Creative Writing facilitation & Seamus Heaney HomePlace
Angeline King is my pen name, Angeline Kelly my professional name. Lately, however, there has been an overlap in pen and profession. Since late 2023, I've been working on various projects that have brought me closer to the life and work of Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney (1939-2013). Working at the Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, an award-winning arts and literary venue, has involved coordinating school events and hosting thousands of students on educational programmes. I have also facilitated poetry and creative writing workshops with secondary school, primary school and university students. In addition, I have developed some material on Owen Sheers and Seamus Heaney for an A-level publication.
My time in Bellaghy coincided with the discovery of an Iron Age bog body, and in turn, this led to an unexpected preoccupation with the Iron Age — and also bogs! I developed the Bog Body programme at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, produced a video documentary (alongside Tristan Crowe's Negative Waves) and had the unique opportunity to write a mystical assessment of Seamus Heaney HomePlace for the upcoming Routledge Companion to Seamus Heaney. I haven't been this knee-deep in bogs since my Duke of Ed bronze!
In 2023, I also had the chance to work with Dunclug College in Ballymena through the Community Arts Partnership Poetry in Motion Project. It was a real pleasure to see the pupils win the prestigious Seamus Heaney Award for Achievement.
Below are details of other projects I have been involved in. My contract at Seamus Heaney HomePlace ends on 30 November 2025. As they say on LinkedIn, I am now, therefore, open to work!
My time in Bellaghy coincided with the discovery of an Iron Age bog body, and in turn, this led to an unexpected preoccupation with the Iron Age — and also bogs! I developed the Bog Body programme at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, produced a video documentary (alongside Tristan Crowe's Negative Waves) and had the unique opportunity to write a mystical assessment of Seamus Heaney HomePlace for the upcoming Routledge Companion to Seamus Heaney. I haven't been this knee-deep in bogs since my Duke of Ed bronze!
In 2023, I also had the chance to work with Dunclug College in Ballymena through the Community Arts Partnership Poetry in Motion Project. It was a real pleasure to see the pupils win the prestigious Seamus Heaney Award for Achievement.
Below are details of other projects I have been involved in. My contract at Seamus Heaney HomePlace ends on 30 November 2025. As they say on LinkedIn, I am now, therefore, open to work!
Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP 2025.
It was an honour to receive a 2025 Arts Council of Northern Ireland SIAP award for the research and development of a new novel. (I nearly have a full first draft!) This novel, set in the Netherlands and alternating between the 2000s and 1680s, touches on the intricate links between the Dutch, Scots, Ulster Scots, Huguenots and Jewish inhabitants of enlightened 1600s Leiden. The novel is also all about publishing and the history of publishing and will be the second in a three-part language experiment, which began with 'The Secret Diary of Stephanie Agnew.'
University Writer in Residence
Writer in Residence of Ulster University (September 2020 to September 2023).
PhD: Creative Writing
(September 2020 to September 2023)
Composition of a contemporary diary novel, The Secret Diary of Stephanie Agnew (originally Dear William)
Research areas:
Dialect in diary novels,
The Ulster Scots family history of the Agnew/Ó Gnímh family,
Female novelists writing in Scots and Ulster Scots.
Publications / Talks on PhD
Publication of article 'The Agnews of Kilwaughter: hereditary sheriffs, hereditary bards' in Familia: Ulster Genealogical Review, No. 39, 2023.
Publication of the novel The Secret Diary of Stephanie Agnew, Leschenault Press, 1 July 2024.
Keynote presentation, 'Female novelists, Ulster Scots and Ulster English', Ulster Vernacularities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives conference, Ulster University, 6 June 2024.
Presentation, 'Agnew Hereditary Sheriffs and Hereditary Bards' at the Preserving Local History in the Causeway Coast and Glens and Beyond Conference, Ulster University, 8 May 2024.
Presentation, 'Creative Writing for the Earth' at the Writing for the Earth Symposium, Ulster University, 26 May 2022.
Facilitation of workshop 'Scullion Speak: Writing in dialect', Seamus Heaney HomePlace 2022.
Panel on language & workshops on Ulster Scots writing, Frances Browne Festival, 2021.
Research areas:
Dialect in diary novels,
The Ulster Scots family history of the Agnew/Ó Gnímh family,
Female novelists writing in Scots and Ulster Scots.
Publications / Talks on PhD
Publication of article 'The Agnews of Kilwaughter: hereditary sheriffs, hereditary bards' in Familia: Ulster Genealogical Review, No. 39, 2023.
Publication of the novel The Secret Diary of Stephanie Agnew, Leschenault Press, 1 July 2024.
Keynote presentation, 'Female novelists, Ulster Scots and Ulster English', Ulster Vernacularities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives conference, Ulster University, 6 June 2024.
Presentation, 'Agnew Hereditary Sheriffs and Hereditary Bards' at the Preserving Local History in the Causeway Coast and Glens and Beyond Conference, Ulster University, 8 May 2024.
Presentation, 'Creative Writing for the Earth' at the Writing for the Earth Symposium, Ulster University, 26 May 2022.
Facilitation of workshop 'Scullion Speak: Writing in dialect', Seamus Heaney HomePlace 2022.
Panel on language & workshops on Ulster Scots writing, Frances Browne Festival, 2021.
Other Publications
2026: Betrothed to Forbidden Ground: Seamus Heaney Homeplace, The Routledge Companion to Seamus Heaney, Editors, Eugene O’Brien & Ian Hickey, Routledge. [Forthcoming]
2025: Fortnight, Issue 497, Review of Short Story anthology 'Take Six', Six Irish Women Writers, edited by Tanya Farrelly.
Essays in The Irish Times:
A novel exploration of the shared Gaelic heritage of Ireland and Scotland
A novel exploration of the shared Gaelic heritage of Ireland and Scotland
Irish Dancing: The Festival Story -
Irish Dancing: The Festival Story
The Protestant in Irish Fiction -
The Protestant in Irish Fiction
The Protestant in Irish Fiction II -
The Protestant in Irish fiction II
Ulster Scots in Irish Fiction -
Ulster-Scots in Irish Fiction
An author in Wonderland -
An author in Wonderland
Belfast Telegraph:
Irish Dancing -
Irish Dancing
2026: Betrothed to Forbidden Ground: Seamus Heaney Homeplace, The Routledge Companion to Seamus Heaney, Editors, Eugene O’Brien & Ian Hickey, Routledge. [Forthcoming]
2025: Fortnight, Issue 497, Review of Short Story anthology 'Take Six', Six Irish Women Writers, edited by Tanya Farrelly.
Essays in The Irish Times:
A novel exploration of the shared Gaelic heritage of Ireland and Scotland
A novel exploration of the shared Gaelic heritage of Ireland and Scotland
Irish Dancing: The Festival Story -
Irish Dancing: The Festival Story
The Protestant in Irish Fiction -
The Protestant in Irish Fiction
The Protestant in Irish Fiction II -
The Protestant in Irish fiction II
Ulster Scots in Irish Fiction -
Ulster-Scots in Irish Fiction
An author in Wonderland -
An author in Wonderland
Belfast Telegraph:
Irish Dancing -
Irish Dancing
Education
Queen's University (1995-1999): BA Honours, French and History
Ulster University (1999 -2000): MA, Applied Languages & Business
Ulster University (2020-2023): PhD, English
Ulster University (1999 -2000): MA, Applied Languages & Business
Ulster University (2020-2023): PhD, English
Media Services
Essays for The Irish Times and Belfast Telegraph.
Interviews on Radio Ulster Your Place and Mine, John Toal Show and Kintra show.
Guest contributor on the topic of Irish dancing on BBC's Antiques Road Trip, 2019.
Interviewee on various NVTV and BBC shows, including Ewen Glass's The Toon in 2022.
Interviews on Radio Ulster Your Place and Mine, John Toal Show and Kintra show.
Guest contributor on the topic of Irish dancing on BBC's Antiques Road Trip, 2019.
Interviewee on various NVTV and BBC shows, including Ewen Glass's The Toon in 2022.
Outreach
Irish dancing museum exhibition with Mid and East Antrim Council, 2017.
Seminars on the history of Irish dancing.
Facilitation of Creative Writing courses.
Talks on Ulster Scots writing.
Presentations with schools, NI libraries, NI regional councils, Irish Writer's Centre, Seamus Heaney Homeplace, Ulster University, Queen's University, National Museums NI, Scottish Libraries, Frances Browne Literary Festival, John O'Connor Festival, Irish Network in D.C, Irish American Heritage Museum.
Seminars on the history of Irish dancing.
Facilitation of Creative Writing courses.
Talks on Ulster Scots writing.
Presentations with schools, NI libraries, NI regional councils, Irish Writer's Centre, Seamus Heaney Homeplace, Ulster University, Queen's University, National Museums NI, Scottish Libraries, Frances Browne Literary Festival, John O'Connor Festival, Irish Network in D.C, Irish American Heritage Museum.
*Pen name & maiden name Angeline King. Angeline Kelly for official purposes.