In the latest episode of the State of the Arts Podcast, host, filmmaker and writer Des Doyle chats with Catherine Doyle, internationally bestselling and award-winning author of The Dagger and the Flame and The Storm Keeper trilogy.
Produced in partnership with Film Ireland and supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme, the State of the Arts series explores the creative processes, industry challenges, and new opportunities that both Irish and international creatives face in today’s ever-evolving artistic landscapes.
In this conversation, Doyle shares insights into her creative journey, from inspirations, to the practical aspects of building emotionally rich, imaginative worlds for young readers to co-authoring the bestselling Twin Crowns trilogy. She discusses her journey, becoming successful, and gives helpful insight into how she managed to pen 13 books in a decade.
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Catherine Doyle
Catherine Doyle lives in the West of Ireland. Her award-winning and internationally bestselling work, which includes middle grade and young adult fiction, has been published in 30 languages. Her No.1 Sunday Times and New York Times Bestselling YA novel, The Dagger and the Flame, published in September 2024. The sequel, The Rebel and the Rose, followed in 2025. She is the co-author of the bestselling YA trilogy, Twin Crowns, Cursed Crowns and Burning Crowns, alongside Katherine Weber, as well as the Blood for Blood mafia trilogy, Vendetta, Inferno and Mafiosa. Her children’s fiction includes the Storm Keeper trilogy and The Miracle on Ebenezer Street.
Des Doyle
Des is a D.I.T. graduate who spent fifteen years working in the Camera Department in the Irish film industry before moving into directing. He is the writer/director of the critically acclaimed feature documentary Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show, featuring JJ Abrams (Alias, Lost, Fringe), Robert and Michelle King (The Good Wife), Ronald D. Moore (Outlander, Battlestar Galactica) and Bill Prady (The Big Bang Theory) amongst others.
He has created a number of courses in conjunction with Screen Ireland over the last few years, which provide breakdowns of all the major US and international streaming networks and what their evolving programming needs may be.
He also initiated the Pitching Programme for TV Drama and Comedy with Screen Ireland, giving a selected group of writers the opportunity to pitch directly to some of the major Irish production companies based on briefs they provide, and created the LA Writers Room Placements scheme, which allowed Irish writers to travel to LA and spend time in real-world US TV series writers’ rooms.
He has also lectured on Showrunning, US TV Production and the Future of Content at USC Los Angeles, Rowan University Philadelphia, Scriptmakers Berlin, APIT TV Producers Conference Lisbon, Northern Ireland Screen, IADT Dublin, Writers Guild of Ireland and as part of the recent Greenlight Screenwriting Labs in Galway.
He is currently developing a new documentary series, which is a US/Irish co-production, as well as providing creative consultancy services to Irish producers, writers and directors with projects targeting the US or global streaming markets.
He is also the co-founder of Destination TV along with Ciarán Donnelly, a creative skills live events company that recently brought Oscar and Emmy-nominated writer/director/showrunner Jonathan Nolan to Dublin for a masterclass.
Film Ireland Editor
