Friday, November 30, 2012

HNS '13: Historical Fiction Off the Beaten Path

The Historical Novel Society 2013 conference is next June in St. Petersburg, Florida. It's such a great place to connect with other historical fiction enthusiasts and attend some fascinating panels and workshops.

The full list is now available at http://hns-conference.org, along with links to registration for the conference.

I'm so thrilled to let you know that one of those panels is near and dear to my heart: Off the Beaten Path: Reading and Writing Outside the Historical Fiction Mainstream

Trends in historical fiction are beloved for a reason, but readers (and writers) have broader tastes than many realize. There is a wealth of historical fiction available that veers off the expected path, from non-traditional relationships to rarely-visited locations to blended genres, with surprising protagonists and fascinating journeys hard to find elsewhere.
In this panel, comprised of both readers and writers, we'll discuss motivations for writing outside the mainstream, the challenges of doing so, and take a look at some unique historical fiction--both recently published and upcoming. 

I'm even more excited to announce my fellow panelists!
  • Heather Domin, an amazing historical fiction author whose books The Soldier of Raetia and Allegiance bring non-traditional relationships in Augustan Rome and 1920s Dublin beautifully to life
  • Andrea Connell, former Managing Editor and Indie Reviews Editor of the Historical Novels Review and current proprietress of The Queen's Quill Review
  • Audra Friend, very widely read and enthusiastic proprietress of Unabridged Chick 

If you have an off-the-beaten-path novel coming out in 2013, or a favorite that you've read recently, please leave a comment here. The panel isn't until June, so we'll be gathering additional information for the next few months.

15 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this, Julie. I'd attend just to listen to this panel from you and Heather alone.

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  2. I hope you're going to be at the conference! And I know you've got quite the line up of books planned for 2013 that fit into this perfectly, so please drop me a note when you've got all the details firmed up.

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  3. Oh very cool! This is going to be a great panel.

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    1. Yay, thank you! I'm so excited! And of course, we'd love your input on off-the-beaten-path reads you've enjoyed (and why).

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  4. My historical novel Studio Saint-Ex (2013; Knopf USA and 4 other countries) has the author of The Little Prince entangled creatively and romantically with an ambitious young fashion designer and his own fiery estranged wife in WWII NYC. I was excited to learn that early '40s NYC was the setting for the emergence of US fashion design (a well-planned economic decision), an elite French expat community in Manhattan (glittering culture!), and the birth of The Little Prince (written entirely in New York). Sounds like these elements of Studio Saint-Ex are news to many readers, too--I love that! It was fun shedding light on "off the beaten path" bits of history and weaving a fictional context for the creation of such a beloved little book.

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    1. Very cool! Thank you so much for commenting!

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    2. Thanks! I'm hoping to come to the conference -- and your panel sounds great!

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  5. Wished my newest, Troll, was coming out next year! The conference off-the beaten path exposure would be perfect for it, but it was released in October. I hope you'll re-post your conference comments, though. I'm sure there are lots of authors like me with shallow pockets who can't attend.

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    1. If you'll post me a link to your information, or email it to me at juliekrose at gmail.com we can look at it for inclusion in the panel. Definitely won't be restricting our discussion only to what's coming out in 2013!

      And, for sure, we'll be posting information after the event!

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  6. My newest, coming out next year is set in Seville in 1610 and features the Muslim expulsion from Spain. A little known period and a little known event. And as you probably know I'm a champion of royalty free fiction - ie the story of the ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances. So yes, they're sometimes hard to sell, but very exciting to write! Good luck with this Julie, i'll be at the conference cheering you on. And by the way Oleanna sounds like a good fit for my blog www.royaltyfreefictionary.blogspot.com, let me know if you'd like to post.

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    1. Ooh, fantastic--thank you for this information (and I'm going to add this to the TBR as soon as the info is posted on Goodreads!).

      I would love to post at your blog! Let me know if you have particular subjects you're looking for and dates that might be free.

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  7. SO GLAD to hear about that panel discussion! I love historical fiction, in any time or place, but I can only read so many novels about the Tudors.

    My own novel is almost done, and I plan to publish in 2013. An adventure set in the time of the Thirty Years War that ravaged Christendom until 1648, it’s also an exploration of the cultures and myths of peoples who were subjugated by the great powers of the day.

    Armenia, nestled under the towering myth of Mount Ararat and fiercely contested by warring Muslims for centuries.

    Astrakhan, a city ruled by the Tsar but influenced by Turks, Persians, Cossacks and other warlords of the steppes around the Caspian Sea.

    Stralsund, the German city which became the headquarters of the powerful Swedish army in its fight against the Holy Roman Empire.

    Schleswig-Holstein, a minor power whose duke sought to establish a new Silk Road from Isfahan to Gottorp, and whose heirs came to include Catherine the Great of Russia.

    http://agwallace.wordpress.com/

    Here's hoping I can make it to the conference!

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    1. That sounds *fantastic*. Keep us up to date on your progress!

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  8. I hope I get to meet the panelists ahead of time so I can fangirl everywhere before I need to sound coherent and stuff! ;) Looking forward to it -- and my 'research' reading -- really keen to dig in to non-traditional hist fic this winter and spring!

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    1. !!! It's going to be a great panel and a great conference. So excited!!!

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