Saturday 22nd August

Conference programme, TSI Building, North Campus

NOTE: Rooms may switch around depending on capacity requirements, and (hopefully not) unforeseen circumstances may necessitate a change of speaker. So, please recheck this listing closer to the conference date

8.30 - 9.00 - FOYER - REGISTRATION & TEA/COFFEE

9.00 – 10.00 PLENARY SESSION 1 – LT2

9.00 - 9.10 Welcome & Introduction - HNS 2026 Team: Dianne Ascroft, Ben Bergonzi, Nicola Garrett, Katherine Mezzacappa, Aidan Morrissey, Rebekah Simmers, Margaret Skea, Maybelle Wallis, Tracey Warr

9.10 – 10.00 Keynote Speaker - Prof Terry Dooley, Department of History and Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates, Maynooth University: Tracing a tragedy through estate papers: the life and death of Hermione, 5th Duchess of Leinster (1864-95) (Chair: Maybelle Wallis)

10.10 – 11.00 PARALLEL SESSION 1

10.10 – 11.00 (LT2) Kevin Connolly: Unearthing the Irish Past With a Digital Spade (Chair: Maybelle Wallis)

10.10 – 11.00 (Room 109) Tracey Warr: Transforming Sources into Fiction: Vikings and Normans in Ireland (Chair: Ben Bergonzi)

10.10 – 11.00 (Room 110) Laurence O’Bryan: Pitching Your Novel - The Essence of Marketing (Chair: Dianne Ascroft)

11.00 – 11.30 - Room 028 & FOYER - BOOK SALES, SIGNINGS & TEA/COFFEE

11.30 – 12.20 PARALLEL SESSION 2

11.30 – 12.20 (LT2) Aidan Morrissey: Unearthing Tacnbora: How an Archaeological Excavation Brought a Lost Legend to Life (Chair: Tracey Warr)

11.30 – 12.20 (Room 109) Laura Morelli: Looking for Stories in Art (Chair: Margaret Skea)

11.30 – 12.20 (Room 110) Jenny Barden, Carol McGrath, Joanna Hickson: Tudor Secrets in Film, Fiction and Fact (Chair: Ben Bergonzi)

12.30 - 13.20 PARALLEL SESSION 3

12.30 - 13.20 (LT2) Kate Forsyth: Research and Writing Across Time Periods (Chair: Dianne Ascroft)

12.30 - 13.20 (Room 109) Fiona Whyte, Laura McKenna: Deconstructing the Legend: Humanising Heroes in Historical Fiction (Chair: Margaret Skea)

12.30 - 13.20 (Room 110) Kate Braithwaite: Sister Stories - Illuminating the Past and Firing Up Your Fiction (Chair: Tracey Warr)

13.20 – 14.10 - Room 028 & FOYER - BOOK SALES, SIGNINGS & LUNCH

14.10 – 15.00 PARALLEL SESSION 4

14.10 – 15.00 (LT2) Susan Meissner: Making Your Historical Setting a Character (Chair: Margaret Skea)

14.10 – 15.00 (Room 110) Lenore Hart: Winning First Chapters: Targeting Novel Competitions and Crafting Competitive Submissions (Chair: Aidan Morrissey)

14.10 – 15.00 (Room 109) Audrey Mac Cready, Steven Smyrl: Genealogical Research For Your Story with The Irish Genealogical Research Society (Chair: Maybelle Wallis)

15.10 – 16.00 PLENARY SESSION 2 – LT2

Keynote Speaker: Martina Devlin in conversation with Lia Mills (Chair: Katherine Mezzacappa)

16.00 - 16.30 - Room 028 & FOYER - BOOK SALES, SIGNINGS & TEA/COFFEE

16.30 – 17.20 PLENARY SESSION 3– LT2 Keynote Speaker: John Banville in conversation with Katherine Mezzacappa

Click on underlined links for more information

Sunday 23rd August

Conference programme, TSI Building, North Campus

NOTE: Rooms may switch around depending on capacity requirements, and (hopefully not) unforeseen circumstances may necessitate a change of speaker. So, please recheck this listing closer to the conference date

8.30 - 9.00 - FOYER - REGISTRATION & TEA/COFFEE

9.00 – 10.00 PLENARY SESSION 4 – LT2

9.00 - 9.10 Welcome & Introduction - HNS 2026 Team: Dianne Ascroft, Ben Bergonzi, Nicola Garrett, Katherine Mezzacappa, Aidan Morrissey, Rebekah Simmers, Margaret Skea, Maybelle Wallis, Tracey Warr

9.10 – 10.00 Keynote Speaker - Vaseem Khan: Who Owns The Legend? (Chair: Margaret Skea)

10.10 – 11.00 PARALLEL SESSION 5

10.10 – 11.00 (LT2) Constance Emmett, Anne M. McLoughlin, Maybelle Wallis: Legends of the Irish Diaspora(Chair: Katherine Mezzacappa)

10.10 – 11.00 (Room 109) Maryka Biaggio, Carol Cram, Jonathan Putnam: Who Owns the Legend’s Story? Navigating Ancestry, Authority, and Authorial License (Chair: Aidan Morrissey)

10.10 – 11.00 (Room 110) Jean Gill, Justin Hill, Matthew Harffy: Beyond Kings and Queens: Giving Voice to the Hidden Folk (Chair: Tracey Warr)

11.00 – 11.30 - Room 028 & FOYER - BOOK SALES, SIGNINGS & TEA/COFFEE

11.30 – 12.20 PLENARY SESSION 5 - LT2

11.30 - 12.20 Keynote Speakers - Essie Fox and Karen Sullivan (Orenda Books): Gothic Legends for Today’s Readers (Chair: Ben Bergonzi)

12.30 - 13.20 PARALLEL SESSION 6

12.30 - 13.20 (LT2) Marie Powell: Location, Location, Location: On-Location Research And How To Use It In Historical Fiction (Chair: Tracey Warr)

12.30 - 13.20 (Room 109) Margaret Skea: History in Historical Fiction: Icing On The Cake? Or Main Ingredient? (Chair: Dianne Ascroft)

12.30 - 13.20 (Room 110) Louise Fein, Amanda Geard, Frances Quinn: Discovering The One: How to Find that Attention Grabbing Historical Fiction Idea (Chair: Ben Bergonzi)

13.20 – 14.10 - Room 028 & FOYER - BOOK SALES, SIGNINGS & LUNCH

14.10 – 15.00 PARALLEL SESSION 7

14.10 – 15.00 (LT2) Leslie Carroll, Anne Easter Smith, Margaret George: When The Facts About The Legends are so Juicy - Tell the Truth! (Chair: Maybelle Wallis)

14.10 – 15.00 (Room 109) Christopher Cevasco, Michelle Moran and Sophie Perinot: Confronting the Legend (Chair: Aidan Morrissey)

14.10 – 15.00 (Room 110) Pam Lecky, Fiona Veitch Smith, Tim Kinsey: Historical Mystery and Crime: Creating a Vintage Detective Series (Chair: Dianne Ascroft)

15.10 – 16.00 PLENARY SESSION 6 – LT2

15:10 – 16.00 Keynote Speakers - Kate Nash (Kate Nash Literary Agency Ltd) and Paula Campbell (Publisher, Poolbeg Press) in conversation with Katherine Mezzacappa: The Saga and the Slushpile

16.00 - 16.10 CONFERENCE CLOSE – HNS 2026 Team

16.10 - 16.40 - Room 028 & FOYER - BOOK SALES, SIGNINGS & TEA/COFFEE

Click on underlined links for more information