Katherine Mezzacappa
@katmezzacappa.bsky.social
Irish historical novelist living in Italy, published by Fairlight (Oxford), Histria (LV) and (to come) Stairwell (York). Writes too as Katie Hutton (Zaffre Books) and Kate Zarrelli (Romaunce). Rep'd by Annette Green Authors' Agency. katherinemezzacappa.com
Pinned
It being a wet and horrible day, I decided to cheer myself up. I started in 2016 with a short story in Ireland's Own #historicalfiction #romance #womensfiction @zaffrebooks.bsky.social @romaunce.bsky.social #Fairlight I'd to take them all down afterwards as they are on the kittens' Parkour route.
My #bookreview of @annaluciaauthor.bsky.social's Broken Madonna #historicalfiction #italia for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/brok... 'a lyrical, elegiac and empathetic portrait of a small-town community and a vanished way of life'
November 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM
My #bookreview of @annaluciaauthor.bsky.social's Broken Madonna #historicalfiction #italia for @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/brok... 'a lyrical, elegiac and empathetic portrait of a small-town community and a vanished way of life'
My #bookreview of John Banville's Venetian Vespers @faberbooks.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'This tour de force of a novel has all the creeping menace of The Turn of the Screw' #historicalfiction #irishwriting historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vene...
November 2, 2025 at 12:55 PM
My #bookreview of John Banville's Venetian Vespers @faberbooks.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social 'This tour de force of a novel has all the creeping menace of The Turn of the Screw' #historicalfiction #irishwriting historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vene...
Gulp! #TheMaidenofFlorence made it onto the #shortlist! #historicalfiction @historia-hwa.bsky.social Thank you @fairlightbooks.bsky.social for believing in this book and to @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social for the residency that made it possible #firenze #renaissance #irishwriting #writingcommunity
October 15, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Gulp! #TheMaidenofFlorence made it onto the #shortlist! #historicalfiction @historia-hwa.bsky.social Thank you @fairlightbooks.bsky.social for believing in this book and to @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social for the residency that made it possible #firenze #renaissance #irishwriting #writingcommunity
Oh what a great day this is! The Maiden of Florence has made the last 12 on the @historia-hwa.bsky.social Gold Crown award #longlist! #historicalfiction #renaissance #Firenze @fairlightbooks.bsky.social
September 17, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Oh what a great day this is! The Maiden of Florence has made the last 12 on the @historia-hwa.bsky.social Gold Crown award #longlist! #historicalfiction #renaissance #Firenze @fairlightbooks.bsky.social
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
September 1, 2025 at 9:23 PM
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
A perfect day... end of season at the beach, with a great book:
@catherinekullmann.bsky.social's latest, #LordFredericksReturn, elegantly written #Regency #historicalfiction #bookrecommendation
Thirty years ago today (well, in about an hour's time, to be exact). I have been so lucky. #weddinganniversary
August 29, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Thirty years ago today (well, in about an hour's time, to be exact). I have been so lucky. #weddinganniversary
Feast day of St Rose of Lima, holding the baby in this altarpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the church of the Gesuati, on the Zattere, in my most loved city #Venezia She's with other Dominican saints, Catherine of Siena (left) and Agnes of Montepulciano (seated) #Italianart #rococo
August 23, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Feast day of St Rose of Lima, holding the baby in this altarpiece by Giambattista Tiepolo, in the church of the Gesuati, on the Zattere, in my most loved city #Venezia She's with other Dominican saints, Catherine of Siena (left) and Agnes of Montepulciano (seated) #Italianart #rococo
Delighted to feature on @hobeckbooks.bsky.social #podcast shows.acast.com/the-hobcast-... #writingcommunity #historicalfiction @presshenshaw.bsky.social
233: The Romance of Italy - with Katherine Mezzacappa | The Hobcast Book Show
An award-winning Irish author explores how Italy has inspired her writing
shows.acast.com
August 23, 2025 at 11:44 AM
The #feastday of San Rocco (Roch), invoked against the plague since the 14C; he caught it nursing victims. Painted by Giovanni Santi (father of Raphael) showing the plague sore on his leg and by Bernardo Strozzi with the dog who brought him food, and Sebastian, another plague saint #italianart
August 16, 2025 at 10:45 AM
The #feastday of San Rocco (Roch), invoked against the plague since the 14C; he caught it nursing victims. Painted by Giovanni Santi (father of Raphael) showing the plague sore on his leg and by Bernardo Strozzi with the dog who brought him food, and Sebastian, another plague saint #italianart
August 5, 2025 at 10:56 AM
My #bookreview of @elodieharper.bsky.social's Boudicca's daughter for @histnovsoc.bsky.social @apollopublishers.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/boud... #historicalfiction 'a compelling account of what happens in the red mist of vendetta'
August 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM
My #bookreview of @elodieharper.bsky.social's Boudicca's daughter for @histnovsoc.bsky.social @apollopublishers.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/boud... #historicalfiction 'a compelling account of what happens in the red mist of vendetta'
My #bookreview of Timothy Crellin's The Land of the Living (Green Place Books) @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #sicilia #cefalu 'sensitivity,lyricism and clear-eyed avoidance of folklorism and sentimentality.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
August 3, 2025 at 12:05 PM
My #bookreview of Timothy Crellin's The Land of the Living (Green Place Books) @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #sicilia #cefalu 'sensitivity,lyricism and clear-eyed avoidance of folklorism and sentimentality.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
My #bookreview of @clarkegeorgina1.bsky.social's The Viper in the Nest (Verve Books) for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #GeorgianLondon @historia-hwa.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vipe... 'teems with period details; a Hogarth painting on the page'
August 3, 2025 at 11:06 AM
My #bookreview of @clarkegeorgina1.bsky.social's The Viper in the Nest (Verve Books) for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #GeorgianLondon @historia-hwa.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vipe... 'teems with period details; a Hogarth painting on the page'
My #bookreview of Sheena Kalayil's The Others @flyonthewallpress.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Berlin: 'a love story of almost unbearable tenderness, in the cold climate of a country it is nearly impossible to escape from.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
August 2, 2025 at 7:47 PM
My #bookreview of Sheena Kalayil's The Others @flyonthewallpress.bsky.social for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Berlin: 'a love story of almost unbearable tenderness, in the cold climate of a country it is nearly impossible to escape from.' historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-...
My #bookreview of David Park's Ghost Wedding for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Belfast #Irishwriting 'This extraordinary novel will remain long in the memory, its characters always present, just out of sight.' @oneworldbooks.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/ghos...
August 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
My #bookreview of David Park's Ghost Wedding for @histnovsoc.bsky.social #historicalfiction #Belfast #Irishwriting 'This extraordinary novel will remain long in the memory, its characters always present, just out of sight.' @oneworldbooks.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/ghos...
Read my #interview with @lucykpick.bsky.social on her new #historicalnovel #thequeenscompanion here: historicalnovelsociety.org/launch-lucy-... @histnovsoc.bsky.social
July 8, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Read my #interview with @lucykpick.bsky.social on her new #historicalnovel #thequeenscompanion here: historicalnovelsociety.org/launch-lucy-... @histnovsoc.bsky.social
I'll be talking about #LaVerginediFirenze - #TheMaidenofFlorence - Thursday evening at Itaca, San Domenico di Fiesole #authorevent #historicalfiction #Firenze #Irishwriting #Irishwritersunion #piemme #FlorenceLiterarySociety @larobbins8888.bsky.social @fairlightbooks.bsky.social #writingcommunity
June 2, 2025 at 7:59 PM
I'll be talking about #LaVerginediFirenze - #TheMaidenofFlorence - Thursday evening at Itaca, San Domenico di Fiesole #authorevent #historicalfiction #Firenze #Irishwriting #Irishwritersunion #piemme #FlorenceLiterarySociety @larobbins8888.bsky.social @fairlightbooks.bsky.social #writingcommunity
Want to present at the 2026 @histnovsoc.bsky.social conference in #Maynooth #Ireland? Here's how: hns2026.com/call-for-par... #historicalfiction #writingcommunity please repost
May 23, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Want to present at the 2026 @histnovsoc.bsky.social conference in #Maynooth #Ireland? Here's how: hns2026.com/call-for-par... #historicalfiction #writingcommunity please repost
Fantastic evening at @oundlefestoflit.bsky.social on Saturday in double act with @lisamedvedauthor.bsky.social #historicalfiction Huge thanks to @karenrustwriter.bsky.social @oundlebookshop.bsky.social & the festival team @fairlightbooks.bsky.social @histnovsoc.bsky.social @historia-hwa.bsky.social
May 21, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Fantastic evening at @oundlefestoflit.bsky.social on Saturday in double act with @lisamedvedauthor.bsky.social #historicalfiction Huge thanks to @karenrustwriter.bsky.social @oundlebookshop.bsky.social & the festival team @fairlightbooks.bsky.social @histnovsoc.bsky.social @historia-hwa.bsky.social
Happy Europe Day! Today is the anniversary of the signing of the #schumandeclaration in 1950, laying the foundations for what was to become the #EuropeanUnion
May 9, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Happy Europe Day! Today is the anniversary of the signing of the #schumandeclaration in 1950, laying the foundations for what was to become the #EuropeanUnion
If you are in Florence and free on the morning of 7th June, I'm running a #writingworkshop with the #FlorenceLiterarySociety on how to write immersive and convincing #historicalfiction. Not a member? Join on the door, for a great all-year-round programme www.eventbrite.com/e/writing-hi...
May 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
If you are in Florence and free on the morning of 7th June, I'm running a #writingworkshop with the #FlorenceLiterarySociety on how to write immersive and convincing #historicalfiction. Not a member? Join on the door, for a great all-year-round programme www.eventbrite.com/e/writing-hi...
Lovely #bookreview of #theballadofmarykearney from #historicalnovelsRUS 'the antagonist is the class and religious servitude that oppressed women and left them in bondage, putting Mary into an untenable situation... accurate historically...you'll be rewarded.' historicalnovelsrus.com/2025/05/02/m...
May 5, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Lovely #bookreview of #theballadofmarykearney from #historicalnovelsRUS 'the antagonist is the class and religious servitude that oppressed women and left them in bondage, putting Mary into an untenable situation... accurate historically...you'll be rewarded.' historicalnovelsrus.com/2025/05/02/m...
Come and hear me at the Secret Bookshelf, @jozebwrites.bsky.social Carrickfergus next month, on panel with Malachi O'Doherty and David Hume www.eventbrite.ie/e/history-wh... discussing 'History - what do you do with it?' #irishwritersunion #historicalfiction #irishhistory #history
May 3, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Come and hear me at the Secret Bookshelf, @jozebwrites.bsky.social Carrickfergus next month, on panel with Malachi O'Doherty and David Hume www.eventbrite.ie/e/history-wh... discussing 'History - what do you do with it?' #irishwritersunion #historicalfiction #irishhistory #history
My #bookreview of Laurent Binet's Perspectives: 'an enthralling Renaissance adventure told entirely through letters. Their writers, of course, do not always tell a consistent story to all their correspondents.' #historicalfiction
@histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/pers...
@histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/pers...
May 2, 2025 at 7:32 PM
My #bookreview of Laurent Binet's Perspectives: 'an enthralling Renaissance adventure told entirely through letters. Their writers, of course, do not always tell a consistent story to all their correspondents.' #historicalfiction
@histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/pers...
@histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/pers...
My #bookreview of Edward Marston's Mystery at the Station Hotel @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/myst... #historicalfiction #railway 'does what it says on the cosy-crime tin, with a cast of comfortingly stereotypical characters.' @allisonandbusby.bsky.social
May 2, 2025 at 7:13 PM
My #bookreview of Edward Marston's Mystery at the Station Hotel @histnovsoc.bsky.social historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/myst... #historicalfiction #railway 'does what it says on the cosy-crime tin, with a cast of comfortingly stereotypical characters.' @allisonandbusby.bsky.social