age of 23 (I am now 76) I was organising commemorations of Peter O’Neill-Crowley at Kilclooney Wood. That wasn’t surprising, […]
Radio Blaa Blaa by Brian Kennedy
Brian Kennedy’s first book, Confessions of an Exeter City Nut, was self-published before being taken up by a small publisher in England. His 2011 book, Just Follow the Floodlights was published by Liffey Press and went to No.1 on Amazon’s English Football League Bestseller List on 4 different occasions. I caught up with Brian to talk about his new memoir, Radio Blaa Blaa. Brian was a man born with a pen in his hand: “I’ve always been writing one thing or another from an early age. I used to do […]
‘Valentia’ by Catherine Conlon — Christmas Bestseller!
Set in contemporary Ireland, this novel follows the lives of the various members of the O’Sullivan family during a pivotal five-month period which marks a number of important transitions in all of their lives. The main backdrop for the action is the remote and magically beautiful island of Valentia in County Kerry, one of the most westerly points of the country. The author, Catherine Conlon, is a medical doctor and lecturer in Public Health and Epidemiology in UCC Public Health Department. Married with 4 children, living in Blackrock in Cork, […]
Maureen Fox: Memories & Articles
Maureen Fox was a journalist with the – then – Cork Examiner, now the Irish Examiner. At 15 she was expelled from school, her headmistress predicting that she would come to no good in life. After she joined the Examiner, in 1970, she became within a few years one of the most popular journalists in the South of Ireland, imaginative, creative and with great skills of communication. She was glamorous, perfectly made up, wearing beautiful silk suits and towering high heels and often drove around in a bright yellow Triumph […]
A Modern Irish Cook Book
Selfpublishbooks.ie have published Goodall’s latest compilation of Irish cooking by (and for) Irish cooks. As outlined on Goodall’s website, this book contains a great variety of recipes — from light bites such as Spiced Beef Blinis to heartier meals like Tagliatelle & Smoked Trout — not to mention delicious desserts like Trifle Cake. The recipes are chosen by the Goodall’s team from a selection submitted by Ireland’s Food Blogging Community, about whom you will find out more in the book. I spoke to editor, contributor and foodie blogger, Margaret Smith, […]
A Positive Selfpublishing Experience
On the 25th of March this year I attended a workshop titled ‘Getting Published’ at the Waterford Writer’s Weekend. The presenter was Vanessa O’Loughin, the founder and editor of the writing web site writing.ie. The information Vanessa presented was very practical and as I had recently completed writing my first book, Finding Nancy, and had decided to go down the self publishing path, I was keen to find out about printing companies in the south east of Ireland. Vanessa recommended Lettertec Ireland Ltd in Carrigtwohill Co. Cork. That recommendation was […]
