About Me, My Books, and My Research
[last updated: March 2026]
Hello, I'm Finn Longman! Welcome to my blog. I tried to keep this introductory post short and allow the links to speak for themselves about the details, and failed entirely, but here's my best attempt:
Who I am:
An author of YA and adult fiction in a range of genres, with four novels traditionally published and two forthcoming, as well as various other WIPs not currently under contract.
A medievalist specialising in Irish literature. Specifically, I'm a PhD researcher at the University of Cambridge, working on friendship and affection in the later Ulster Cycle (12th-17th century). I also have an MA in Early and Medieval Irish from University College Cork, and wrote my thesis about Láeg mac Ríangabra, Cú Chulainn's charioteer.
An amateur folk musician frequently found at local pub sessions in Cambridge (sometimes I post videos of these)
Things I write:
Academic articles about medieval Irish literature, mostly the Ulster Cycle. You can find abstracts and links to these on my website. Topics include the seven Maines, transmasculine readings of Cú Chulainn, and various discussions of my special little guy, Láeg mac Ríangabra. Whenever possible, I try to make my research available Open Access. If you’re ever having trouble finding one of my articles, please contact me!
YA novels about a traumatised teenage assassin trying and failing to live a normal life in a fictional closed city in Yorkshire (The Butterfly Assassin trilogy, published by Simon & Schuster UK 2022-24). Featuring friendship, street art, Esperanto, zero romance, and a whole lot of murder, as well as increasingly unsubtle commentary on the UK arms industry and the military recruitment of vulnerable teenagers.
Queer fantasy novels retelling medieval stories, including 'Bisclavret' (The Wolf and His King, out now in the UK from Gollancz and in the US from Erewhon/Kensington Books, and coming later in 2026 in France from City Editions); 'Math fab Mathonwy/The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi' (The Animals We Became, coming Nov 2026 [UK, Gollancz] or some time in 2027 [US, Erewhon]); and various Ulster Cycle tales including Táin Bó Cúailnge (To Run With The Hound, probably coming 2028, Gollancz)
Other novels not yet under contract or available to purchase, but which Tumblr sometimes enjoys updates about, such as the Paranormal Postgrads series of deeply chaotic and extremely niche paranormal academic romance novels.
Long blog posts, such as this one about aromantic queer histories, this one about weeding out anachronistic clichés in my writing, or this one about material culture and clothing in medieval literature.
What I post:
Updates about my books, whether that's the writing process or a cover reveal or a sale etc, as well as any public events I might be doing relating to those books
Extensive and deeply niche liveblogs of my PhD research, particularly when I'm down in the weeds of manuscript connections (see #finn is not doing a phd, #laegblogging, #the cork occ, #finn vs occ, and other similar tags)
Fun facts and resources about medieval Irish literature and related topics
Videos of folk sessions I've been playing at
Photos and videos of craft projects (currently, I'm into weaving)
Reblogs of things that interest or entertain me
And more, probably!
Where else to find me:
My website has all the info about my books and research, as well as longer-form blog posts and information about upcoming events.
I'm active on Bluesky, reluctantly (occasionally) present on Instagram, and used to make YouTube videos about medieval Irish literature, although this last has fallen by the wayside lately.
I'm a UK Bookshop.org affiliate, and if you want recommendations for books about medieval Irish (or Welsh) literature, this list has most of my go-to recommendations for newcomers to the topic. If you buy via this link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, so this is a great way to support me.
My Ko-Fi tip jar is here if you've found my research useful or otherwise want to buy me a cuppa :)














