Sunday, March 30, 2008

HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY CONFERENCE

In a couple of weeks' time (April 12th), the Historical Novel Society will be holding its 6th conference at the National Railway Museum in York. http://www.nrm-events.org.uk/ I've copied and pasted the programme below. There may still be places available for any latecomers wishing to go. You can check for details at the HNS website. http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org/I've been a member of the HNS for ummm.... well since the mid 1990's anyway when it was founded by Richard Lee to raise the profile of historical fiction and rescue its reputation. I attended the first ever conference at Kirby Hall and gave a talk in medieval dress. Bernard Cornwell was there too and it was a great day - especially for historical fiction which had been in the doldrums. I sincerely believe that Richard's founding of the HNS made a strong contribution to turning the perception of the genre around.
I've also spoken for the HNS at a mini conference held in 2000 on the site of the battle of Hastings, with Helen Hollick and Deryn Lake among others. This year I'll be doing a double act with Akashic consultant Alison King as we discuss the 'time travel' method of research and our interractions and interviews with people from the past. We don't know what will happen when we're 'on air' but we're hoping it'll go well.
The programme looks very interesting with something for everyone and a great venue. Hope to see some of you there!

An Akashic Record session in progress








Saturday, 12th April 2008
National Railway Museum, York

Programme:

9.15-10.00
Suzannah Dunn is not an historical novelist. Her words, not ours. Find out why as she talks about her two novels The Queen of Subtleties and The Sixth Wife and also gives us a preview of her forthcoming novel, The Queen’s Sorrow.

10.15-11.00
Crème de la Crime is already a major player in sharp crime fiction, including historical crime. Lynne Patrick tells us about this exciting new publisher and the kinds of historical fiction she wants to publish.

Break

11.15-12.00
Railway Memories.
The National Railway Museum is the appropriate venue to meet Andrew Martin, author of four crime novels, the latest of which is Murder at Deviation Junction. They arose from Andrew’s memories of the last days of York as a great railway town when you didn't need a railway museum because the whole territory around the station was bustling with activity.

Lunch

During which, Crème de la Crime launches The Unquiet Heart by Gordon Ferris, his follow-up to Truth Dare Kill.

1.45-2.45
1) Historical Fiction: The Next Ten Years.
A panel of ‘new’ writers, Sarah Bower (The Needle in the Blood), Roz Southey (Broken Harmony) and Russell Whitfield (Gladiatrix) discuss their paths to publication and what they see as the future of historical fiction. Audience participation is more than welcome in what is guaranteed to be a lively debate.

2) Rewriting Women’s History.
To a large extent, women have been written out of history: their lives and deeds have become lost to us. To uncover the buried histories of women, historical novelists must act as detectives, study the sparse clues that have been handed down to us, learn to read between the lines and fill in the blanks. Authors Jude Morgan and Melinda Hammond, and freelance reader and editor specialising in historical fiction jay Dixon join Mary Sharratt (The Vanishing Point) to discuss their unique take on rewriting women back into history.

Break

3.00-3.45
An Accomplished Novelist
From Hector Berlioz to Charles II, the subject and style of Jude Morgan’s novels are rich and varied. His latest novel, An Accomplished Woman, is a witty homage to Regency Romances and Jane Austen.

3.45-4:45
Beyond The Looking Glass.
What if history was recorded on the ether? What if some people could actually read those records? What effect would it have on historical research? Award-winning author Elizabeth Chadwick and Akashic consultant Alison King discuss and demonstrate the use of this unusual resource.

The Conference ends at 5pm.



1 comment:

Marg said...

Sounds good! Wish I could go to something like that. Instead I will have to live vicariously through others!