This year has been a chaotic one for many people, myself included. Last year I had debated archiving this blog but ultimately decided not to, however I definitely didn't get much content up here, about on par with 2019 which was also a skimpy year for content. I'd like to think what did make it to the digital page was decent quality but obviously going from an average of 60 posts down to a bit over a dozen is a big drop.
My most popular blog in 2020 was 'Fairy Help, Fairy Harm' with 1397 views, followed by 'A Critical Look at the Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries' at 1180 and 'Sources for Working with Fairies' at 1029. I don't have my numbers for the material I write on Patheos or Witches&Pagans but I'm proud of the pieces I wrote for those venues.
I had 7 books published this year, 4 through Moon Books and 3 self published. Through Moon Books there was A New Dictionary of Fairies, Pagan Portals Thor, Pagan Portals Raven Goddess, and Pagan Portals Living Fairy. I'm especially proud of A New Dictionary of Fairies, which I feel is one of my best works. I self published my full English translation of the Cath Maige Tuired, as well as an anthology 'Wandering' and novel 'Convergence' in my Between the Worlds urban fantasy series. This has been one of my busiest years for publishing and I anticipate next year will be quieter. I have one book set to come out through Moon Books and another on contract that I'm working on, and I'd like to get another novel out next year, so we'll see.
I had 5 articles published in magazines:
“Queens of Fairy” The Magical Times, Oct 2019 – March 2020, issue 27
“Conceptualizing Fairyland” Pagan Dawn, Imbolc 2020 no 214
“The Divinity of the Tuatha De Danann”, Pagan Digest volume 01, May 2020
“The Power of Transformation”, Witch Way Magazine, Midsummer special issue 2020
“Fairies and the Stars”, Pagan Dawn, Lammas-Autumn Equinox 2020, no 216
As well as publishing an article on academia edu that had been through peer review:
“Sexuality and Gender Among the Good Neighbours: the Intersection and Inversion of Human Norms in Fairylore”
I taught at a variety of online conferences, including the Morrigan's Call, ADF's Wellspring, and Changing Times Changing Worlds, and taught one longer online course through the Irish Pagan School. With everything moving online this year I was able to participate in more conferences than I would have if they'd all been in person. That's one of the odd side effects of 2020, and while next year will certainly mean fewer conferences for me it was interesting to be able to participate in so many different things. I've also been doing a lot more interviews which has been fun.
Other than all that I've just been writing away as normal, working on books and papers and articles. Several projects in the works that don't have specific deadlines, a new translation project I'm working on, and a presentation for another academic conference. I've added videos to my youtube channel and have started making some videos on tiktok as well, so that has been keeping me busy in addition to writing.
That pretty much wraps up my 2020, work wise. I'll see you all in 2021!