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Anne McMaster grew up on her family farm outside Garvagh, County Londonderry, and left Northern Ireland for California. Her father’s death brought her back home to look after the family farm – and to write.

It wasn’t only Anne’s return that inspired her to become a poet. It was also her Presbyterian family background and language of her homeplace – Ulster-Scots. Today, Anne is a leading voice in the creative resurgence in Ulster-Scots writing.

Anne explores how women’s writing in Ulster has moved from the margins into the mainstream – through an Ulster-Scots lens. She uncovers unsung literary heroines from our past and meets members of the new generation of female writers from Northern Ireland, to find what has inspired their literary imaginations.

Anne discovers how the poems of little-known Aghadowey poet Olivia Elder are a unique insight into a 17th-century rural Ulster community, as seen from a female perspective.

She also hears how Donegal poet Sarah Leech used Ulster-Scots to dramatic effect, and how Janet McNeill’s Presbyterian family background shaped her novels set in 1950s Northern Ireland.

Jan Carson tells Anne how her Presbyterian upbringing has shaped her writing, Michelle Gallen describes how Ulster-Scots words influence her characters' dialogue, and Wendy Erskine reveals how she finds inspiration in the ordinary lives of people in east Belfast.

Interwoven with the stories of past writers and her encounters with contemporary female writers are Anne’s personal reflections on how she discovered her own literary voice – by embracing her Ulster-Scots heritage and language. She also considers how Ulster-Scots, after decades of rejection within the classroom, has been embraced and revitalized by a new generation of writers, including herself.