Oisín McGann (born 1973 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish author and illustrator. He writes in a range of genres for children and teenagers, mainly science fiction and fantasy, and has illustrated many of his own short story books for younger readers.
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Oisín McGann was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1973 and spent most of his childhood living there and in Drogheda, County Louth.[1] He had an interest in writing and illustrating from an early age and later studied art at Ballyfermot Senior College, Dublin before doing a course in animation at Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design in 1990. He set up as a freelance illustrator/artist in 1992 before becoming Background Layout Designer for Fred Wolf films in 1997. In February 1998, he left Dublin for London where he spent most of his time as an illustrator and copywriter in an advertising company. After three and a half years he returned to Ireland, initially working as freelance illustrator, but now as a full-time author.
In 2003, his first two books in the Mad Grandad series for younger readers were released by the O'Brien Press of Dublin, followed by his first young adult novel, The Gods and their Machines in 2004. More Mad Grandad titles soon followed as well as two more young adult novels, The Harvest Tide Project and Under Fragile Stone (collectively known as the Archisan Tales). The Harvest Tide Project was actually the first novel McGann had written, but it was contracted as part of a three-novel deal, and his publishers chose to release The Gods and their Machines first.
In 2006, a new illustrated series, the Forbidden Files was published, for confident readers. In the same year, Random House's imprint Doubleday bought the rights to publish his next novel, the futuristic thriller Small-Minded Giants. In May 2007, Small-Minded Giants was recommended by the Education Secretary, Alan Johnson and the School Library Association in the UK on a one-off list of Top 160 Books For Boys. In November 2010, an extract from Small-Minded Giants was used as part of paper one of the English GCSE, By the Northern Ireland Council For the Curriculum, Exams and Awards (CCEA).
Since 2006, McGann has continued to publish with Random House. Ancient Appetites, a steampunk story set in nineteenth century Ireland, was released in July, 2007, the first in McGann's Wildenstern Saga series. Strangled Silence, a conspiracy thriller set in London, was published in September, 2008. The second Wildenstern Saga book, entitled The Wisdom of Dead Men, was published in 2009. The third Wildenstern book, Merciless Reason is due for release in January 2012.
2005: The Gods and Their Machines won a Bisto Children's Book of the Year Merit Award.
2005: The Gods and Their Machines and The Harvest Tide Project were both shortlisted for the Reading Association of Ireland Award – the first time an author had two books on the same shortlist.
2006: The Gods And Their Machines, published by Tor in the United States, shortlisted for Locus Magazine's Best First Novel Award.
2006: Under Fragile Stone shortlisted for the Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award.
2008: Ancient Appetites shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book of the Year Award.
2008: Small-Minded Giants shortlisted for the Coventry Inspiration Book Award.
2009: Strangled Silence shortlisted for Falkirk Council’s 2010 RED Book Award.
2011: The French edition of Ancient Appetites, Voraces, shortlisted for le Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire in the Young Adult (Foreign) Novel category.
2011: Voraces shortlisted for the Prix Imaginales 2011 in the Jeunesse category.