Historical Novel Society
New York City Chapter
Miss us? Watch video of past events here!
February 2, 2024 Creativity and Innovation: New Ways to Market Your Historical Fiction
Loretta Goldberg (The Reversible Mask) introduces our presenters who discuss innovative ways to market historical fiction. Using her experience with podcasting as an example, Libby Hawker (October in the Earth) advises authors to ignore the conventional musts of marketing. Helen Lundstrom Erwin (The Lure of Water and Wood) reinforces that advice with a demonstration and discussion of her trailblazing digital marketing set in virtual reality.
January 18, 2024 Working with Editors in Your Writing Process
The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this recording from January 18, 2024 on working with editors in the writing process. Content editors. Story editors. Copy editors. How are they different? What do they do? Why and when should you use them? Stephanie Cowell (The Boy in the Rain) is in conversation with Susanne Dunlap (The Portraitist ) and Melodie Winawer (Anticipation) on how/when/where they used editors during their writing journeys.
December 13, 2023 Hippies to Yuppies: Troubled Protagonists in San Francisco
The New York City Chapter of the Historical Novel Society presents this recording from December 13, 2023. Susan Wands (Magician and Fool) is in conversation with Sarah Relyea (Playground Zero) and Michael Bourne (Blithedale Canyon) about the upheaval and gentrification of the Bay Area neighborhoods portrayed in their novels. They explore the clash between the old world of artists and dream makers and the new order of corporate fortune-makers. The authors describe the journey of creating unlikely protagonists who must fight to belong to the new world order.
May 3, 2023 Magic and Tarot in Historical Fiction
HNS-NYC Chair Stephanie Cowell (Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet) is in conversation with authors Susan Wands (Magician and Fool: Book One, Arcana Oracle Series) and Gwendolyn Womack (The Fortune Teller) about “Magic and Tarot in Historical Fiction.” They discuss their characters, historical settings, the origins of tarot, and the challenges of writing and marketing genre blending historical fiction.
March 29, 2023 Cracking the Audiobook Market
Faith L. Justice (Twilight Empress: A Novel of Imperial Rome)shares her expertise in “Cracking the Audiobook Market.” With eight audiobooks produced across a variety of platforms, she provides our writer members an information-packed presentation on why they should be in the market, how to do it, and who can help get it done. Our host is Steering Committee Chair Stephanie Cowell (Claude and Camille: A Novel of Monet)
January 25, 2023 Marketing Tips for Historical Fiction
Our topic deals with that bane of all authors “Marketing”—in this case marketing historical fiction. Our panelists are Karen A. Chase (Brand the Author), Lars D. H. Hedbor (Tales from a Revolution), and Kris Waldherr (Unnatural Creatures). Our moderators are Steering Committee members Julieta Rodrigues (Eleonora and Joseph: Passion, Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment) who serves in Member Outreach and Lisa Yarde (The Order of the Dragon) who manages chapter programming. The panelists discuss their experiences using various marketing strategies including building and managing an email list, Amazon and Facebook ads, personal appearances, blogs, and more.
December 7, 2022 WWII
On this day that will live in infamy our live program for historical fiction readers and writers is Closer than You Think: The Echoing Trauma of WWII. Our Steering Committee Chair Stephanie Cowell (Claude and Camille: a Novel of Monet) interviews authors Eve Karlin (Track 61) and Martha Anne Toll (Three Muses) about their World War II settings, character, plot, research, writing processes, and more.
October 5, 2022 Monsters
During this spooky season we explore "Monsters: Dracula and Frankenstein’s Origins in Historical Fiction." In this program for readers and writers alike, the authors discuss their characters in terms of their place in real history and the culture through the ages. Our panelists are: Lydia J. Kang (Opium and Absinthe), Kris Waldherr (Unnatural Creatures), and Lisa J. Yarde (The Order of the Dragon). Our host is Susan Wands (Magician and Fool), Steering Committee member in charge of Promotions.
June 9, 2022 Restoring a Legend
In this program for both readers and writers, author Christopher M. Cevasco explores his effort to restore the legendary Lady Godiva to her historical context in his book Beheld: Godiva’s Story. In conversation with Steering Committee members Faith L. Justice (Twilight Empress: A Novel of Imperial Rome) and Susan Wands (Magician and Fool) he discusses researching and bringing historical characters to life in fiction while staying true to the times and facts.
May 17, 2022 Capturing the Ephemeral
Authors Barbara Quick (What Disappears); Gavin Larsen (Being a Ballerina), and podcast host Clara Peterson, (“Pod de Deux”) discuss “ Capturing the Ephemeral: Bringing Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes and the Belle Epoque Paris to Life.” Join us for a fascinating discussion of all things ballet, past and present.
January 26, 2022 From Byzantine Greece to WWII Shanghai
Chapter member Nancy Bilyeau (Fugitive Colours) is in conversation with authors Melodie Winawer (Anticipation) and Weina Day Randel (The Last Rose of Shanghai) about their latest novels in a program that covers “From Byzantine Greece to WWII Shanghai.” They discuss the history, setting, characters of their books, plus much more.
November 12, 2021 A Century of Light and Dark
This program highlights our international membership and reach. Steering Committee Member Julieta Rodrigues (Eleonora and Joseph: Passion, Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment ) and author Stephanie Renee Dos Santos (Cut from the Earth) join University of Lisbon Art Historian Silvia Chico in Lisbon, Portugal to discuss their novels set in the eighteenth century: “A Century of Light and Dark.” The authors cover the fraught history of the times and the historical characters in their novels.
October 19, 2021 Avengers: Women Trying to Save Women
Steering Committee member Susan Wands (Magician and Fool) talks with authors Sarah Penner (The Lost Apothecary) and Thea Sutton. (The Women of Blackmouth Street) about “Avengers: Women Trying to Save Women.” They discuss their choices in bringing flawed female protagonists’ journeys to life against a historical background of murder, suspense, and mayhem. A fascinating discussion for readers and writers alike.
September 22, 2021 Whodunnit: Historical Mysteries and Thrillers
This is the latest installment of our on-going “Readers’ Series,” curated by Steering Committee member Loretta Goldberg (The Reversible Mask), designed to introduce our members to new authors. She moderated our guest panel of R. L. Crossland (The Abalone Ukulele), Nev March (Murders in Old Bombay) and Margaret Mendell (Pushing Water). The authors read a sample from their books and answered questions from the moderator and the audience about their characters, writing practices, research; the history and setting of their stories, plus much more.
May 26, 2021 Empresses of Power
Steering Committee member Susan Wands (Magician and Fool) interviews authors Faith L. Justice (Dawn Empress: A Novel of Imperial Rome) and James Conroyd Martin (Fortune’s Child: A Novel of Empress Theodora) about the lives and historical times of two Byzantine empresses: Pulcheria (sister of Emperor Theodosius II) who profoundly influenced the early days of the Orthodox Catholic Church and Theodora (wife of Emperor Justinian) who championed women’s rights a century later. A fascinating discussion for readers and writers alike.
April 21, 2021 Music in NYC: From Gershwin to Carnegie Hall
Steering Committee Member Stephanie Cowell (Marrying Mozart) draws on her own experience fictionalizing a famous musician’s life to shape this conversation with authors Christina Britton Conroy (One Man’s Music) and Mitchell James Kaplan.(Rhapsody) They discuss the lives, loves, and music of their famous--and infamous--characters. A fascinating discussion for readers and writers alike.
February 24, 2021 Family Love and History in Multicultural Fiction
Promotions Chair Lisa Yarde (The Order of the Dragon) is in conversation with authors Nicole Glover (The Conductors) and Piper Huguley (The Preacher’s Promise: Home to Milford College Book 1) about “Family Love and History in Multicultural Fiction.” They discuss their characters and historical settings, the joys of writing multi-generational fiction, and the obstacles of getting multicultural fiction published and marketed.
November 16, 2020 Breaking Barriers: the First Female Presidential Candidacy
Chair Faith L. Justice (Twilight Empress: a Novel of Imperial Rome) is in conversation with Carrie Hayes (The Naked Truth: Or Equality, The Forbidden Fruit) Victoria Woodhull the first female presidential candidate, who ran in 1872. Woodhull was a women’s rights and suffrage advocate, a popular public speaker, a newspaper publisher, and the first woman to operate a Wall Street brokerage firm. They discuss the times that shaped Woodhull’s life, the political parallels of those times and ours; the challenges of writing biographical historical fiction and much more.
October 6, 2020 We all Fall Down: Stories of Plague in the Time of COVID
Steering Committee member and anthology contributor Lisa Yarde hosts an international cast of seven contributors to a timely anthology: We All Fall Down: Stories of Plague and Resilience. The contributors include: David Blixt, Jean Gill, Kristin Gleeson, J.K. Knauss, Laura Morelli, Deborah Swift, and Melodie Winawer. The authors discuss their characters, the fraught history of the times, and varied settings of their stories set in the time of the Black Death. As COVID had us sheltering in place, this discussion reminded us that history has much to teach the present.
November 10, 2020 Words and Music: Historical Fiction about Great Composers
Steering Committee Member Stephanie Cowell (Marrying Mozart) draws on her own experience fictionalizing a famous composer’s life to shape this conversation with authors Patricia Morrisroe (The Woman in the Moonlight) and Barbara Quick (Vivaldi’s Virgins). They discuss the lives, loves, and music of the great composers who are the subjects of their new novels: Ludwig van Beethoven and Antonio Vivaldi. A fascinating discussion for readers and writers alike.
August 25, 2020 Writing Historical Fiction About Real People
Steering Committee member Susan Wands (Magician and Fool) is in conversation with Finola Austin about her debut novel Bronte’s Mistress. This program is for our writer members and those readers who like to peek behind the curtain at the craft of writing. They discuss the research process and the challenges of bringing historical characters to life in fiction. This program was done in conjunction with one of our favorite New York City bookstores Shakespeare & Co.
July 28, 2020 Storytelling as Advocacy
Alaya Dawn Johnson, author of Trouble the Saints, joins us from Mexico City. Steering Committee members Christina Britton Conroy (His Majesty’s Theater series) and Susan Wands (Magician and Fool) engage her in a wide-ranging discussion on the moral questions of race and passing; how genre fiction can cross-over to literary fiction; obstacles to writing in your second language, and much more. A fascinating conversation for readers and writers alike
June 30, 2020 Lovers, Revolutionaries, and the Age of Enlightenment
This is another installment of our on-going “Readers’ Series” curated by Steering Committee member Loretta Goldberg (The Reversible Mask) to introduce our members to new authors. She moderated our guest panel of Mary Calvi (Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington’s First Love), Michelle Cameron (Beyond the Ghetto Gates), and Julieta Rodrigues (Eleonora and Joseph: Passion, Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment). The authors read a sample from their books and answer questions from the moderator and the audience about this time when everything was upended; what’s a good or bad society; what rights did individuals have, plus much more.
A CAVEAT: This was our first experiment with meeting on Zoom and the entire recording was done in gallery mode. This program might be better enjoyed in audio only. Your choice!