The Historical Novel Society Australasia is recognised as the home of the historical fiction genre in Australasia as the third arm of the international Historical Novel Society. The society considers the genre provides entertainment and education to readers while offering a valid perspective beyond the viewpoint of the historian. Both the imagination and dedication of historical novelists create authentic worlds which can enrich a reader’s understanding of real historical personages, eras and events.
After long deliberation, the HNSA Committee has decided to ‘go virtual’ for our HNSA 2021 conference. Join us in an online celebration of one of the world’s most popular genres over two weekends. All sessions and workshops will remain accessible to registrants for three months after the event ends. So no more difficult choices! You can attend everything in your own time – and watch sessions as often as you like. Early bird registrations are now open.
The ARA Historical Novel Prize is now the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia, thanks to our Foundation Partner, the ARA Group. The 2021 Prize will now incorporate a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature, in addition to the Adult category. As such, in just its second year of operation, the ARA Historical Novel Prize is now worth a total of $100,000 in prize monies. The Prize will award $50,000 to the Adult category winner, with an additional $5,000 to be awarded to each of the remaining two shortlisted authors. In the CYA category, the winner will receive $30,000, while the two short listers will receive $5,000 each.
The HNSA promotes the writing, reading and publication of historical fiction, especially in Australia and New Zealand, through its biennial conferences held since 2015. Our events showcase the best literary talent and enable readers, writers and publishing professionals to celebrate the genre. If you missed our 2019 conference, subscribe to our Imagining the Past podcast now. We’re presenting recordings of live sessions from the HNSA 2019 conference program. It will be a treat for those who couldn’t attend our conference at Western Sydney University in October last year. It’s also a chance for HNSA 2019 attendees to catch up on the sessions they missed because they couldn’t be in two rooms at once!
Our next conference will be held from 22 to 24 October 2021.
The inauguration of the ARA Historical Novel Prize is the crown jewel in HNSA’s suite of literary contests.
HNSA also runs the the Elizabeth Jane Corbett Mentorship for Young Adult historical novelists, ARA HNSA Short Story Contest, the TCW HNSA First Pages Pitch Contest, and introduced the Colleen McCullough Residency held on Norfolk Island in 2019.
Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce the Shortlists for the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize. This year’s Shortlists explore a diverse range of powerful themes, from recognising the silent victims of war and the uncomfortable truths of colonialism, through
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for another series in 2021. In this week’s episode, G.S. Johnston is joined by CYA author Susanne Gervay. Susanne discuss her new time-slip novel, Heroes of the Secret Underground, migration, sculpting stories from WWII for CYA, and Pálinka. Awarded the Lifetime Social Justice Literature Award by the International Literacy Association, Order of Australia,
Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce the Longlists for the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize. This year’s Longlists explore a diverse range of powerful themes, from the seductive appeal of false stories and the uncomfortable truths of colonialism, through
