Free Highlight Talk in the Robertson Room at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway.

Angeline King - The Agnews: Poets & Sheriffs Across the Irish Sea

Angeline King will bring history, poetry and dialectal novel writing together in this discussion of her novel, The Secret Diary of Stephanie Agnew. The novel is based on Angeline's historical research and explores the mystery of the Agnews of Galloway through fictional protagonist Stephanie Agnew, who pens a diary in 1995 when she discovers Ballygally was once poetic land. Stephanie takes a journey to Scotland to track down the Agnews, and this includes a detour to Ayr and Alloway, essential stops on the annual holiday to Butlins for Angeline in the 1980s.

Angeline will also discuss her approach to both Scots and Ulster Scots in this novel, which Billy Kay described as, 'An engaging read for anyone fascinated by the shared cultures of Ireland and Scotland.'

Angeline King is a novelist from Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. She was Writer in Residence of Ulster University from 2020 to 2023, during which time she completed a PhD in English (Creative Writing). She recently completed her sixth novel, Snow in Leiden, which is set in the Netherlands in the 1680s among the exiled Scottish Covenanting community. This was part of an Arts Council of Northern Ireland 2024 project. Angeline’s previous novels have combined coming-of-age drama with genealogical adventure. The Irish Times described her work as ‘delightfully funny’. Angeline also writes Ulster Scots poems and took part in the Robert Burns-inspired Poetry Jukebox Linen Hall Library & Scottish Poetry Library tour last year between Belfast and Edinburgh.

Booking for Highlight Talks at Robert Burns Birthplace Museum is recommended to guarantee entry. Due to limited capacity in the venue, any available seats will be allocated to attendees who have not booked on a first come, first served basis, meaning that entry cannot be guaranteed without booking.

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