Congratulations @susanlanigan.bsky.social on her shortlisting in the @hns2026.bsky.social First Chapters Competition Round 1, and best of luck! hns2026.com/competition
Maybelle Wallis
@histwriter.bsky.social
British and Irish consultant paediatrician. Author of HEART OF CRUELTY, THE PIANO PLAYER, and DAUGHTER OF STRANGERS, all published by Poolbeg: a suspenseful trilogy set in the mid 19th century and inspired by the history of medicine. Histwriter.com ©2025
I nominated 'Finding Mangan: The Lives and Afterlives of Ireland's National Poet' by Bridget Hourican. It's partly a biography and partly a séance with this enigmatic, capricious and eccentric writer, who must in his day have been one of the great personages of Dublin, and perhaps is still.
Royal Irish Academy@ria.ie · 9mo agoThe 2026 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction is officially open for nominations. The €10,000 prize will be awarded in Oct 2026 to the author of the best non-fiction book by a writer living in Ireland. The winning author will give the 'Michel Déon Lecture' in France in 2027. www.ria.ie/grants-award...
Category shortlists for the HNS 2026 First Chapters competition are up: hns2026.com/competition Ten historical fiction categories include CYA, romance, crime, fantasy, and more, with 15 writers; from Ireland, Canada, France, Italy, Puerto Rico, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Congratulations to all!
Bat walk yesterday evening in Gothic twilight at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford. 🦇 🦇
The HNS 2026 First Chapters Competition is now OPEN for submissions! Find full details at hns2026.com We're cannot wait to read your pages! Best of luck to all! #hns2026 #firstchapterscompetion #WritingCommunity #writingcompetition #writers
HNS 2026 Conference: Print the Legend | HNS 2026 Conference, Maynooth Campus
Join us in vibrant Maynooth for the HNS 2026 Conference. Hear keynote speakers, meet agents, enter our competition, and enjoy our social programme. We explore finding, defining and authoring legends…
hns2026.com
The HNS 2026 First Chapters Competition is now open until 17 November 2025, both to HNS members and to non-members, and to unpublished and previously published authors. Send in the opening plus synopsis of a previously unpublished full-length historical novel. See more: hns2026.com/competition
Got this from Meta. Pay up or we’ll sell your data? I’m tempted to bin Facebook and Instagram, especially after they scraped my novel ‘Daughter of Strangers’. Any views?
Nichole Louise gave my second novel 'The Piano Player' a detailed, thoughtful, and favourable review on her beautifully curated historical fiction website: nicholelouise.com/2025/07/03/r... Thank you! 👍 @nichole-louise.bsky.social #writersky #booksky
Review: The Piano Player by Maybelle Wallis
The Piano Player by Maybelle Wallis, the sequel to Heart of Cruelty, picks up about eight years later in Dublin. Dr. William Doughty works in Meath Hospital amidst both the Great Famine and a chole…
nicholelouise.com
A beautiful day in Maynooth today sorting out some things for #HNS2026 conference with @katmezzacappa.bsky.social . More to come on HNS2026.com
I've just signed this petition protesting Meta's theft of Irish writing, which they've used to build their AI tool. Will you sign too? my.uplift.ie/petitions/pr...
Protest Meta's Theft of Irish Writing
I've just signed this petition protesting Meta's theft of Irish writing, which they've used to build their AI tool. Will you sign too?
my.uplift.ie
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: my.uplift.ie/petitions/pr... #irishwriters #irishwriting @conorkostick.bsky.social #DontZuckOurBooks #writingcommunity
Protest Meta's Theft of Irish Writing
If we want to live in a world where laws are respected by all and cannot simply be disregarded by those with wealth and power, we have to make a stand against this piracy of Irish (and international) ...
my.uplift.ie
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I've redesigned the Irish Writers' Union newsletter edited by @katmezzacappa.bsky.social and it's lovely to get it out there in its new format on the 17th of March. To read it in full, join the IWU!
Privileged to be working with @histwriter.bsky.social @benbergonzi.bsky.social Dianne Ascroft and Aidan Morrissey on the organisation of the first Historical Novel Society conference to be held in #ireland @maynoothuniversity.ie #historicalfiction
Maybelle Wallis@histwriter.bsky.social · 2y agoI'm excited to share what I've been working on recently as one of a team of volunteers from the Historical Novel Society. I've set up our 2026 conference website hns2026.com and will update it as needed. Maynooth Campus is a beautiful venue and easily reached from Dublin. Looking forward to it!
#ICYMI Sharing our earlier Editorial Book Review of 🌟Times of Turmoil by Anna Belfrage🌟 "Times of Turmoil ... is an amazing story that will have you flipping pages till dawn." thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/edit... #TimeSlip #HistoricalFiction #BookReview @abelfrageauthor.bsky.social
Also I’ve been reading this witty memoir about an eclectic antiquarian bookshop in London. Funniest cover praise: “Unfortunately I have mislaid the book in question “
Life Under My Belt: Kristin Hannah’s commitment to telling women's lost stories: https://buff.ly/3CwYUYQ #HistoricalFiction
Life Under My Belt: Kristin Hannah's Commitment to Women's Friendship & Telling Their Lost Stories - Historical Novel Society
WRITTEN BY MARY TOD Kristen Hannah does not tackle light-hearted topics. Instead, her novels consider women and men facing tragic circumstances, life-altering decisions, war, drought, marriage…
buff.ly
Mary Kearney arrived on my Kindle today! Perfect evening reading in my comfy chair 👍
I'm excited to share what I've been working on recently as one of a team of volunteers from the Historical Novel Society. I've set up our 2026 conference website hns2026.com and will update it as needed. Maynooth Campus is a beautiful venue and easily reached from Dublin. Looking forward to it!
🎉 Happy Birthday to Edith Wharton! Let’s celebrate by exploring some of her most iconic works: #ebook
A classic, erudite yet heartfelt: the tale of a love that transcends social divisions ❤️
Katherine Mezzacappa@katmezzacappa.bsky.social · 2y agoIt's out at last! The first draft of this book was written in 2016, thanks to a talking to from @bridgeanne.bsky.social 8 novels out since, but I kept faith with this one (revised it a lot, of course) #Irishwriting #historicalfiction #publicationday #newrelease #Histria @historia-hwa.bsky.social
This stunning novel of 18thC Ireland entwines joy and tragedy, as a tender and passionate love grows ever deeper in defiance of an unjust society. #TheBalladofMaryKearney #historicalfiction #historicalnovel www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-...
The Ballad of Mary Kearney
The Ballad of Mary Kearney : Mezzacappa, Katherine: Amazon.co.uk: Books
amazon.co.uk
Katherine Mezzacappa@katmezzacappa.bsky.social · 2y agoMy forthcoming novel features in @historia-hwa.bsky.social's list of novels for 2025 for January! Scroll down the link; #TheBalladofMaryKearney is the second cover you'll see www.historiamag.com/historical-b... #historicalfiction #writingcommunity #author Thank you, @francesowen.bsky.social
Wishing you all a joyful, enlightening, and prosperous New Year!
Gobsmacked. Thank you @patrickkincaid.bsky.social for such a heartfelt endorsement. #HistoricalFiction #Renaissance @historia-hwa.bsky.social #Fairlight #Bookrecommendation This makes my day and many days to come.
Patrick Kincaid@patrickkincaid.bsky.social · 2y agoThe Maiden of Florence is one of my books of the year. One of those historical novels that plunges you into a time and place so fully realised, so convincing, that you’re left gasping.
Writing-wise, I had little success in 2024 because all my short stories and novels were rejected. Almost all. “To End All Wars” initially failed to be placed in Write for Palestinians event, but I knew it had legs.TY @madeehahwrites.bsky.social and @safiyacherfi.bsky.social for vibing with it ❤️ 🇵🇸
Susan Lanigan@susanlanigan.bsky.social · 2y agoIf you download the PDF for issue 4 of Overtly Lit magazine, you can read my story "To End All Wars" - a time slip tale set in Gaza. It's very short :) overtlylit.com
You can message me here. I do have big plans x
Last day if you fancy a little book goodie
Susan Lanigan@susanlanigan.bsky.social · 2y agoopen.substack.com/pub/susanlan...