Dave Rudden
@daveruddenwrites.bsky.social
Storysmith. DOCTOR WHO. KNIGHTS OF THE BORROWED DARK. And CONN OF THE DEAD - coming soon!
Pinned
And here it is!
CONN OF THE DEAD - the first in my new 9 - 11 horror series illustrated by Ali Al Amine, arriving April 24th, 2025.
If you'd like to pre-order (which is hugely helpful for a new series AND comes with a bunch of to-be-revealed treats) I've included links below!
CONN OF THE DEAD - the first in my new 9 - 11 horror series illustrated by Ali Al Amine, arriving April 24th, 2025.
If you'd like to pre-order (which is hugely helpful for a new series AND comes with a bunch of to-be-revealed treats) I've included links below!
Reposted by Dave Rudden
"If you're the kind of kid who can't sit still in school... you still have a chance to be a hero."
We had the joy of chatting with @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social, author of Conn of the Dead, which is shortlisted for the 2025 @specsaversie.bsky.social Children’s Book of the Year - Senior.
We had the joy of chatting with @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social, author of Conn of the Dead, which is shortlisted for the 2025 @specsaversie.bsky.social Children’s Book of the Year - Senior.
November 14, 2025 at 5:02 PM
"If you're the kind of kid who can't sit still in school... you still have a chance to be a hero."
We had the joy of chatting with @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social, author of Conn of the Dead, which is shortlisted for the 2025 @specsaversie.bsky.social Children’s Book of the Year - Senior.
We had the joy of chatting with @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social, author of Conn of the Dead, which is shortlisted for the 2025 @specsaversie.bsky.social Children’s Book of the Year - Senior.
Reposted by Dave Rudden
LOVE voting for my faves! If you do done fun / satisfying thing on the internet today this should be it
Just a few days left to get your vote in for the Irish Book Awards! Show your support for CONN OF THE DEAD and a whole host of gorgeous books at irishbookawards.ie...
November 12, 2025 at 10:34 AM
LOVE voting for my faves! If you do done fun / satisfying thing on the internet today this should be it
Just a few days left to get your vote in for the Irish Book Awards! Show your support for CONN OF THE DEAD and a whole host of gorgeous books at irishbookawards.ie...
November 12, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Just a few days left to get your vote in for the Irish Book Awards! Show your support for CONN OF THE DEAD and a whole host of gorgeous books at irishbookawards.ie...
Reposted by Dave Rudden
Absolutely bursting with pride that the mighty #ConnOfTheDead is up for an #IrishBookAward! Written by @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social and illustrated by @aeadraws.bsky.social – vote early, vote often! www.irishbookawards.ie/2025-shortli...
2025 Shortlist - Irish Book Awards
2025 Shortlists Announced Scroll through all of this year’s shortlists below. EASON NOVEL OF THE YEAR Sponsored By The Book Centre CRIME FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR In association with The Irish Independ...
www.irishbookawards.ie
October 24, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Absolutely bursting with pride that the mighty #ConnOfTheDead is up for an #IrishBookAward! Written by @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social and illustrated by @aeadraws.bsky.social – vote early, vote often! www.irishbookawards.ie/2025-shortli...
So lovely to see a new prize celebrating a crucial bandwidth age in children's books - we so often lose young readers around 10/11, and this will hopefully reinforce the importance of books for that age.
Plus, @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social is amazing - what a pick!
Plus, @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social is amazing - what a pick!
For over 50 years, the Booker Prizes have recognised the best fiction for adults. Now, we're delighted to announce the Children’s Booker Prize, supported by AKO Foundation.
Find out more: thebookerprizes.com/children
Find out more: thebookerprizes.com/children
October 24, 2025 at 10:17 AM
So lovely to see a new prize celebrating a crucial bandwidth age in children's books - we so often lose young readers around 10/11, and this will hopefully reinforce the importance of books for that age.
Plus, @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social is amazing - what a pick!
Plus, @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social is amazing - what a pick!
Reposted by Dave Rudden
So angry for the Bloody Sunday families and the people of Derry. Absolutely no justice in this at all.
A former paratrooper has been found not guilty of the murders of two men and the attempted murders of five men during the events of Bloody Sunday in 1972. jrnl.ie/6852291
Bloody Sunday: Judge expected to deliver verdict in trial of Soldier F
The former paratrooper has been charged with the murders of James Wray and William McKinney in Derry on 30 January 1972.
jrnl.ie
October 23, 2025 at 12:22 PM
So angry for the Bloody Sunday families and the people of Derry. Absolutely no justice in this at all.
Can't wait to read this!
I’m excited to see that you can now pre order my debut novel from @pagesofhackney.bsky.social - thank you!
www.pagesofhackney.co.uk/webshop/prod... @chickenhousebooks.bsky.social
www.pagesofhackney.co.uk/webshop/prod... @chickenhousebooks.bsky.social
October 21, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Can't wait to read this!
Reposted by Dave Rudden
Seeing as it's #IrishBookWeek, I've put together a Starter Pack of bricks 'n' mortar bookshops. Terrified I've forgotten someone obvious so please let me know of additions
go.bsky.app/G4kmxVq
go.bsky.app/G4kmxVq
October 18, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Seeing as it's #IrishBookWeek, I've put together a Starter Pack of bricks 'n' mortar bookshops. Terrified I've forgotten someone obvious so please let me know of additions
go.bsky.app/G4kmxVq
go.bsky.app/G4kmxVq
Come and sign up or even just support, your new favourite author may be about to take the stage!
Calling all teen writers! We can’t wait for this Story Slam Open Mic for performers aged 13 - 18, at our Festival Hub next month. Find out more and register your young writers now ➡️ bit.ly/4nV1Gtg @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social
October 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Come and sign up or even just support, your new favourite author may be about to take the stage!
An absolutely gorgeous time with these students - I am WRECKED but full of joy...
The amazing @daveruddenwrites.bsky.social delivering an amazing talk today!
October 15, 2025 at 12:42 PM
An absolutely gorgeous time with these students - I am WRECKED but full of joy...
I was buying a hat for a friend in a Parisian shop and I couldn't find a mirror.
When I asked for one, the elderly owner popped it on their head and did a perfect catwalk circuit of the shop for me.
(I bought the hat)
When I asked for one, the elderly owner popped it on their head and did a perfect catwalk circuit of the shop for me.
(I bought the hat)
I have been to like 9 thrift stores in Paris and the French do not appear to believe in t-shirts. As a concept.
October 14, 2025 at 7:27 AM
I was buying a hat for a friend in a Parisian shop and I couldn't find a mirror.
When I asked for one, the elderly owner popped it on their head and did a perfect catwalk circuit of the shop for me.
(I bought the hat)
When I asked for one, the elderly owner popped it on their head and did a perfect catwalk circuit of the shop for me.
(I bought the hat)
Reposted by Dave Rudden
‘96% of healthcare professionals said the model helps to reduce children’s anxiety, and 46% reported a lesser need to use sedation after the children played with the set.‘
‘Lego doesn’t sell the sets and instead has donated more than 10,000 of the kits to hospitals around the world.’
‘Lego doesn’t sell the sets and instead has donated more than 10,000 of the kits to hospitals around the world.’
How Lego MRI scanner sets are reducing anxiety in children undergoing medical treatment www.cnbc.com/2025/10/13/l...
How Lego MRI scanner sets are reducing anxiety in children undergoing medical treatment
Lego's MRI scanner play sets, which launched in 2023, are significantly reducing anxiety and the use of sedation in children, according to new research.
www.cnbc.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:12 AM
‘96% of healthcare professionals said the model helps to reduce children’s anxiety, and 46% reported a lesser need to use sedation after the children played with the set.‘
‘Lego doesn’t sell the sets and instead has donated more than 10,000 of the kits to hospitals around the world.’
‘Lego doesn’t sell the sets and instead has donated more than 10,000 of the kits to hospitals around the world.’
This is just such a no-brainer win for everybody that I hope that it gets rolled out in a much bigger way.
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
October 7, 2025 at 9:48 AM
This is just such a no-brainer win for everybody that I hope that it gets rolled out in a much bigger way.
I'm ignoring emails from one of those freelance book promoters, and they're really hitting me where it hurts - 'Dave, you're not good at communicating, just respond to say no.'
Which I know is just a tactic, but man am I susceptible to GUILT
Which I know is just a tactic, but man am I susceptible to GUILT
October 7, 2025 at 9:45 AM
I'm ignoring emails from one of those freelance book promoters, and they're really hitting me where it hurts - 'Dave, you're not good at communicating, just respond to say no.'
Which I know is just a tactic, but man am I susceptible to GUILT
Which I know is just a tactic, but man am I susceptible to GUILT
So sad to hear of Manchán's passing. His works are always on my desk, just reading a line or two is enough to lift you and remind you of the ground beneath your feet at the same time.
“The bogs, rivers, mountains, and shorelines are more than preservers of old myths, bones, and memories. They are energy banks and time sponges, and what is held within them seeks release.”
― Manchán Magan, Listen to the Land Speak: A Journey into the Wisdom of What Lies Beneath Us
― Manchán Magan, Listen to the Land Speak: A Journey into the Wisdom of What Lies Beneath Us
October 3, 2025 at 2:45 PM
So sad to hear of Manchán's passing. His works are always on my desk, just reading a line or two is enough to lift you and remind you of the ground beneath your feet at the same time.
'They rode to the fugitives’ bed at Waermund Hill – a white stone square as flat and smooth as a quilt. In some tales the beds were for lovers, in others they were for thieves, and in a few they were for both, the besotted boys and heart-crazed girls who stole each other from disapproving hearths.'
September 30, 2025 at 10:58 AM
'They rode to the fugitives’ bed at Waermund Hill – a white stone square as flat and smooth as a quilt. In some tales the beds were for lovers, in others they were for thieves, and in a few they were for both, the besotted boys and heart-crazed girls who stole each other from disapproving hearths.'
The CONN OF THE DEAD audiobook has been released!
This was such a blast to read so if you've got a horror-lover aged 9 - 11 (particularly one who's neurodivergent) this is the peril-packed few hours for them.
There's even a sample here to check out!
rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...
This was such a blast to read so if you've got a horror-lover aged 9 - 11 (particularly one who's neurodivergent) this is the peril-packed few hours for them.
There's even a sample here to check out!
rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...
September 4, 2025 at 11:56 AM
The CONN OF THE DEAD audiobook has been released!
This was such a blast to read so if you've got a horror-lover aged 9 - 11 (particularly one who's neurodivergent) this is the peril-packed few hours for them.
There's even a sample here to check out!
rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...
This was such a blast to read so if you've got a horror-lover aged 9 - 11 (particularly one who's neurodivergent) this is the peril-packed few hours for them.
There's even a sample here to check out!
rbmediaglobal.com/audiobook/97...
Reposted by Dave Rudden
Somewhere in Iceland.
September 1, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Somewhere in Iceland.
Reposted by Dave Rudden
Film criticism is an environment where straight, white, cisgender, and male voices have dominated for over a century. Now we FINALLY have an influx of diverse voices who offer more context, expertise and analysis! And now, of course, people say critics are worthless now. What a fucking coincidence.
August 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Film criticism is an environment where straight, white, cisgender, and male voices have dominated for over a century. Now we FINALLY have an influx of diverse voices who offer more context, expertise and analysis! And now, of course, people say critics are worthless now. What a fucking coincidence.
Reposted by Dave Rudden
Politely withdrawing from a book prize isn’t cancelling anyone. When the Women’s Prize said it had no problem incl transgender women, the “gender critical” novelist Lissa Evans, for example, said she’d no longer allow her books to be submitted for it. I wonder where the substacks were about that?
August 13, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Politely withdrawing from a book prize isn’t cancelling anyone. When the Women’s Prize said it had no problem incl transgender women, the “gender critical” novelist Lissa Evans, for example, said she’d no longer allow her books to be submitted for it. I wonder where the substacks were about that?
I was in Edinburgh and saw a battered burger on JustEat.
Reader, they had battered the buns.
(you could also order cigarettes)
Reader, they had battered the buns.
(you could also order cigarettes)
Every time an American dunks on British food, we take another of your signature dishes and pie it.
Thought I'd try and eat a bit healthier this week, happily Aldi had other ideas
August 13, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I was in Edinburgh and saw a battered burger on JustEat.
Reader, they had battered the buns.
(you could also order cigarettes)
Reader, they had battered the buns.
(you could also order cigarettes)
Reposted by Dave Rudden
"He said: "Wouldn't it be great testament to [Sean Rocks] and to Michael D who's going to finish up this year, if there was a dedicated section in the six o'clock news for an artistic segment the same way as there is for sport."
After a ten-year absence from the stage, Brendan Gleeson is returning to the stage for The Weir, describing the opportunity as a "dream ticket".
'Dream ticket' - Brendan Gleeson on returning to stage
After a ten-year absence from the stage, Brendan Gleeson is returning to the stage for The Weir, describing the opportunity as a "dream ticket".
www.rte.ie
August 13, 2025 at 10:30 AM
"He said: "Wouldn't it be great testament to [Sean Rocks] and to Michael D who's going to finish up this year, if there was a dedicated section in the six o'clock news for an artistic segment the same way as there is for sport."
Very sorry to have to cancel my gigs in Malahide Library today due to a wretched stomach bug - we are looking to reschedule and I'll yell about dates here when we do!
August 12, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Very sorry to have to cancel my gigs in Malahide Library today due to a wretched stomach bug - we are looking to reschedule and I'll yell about dates here when we do!
Reposted by Dave Rudden
It's a target-rich environment if you're comparing JURASSIC PARK to its successors with an eye toward what's changed in blockbuster filmmaking, but a big one that stood out to me this time around is little things like Sattler collapsing against a fence and sobbing after an escape from the raptors.
August 12, 2025 at 1:58 AM
It's a target-rich environment if you're comparing JURASSIC PARK to its successors with an eye toward what's changed in blockbuster filmmaking, but a big one that stood out to me this time around is little things like Sattler collapsing against a fence and sobbing after an escape from the raptors.
Reposted by Dave Rudden
One of the unexpected joys of parenting has been discovering just how many great books are now available for the confident middle grade reader, and indeed the useful existence of middle grade for labelling books with plenty of action/peril but not much emphasis on the relationships side.
If you are going to be recommending SFF books to young readers, please do remember that there's an enormous selection of middle grade and young adult SFF out there that is a far better option than books by adult SFF authors, old or new.
August 12, 2025 at 6:37 AM
One of the unexpected joys of parenting has been discovering just how many great books are now available for the confident middle grade reader, and indeed the useful existence of middle grade for labelling books with plenty of action/peril but not much emphasis on the relationships side.