Cauvery Madhavan Named 2026 Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Chair of Irish Studies at Villanova University

Villanova, Pa. – Villanova University named Cauvery Madhavan, an award-winning Irish author and journalist, as the 2026 Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Chair of Irish Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The visiting writer-in-residence program offers Irish Studies students the opportunity to participate in a close classroom experience with one of Ireland’s finest authors. This spring, Madhavan will teach undergraduates, give presentations and readings, and discuss writing, literature and culture of Ireland.

Madhavan was born in India, where she began her career as a copywriter in Chennai before moving to County Sligo, Ireland in 1987. She later settled in County Kildare, Ireland, where she lives today with her husband and three children. She is the author of four novels: The Inheritance (2024), The Tainted (2020), The Uncoupling (2003), and Paddy Indian (2001).

A regular contributor to The Irish Times, she has also written for the Evening Herald, Sunday Tribune, The Phoenix, Travel Extra, and The Guardian. Known for her meticulous research, she approaches both fiction and journalism with intellectual rigor and depth—often reading extensively to inform her opinion pieces. She reads widely across genres—except horror—with a particular love for historical fiction and stories that illuminate hidden histories. Madhavan’s third novel, The Tainted, was chosen by Laureate Sebastian Barry for his Laureate Picks in 2020, highlighted as one of An Post Irish Book Awards’ Top Summer Reads, and won runner-up for the Society for Army Historical Research Prize for Military Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Inheritance, was awarded the EasternEye ACTA Fiction Award. Madhavan is currently at work on her fifth novel, set in India and featuring historical Irish characters, spanning from 1930 to 2010.

As the 2026 Heimbold Chair, Madhavan looks forward to mentoring creative writing students at Villanova, bringing a teaching philosophy grounded in meeting each student where they are. She encourages writers to follow their own creative instincts—whether in poetry, prose or essays—without limitation or prescription. Believing that writing can be a solitary pursuit, she hopes to foster community, offering guidance and support to those beginning or deepening their writing journeys.

As part of the 2026 Villanova Literary Festival, Madhavan will present a reading on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Presidents’ Lounge, Connelly Center on Villanova’s campus. This event is free and open to the public.

The Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Chair of Irish Studies, inaugurated in 2000, has become one of the most prestigious Irish Studies positions in the United States. Former Heimbold Chairs include luminaries from the Irish literary arts such as Sebastian Barry, Emilie Pine, Mary O’Donoghue, Emma Dabiri, Hannah Khalil, Owen McCafferty, Mary O’Malley, Eamonn Wall and Stephen Sexton.

About the Villanova Center for Irish Studies: The Center for Irish Studies at Villanova University has been a leader for four decades in interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship on Ireland in a global framework. The Center connects students to local community organizations while also preparing them to become citizens equipped to take on the world’s most pressing challenges. Through liberal arts-focused academics, multi-disciplinary scholarship and key partnerships, the Center provides students with research, study abroad and employment opportunities.

About Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: Since its founding in 1842, Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has been the heart of the Villanova learning experience, offering foundational courses for undergraduate students in every college of the University. Serving more than 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students, the College is committed to fortifying them with intellectual rigor, multidisciplinary knowledge, moral courage and a global perspective. The College has more than 40 academic departments and programs across the humanities, social sciences, and natural and physical sciences.