McCarthy was able to apply her convention-running knowledge gained in SF and media fandom when Anime UK ran the successful one-day convention AUKcon, which attracted attendees from all over Europe in 1994.

She has written numerous articles and essays and is a frequent convention guest, as well as speaking at film festivals and academic gatherings in Europe, America and Japan.

She is a founder member of the Fandom and NeoMedia Studies Association (FANS), gave the keynote address at their inaugural conference, and spoke at their first Japanese symposium at Yamanushi Gakuin in 2017.

She worked with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and his team on TeZuKa at Sadler's Wells in 2011, and on Pluto at the Barbican in 2017 and in European City of Culture Leeuwarden in 2018.

[13] A firm believer that artistic and creative talent can be developed and enjoyed by everyone, she has edited two how-to-draw manuals for Flame Tree Press.