I absolutely love these monochrome reboots of book covers by freelancer Rowan Stocks-Moore. Gorgeous to look at, they also manage to be both literal and incredibly clever. (He’s got more at his portfolio - check them out.)

Happy new year, everyone! Apart from editing some old stories and forming a mild Goodreads addiction, I’ve had a pretty quiet start to the year. I’m back to college tomorrow, though, so I hope to get back in a good writing routine soon. Here’s some dates I’m looking forward to in 2012 – books, movies and deadlines:

20 January. The deadline for the Francis MacManus Short Story Competition is this Friday. It’s prestigious, it’s well-paying – and they got over 800 entries last year. Meep.

31 January. Deadline for the Sean Dunne Young Writers’ Awards. I won this last year and can say it’s a brilliant outlet and opportunity for young writers.

10 February. Release of Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron as a bratty YA author, and featuring the Juno dream team of Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman.

20 March. The first Shins album in five years, Port of Morrow, is released. I was obsessed with The Shins in my undergrad days and if ‘Simple Song’ is anything to go by, they’re still their jangly, catchy, indie-pop selves.

23 March. The Hunger Games movie is out! Love the book, and couldn’t be happier with the cast (Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland and Wes Bentley in particular). Josh Hutcherson will likely turn me Team Peeta.

31 March. Deadline for two great journals – The Stinging Fly and Short FICTION.

5 April. The blindingly brilliant Kevin Barry publishes his second collection of short stories, Dark Lies the Island.

27 April. Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. That is all.

8 May. Tentative release date for A Thoroughly Good Blue, the anthology my creative writing class is putting together. Like us on Facebook or follow us on twitter: @a_good_blue

In 2011, for the first time, I kept a list of everything I read. Since I always have a book on the go, I was pretty confident I’d read at least a book a week, probably more. My grand total, at 42, fell short though – and surprisingly once I started college at the end of September my rate of reading went down. (Or maybe not so surprising, since I was no longer commuting, and had lots of workshop-reading to do.)

It was a good year in books. I read 17 novels, including some brilliant 2011 releases such as City of Bohane, The Tenderloin, The Forgotten Waltz, The Gospel of Anarchy and The Sense of an Ending. Austin Wright’s re-released Tony and Susan, first published in 1993, was another highlight, and not like anything I’d ever read. I also loved last year’s Booker contenders In a Strange Room and Skippy Dies.

I read a mere seven YA titles, including three by the same author – Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series, the middle of which, Linger, was my favourite. Laura Jane Cassidy’s dark/sparky Angel Kiss was a highlight. I have a tonne of unread YA on my bookshelf, including The Knife of Never Letting Go, Delirium and Divergent. If I have a resolution for 2012, it’s to read more YA.

And more short stories, too. I was obviously in a novelly place in 2011, because I read a dismal total of three short story collections – Ben Greenman’s What He’s Poised to Do, the excellent Faber anthology New Irish Short Stories, and Nuala Ni Chonchuir’s gorgeous, haunting To the World of Men, Welcome, which was re-issued this year.

I read a LOT of plays, mostly for college. Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane was probably my favourite of those, but I also sorta loved Sebastian Barry’s much-maligned Hinterland, AKA the Charlie Haughey play.

I read more current affairs and politics titles than is usual, too – a sign of the times. Pat Leahy’s Showtime and Matt Cooper’s How Ireland Really Went Bust were informative as well as strangely addictive.

Two memoirs – Caitlin Moran’s glorious How to Be A Woman and Joe Brainard’s dinky but perfectly formed I Remember – rounded out my year in books.

In writing terms, it’s been a good year too. In 2012 I’ll finish my creative writing masters and with it, hopefully, a novel. Bring it!

Best case of doppelganger covers since Netherland/Infinite Jest?

I love the concept of One Story, a New York-based literary journal that publishes 15 issues a year, each containing – you guessed it – one story. I love the idea of stories being published in mini-books. It seems to celebrate both the brevity and the scope of the short story.

The folks at One Story are now extending the idea to another love of mine: young adult fiction. Starting in February, One Teen Story will feature nine issues – eight by well-known YA authors, and the ninth by the winner of a competition open to writers aged 14-19. Nifty idea, and a hell of an opportunity for a teen writer.

Thanks to Nuala for passing on the info!