2017 Super Sessions / Workshops

HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY AUSTRALASIA
Melbourne CONFERENCE
8th – 10th SEPTEMBER 2017
IDENTITY: ORIGINS AND DIASPORA

Super Sessions/Workshops
Saturday Programme

Level 5, Rooms AMDC504, AMDC505 & AMDC506

Quick Overview:

  • 11.15 – 12.15 pm Session Three – Writing Historical Fiction for Children and Teens: Character and Action vs Facts
  • 11.15 – 12.15 pm Session Three – From Elevator Pitch to Finish: How to Successfully Pitch Your Book in 30 Seconds
  • 11.15 – 12.15 pm Session Three – How to Transform Family Research into Compelling Historical Fiction
  • 12.15 – 3.15 pm Sessions Four and Five (2 hours plus lunch break) – Making History Come to Life in Fiction: Research and Writing Masterclass
  • 12.15 – 1.15 pm Session Four – The Mystery in History:  A Crime Fiction Workshop for Aspiring Authors
  • 2.15 – 3.15 pm Session Five – Medieval, Regency and So Much More: A Historical Romance Workshop for Aspiring Authors
  • 2.15 – 3.15 pm Session Five – Trove: An Essential Tool of the Trade

Super Sessions/Workshops
Sunday Programme

Level 5, Rooms AMDC504, AMDC505 & AMDC506

Quick Overview:

  • 9.00 – 10.00 am Session One – Armour and Armouring
  • 9.00 – 10.00 – 12.30 pm Session One, 11.30 – 12.30 Session (2 hours with break throughout Session Two) – Making History Come to Life in Fiction: Research and Writing Masterclass 2
  • 10.00 – 11.00 am Session Two – Everything You Wanted to Know about Self-Publishing* But Were Afraid to Ask
  • 11.30 – 12.30 pm Session Three – Authorpreneurship: The Business of Creativity
  • 12.30 – 1.30 pm Session Four – Building an Author Platform: Social Media Basics for Historical Novelists
  • 12.30 – 1.30 pm Session Four – Scrivener for Beginners
  • 12.30 – 1.30 pm Session Four – Recreating Historical Costumes

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session

A Super Session Workshop ticket entitles the registrant entry into a draw for a $100 Dymocks Gift Card

Saturday 9th September 2017

Super Session Workshops

Venue

LEVEL 5, ROOMS AMDC504, AMDC505 & AMDC506

AMDC Building
Swinburne University of Technology
Hawthorn Campus

11.15 – 12.15 pm Session Three

ROOM AMDC506

Writing Historical Fiction for Children and Teens: Character and Action vs Facts

Historical fiction for young readers doesn’t mean there’s no need to research. The factual background is important, but even more, characters have to be compelling, and plenty of action is vital. Sherryl Clark will guide you in choosing the viewpoint character, structuring your story, issues of voice and language, gatekeepers and education expectations, and how to get obsessed with an era!

Sherryl Clark has published more than 70 books. Her titles include picture books, a number of Aussie Bites, Nibbles and Chomps, and verse novels. Her YA novels are Bone Song and Dying to Tell Me. She has written a number of historical novels for children: Pirate X, the Rose books (as part of the Our Australian Girl series), and Jimmy’s War, set in 1915. Her latest historical novel is Ring of Black Roses, set during the Great Plague of London in 1665.

Meet Rose was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s History Awards and also the YABBA and KOALA children’s choice awards. Her books have been published in Australia and overseas, including the USA, UK, Spain, Mexico and China. Sherryl teaches creative writing at Victoria University TAFE. Her website is at www.sherrylclark.com

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

11.15 – 12.15 pm Session Three

ROOM AMDC505

From Elevator Pitch to Finish: How to Successfully Pitch Your Book in 30 Seconds

‘What’s your book about?’ In these fast-paced days, you literally have 30 seconds to engage the potential reader, editor or agent. And if you can’t be coherent about your story, that says a lot about the book itself.

Lisa Chaplin’s From Elevator Pitch to Finish is a fully interactive workshop designed to help each writer produce a professional elevator pitch (or story arc), filled with “signposts” that tell agents how to sell your book to editors, or shows editors your target markets – and gives the editor or agent plenty of time to ask the questions that prove their interest in your book – which is what we all want!

With over half a dozen handouts for this 60 minute workshop alone, all you need bring is your story idea and your imagination.

Lisa Chaplin is a born and bred Sydney-sider. After writing twenty books, novellas or online reads for Harlequin as Melissa James, she quit to write historical mainstream full-time, and caught the eye of her dream publisher, William Morrow Books, a division of HarperCollins, NY.  From Elevator Pitch to Finish workshop is based on Lisa’s own experience, where her mainstream historical fiction pitch for The Tide Watchers had four US agents vying to sign her in one memorable week, and two editors from major publishers asking for the full manuscript. It was also behind her recent sale to MIRA Australia/NZ.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Hand-out included

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

11.15 – 12.15 pm Session Three

ROOM AMDC504

How to Transform Family Research into Compelling Historical Fiction

Is there a skeleton in the closet of your ancestral history? A juicy family legend which has inspired you to write? Critically acclaimed historical fiction author Eleanor Limprecht will share ways to transform your genealogical research into compelling historical fiction – how to narrow down the story and choose your frame. She’ll also discuss the depth of research required, how much to rely on facts versus fiction, and what to do with gaps in your family history.

Eleanor Limprecht is the author of two novels: Long Bay, based on the true story of an abortionist imprisoned for manslaughter in 1909 who gave birth to a daughter in prison, and What Was Left, which was shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal. Eleanor also writes short fiction, book reviews and essays. She was published in the Best Australian Stories 2015. She teaches creative writing at UTS and lives in Sydney.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

12.15  – 3.15 pm Sessions Four and Five (2 hours plus lunch break)

ROOM AMDC504

Making History Come to Life in Fiction: Research and Writing Masterclass 1

In this two hour masterclass, Gillian Polack teaches writers techniques for making the historical world of the novel come to life for the reader. These techniques will be placed in a wider background of narrative genre, to help writers understand the role of their creativity in interpreting history for readers. We will examine the role of genre, for instance, and how writers use story space. The focus will mainly be on the needs of historical fiction and historical fantasy writers. In the first hour, we will look at how to construct history for specific types of novels and methods for communicating it in ways that enhance the story. In the second, we will discuss samples of work by writers in the session using these techniques and theory.

Dr Gillian Polack is a Medieval historian and has PhDs in both History and Creative Writing. Her study of how history and fiction interface (History and Fiction) was published in 2016. Her current research is mainly on how genre narratives operate. She has also been a reviewer, critic and non-fiction writer and an award judge. Gillian has five novels published (Ms Cellophane/Life through Cellophane was a Ditmar finalist) and has one forthcoming. Sixteen of her short stories are in print and she has edited two anthologies (Baggage was a Ditmar finalist) and an historical cookbook. One story won a Victorian Ministry of the Arts award and three more were listed as recommended reading in international lists of world’s best stories. She has received two writing fellowships at Varuna, arts grants, and a Ditmar award for her work. www.gillpolack.livejournal.com

Please email the following documents marked ‘HNSA Research Masterclass 1’ to gillian.polack@anu.edu.au  by Midnight Wednesday 6 September 2017 AEST*

  • Cover sheet with your name and receipt numbers for your conference and super session tickets
  • 10,000 words from your manuscript

*HNSA reserves the right to refund your money and allocate your place to the next person in the waiting list if the deadline is not met.

Limit: 8 persons

Cost: $150

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

12.15 – 1.15 pm Session Four

ROOM AMDC505

The Mystery in History:  A Crime Fiction Workshop for Aspiring Authors

At its best, historical crime fiction is much more than a murder in period costume.  Internationally published, award-winning author, Sulari Gentill, takes you through the basics and nuances of crime-fiction and the art of making history more than just picturesque backdrop.

Click for more details

Sulari Gentill has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize – Best First Book, won the 2012 Davitt Award for Crime Fiction, been shortlisted in 2013, 2015 and the 2016 Davitt Award, the 2015 Ned Kelly Award, the 2015 and 2016 Australian Book Industry Award for Best Adult Book, the NSW Genre Fiction Award, commended in the FAW Jim Hamilton Award and offered a Varuna Fellowship.  In 2014, Sulari collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short historical fiction which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV.  She was an Ambassador of 2015 Emerging Writers’ Festival and the inaugural Eminent Writer in Residence at the Museum of Australian Democracy. She remains in love with art of writing.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

2.15 – 3.15 pm Session Five

ROOM AMDC506

Medieval, Regency and So Much More: Writing Historical Romance for the International Market

‘Historical romance’ covers a wide range of styles, with varying degrees of history and romance. Internationally published, award-winning authors Anne Gracie and Isolde Martyn will share their tips about writing historical romance, the craft of story-telling, the importance of research, and creating historical characters and atmosphere, as well as some ‘how-not-to’ advice to help authors reach an international market.

Anne Gracie spent her childhood and youth on the move, thanks to her father’s job which took them around the world. The gypsy life taught her that humour and love are universal languages and that favourite books can take you home, wherever you are.

Anne started her first novel while backpacking solo around the world, writing by hand in notebooks. Published by Harlequin, Berkley USA and Penguin Australia, her regency-era romances are national bestsellers in the USA, have won many awards, have been translated into more than eighteen languages and include Japanese manga editions (which she thinks is a hoot).  A passionate advocate of universal literacy, Anne also writes books for adults just learning to read. www.annegracie.com

Isolde Martyn enjoys setting her stories in turbulent times such as the Wars of the Roses or the French Revolution. Her first novel won top awards in the USA and Australia. Her earlier career was in academia and she was a senior book editor with Reader’s Digest General Books before taking up writing full time. She is the vice-chair and co-founder of the Plantagenet History Society of Australia and a former chairperson of the NSW Richard III Society. Her eighth novel and latest novel, Troubadour  is set in France in 1209. www.isoldemartyn.com

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

2.15-3.15 pm Session Five

ROOM AMDC505

Trove: An Essential Tool of the Trade

Trove is a gateway to an extraordinary range of resources, across many formats including: books, manuscripts, maps, newspapers, objects and pictures. Join Rachel Franks for an introduction to this essential tool for the historical novelist. Focusing on newspapers, this session will look at search strategies and offer a few “tips and tricks” for using Trove.

Rachel Franks is the Coordinator, Education & Scholarship, at the State Library of New South Wales, a Conjoint Fellow at the University of Newcastle, Australia and is at The University of Sydney researching true crime. Rachel holds a PhD in Australian crime fiction and her research in the fields of crime fiction, true crime, food studies and information science has been presented at numerous conferences. An award-winning writer, her work can be found in a wide variety of books, journals and magazines.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Hand-out included

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

Sunday 10th September 2017

Super Sessions Workshops

Venue

LEVEL 5, ROOMS AMDC504, AMDC505 & AMDC506

AMDC Building
Swinburne University of Technology
Hawthorn Campus

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session

A Super Session Workshop ticket entitles the registrant entry into a draw for a $100 Dymocks Gift Card

9.00 – 10.00 am Session One

ROOM AMDC506

Armour and Armouring

What are the components of a set of armour? How heavy is all that metal once it’s all on? What would a blacksmith have done to create a helm and the other trappings of a knight? In this workshop, Matt Curran (aka Leif the Viking), will give you the opportunity to meet a modern day armourer, to learn about making and wearing armour, and discuss the finer points of medieval fighting.

Matthew Curran has been a dark ages and medieval reenactor for over twenty years, initially joining the Monash University branch of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and then joining other reenactment group specialising in areas such as Viking Age Gotland and the characters from Canterbury Tales.

As an extension of his reenactment, Matthew does fundraising for MS Australia under the guise of The MS Viking; completing charity fun runs in armour As a parent and a Scouts leader, he is keen to guide the next generation of reenactors and history enthusiasts.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

9.00 am – 10.00 am – 12.30 pm Session One

11.30 – 12. 30 Session (The workshop runs 2 hours with a break throughout Session Two)

ROOM AMDC504

Making History Come to Life in Fiction: Research and Writing Masterclass 2

In this two hour super masterclass, Gillian Polack teaches writers techniques for making the historical world of the novel come to life for the reader. These techniques will be placed in a wider background of narrative genre, to help writers understand the role of their creativity in interpreting history for readers. We will examine the role of genre, for instance, and how writers use story space. The focus will mainly be on the needs of historical fiction and historical fantasy writers. In the first hour, we will look at how to construct history for specific types of novels and methods for communicating it in ways that enhance the story. In the second, we will discuss samples of work by writers in the session using these techniques and theory.

Dr Gillian Polack is a Medieval historian and has PhDs in both History and Creative Writing. Her study of how history and fiction interface (History and Fiction) was published in 2016. Her current research is mainly on how genre narratives operate. She has also been a reviewer, critic and non-fiction writer and an award judge. Gillian has five novels published (Ms Cellophane/Life through Cellophane was a Ditmar finalist) and has one forthcoming. Sixteen of her short stories are in print and she has edited two anthologies (Baggage was a Ditmar finalist) and an historical cookbook. One story won a Victorian Ministry of the Arts award and three more were listed as recommended reading in international lists of world’s best stories. She has received two writing fellowships at Varuna, arts grants, and a Ditmar award for her work. www.gillpolack.livejournal.com

Please email the following documents marked ‘HNSA Research Masterclass 2’ to gillian.polack@anu.edu.au  by Midnight 1 September 2017 AEST*

  • Cover sheet with your name and receipt numbers for your conference and super session/workshop tickets
  • 10,000 words from your manuscript

*HNSA reserves the right to refund your money and allocate your place to the next person in the waiting list if the deadline is not met.

Limit: 8 persons

Cost: $150

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

10.00 – 11.00 am Session Two

ROOM AMDC505

Everything You Wanted to Know about Self-Publishing* But Were Afraid to Ask

The self-publishing revolution has given authors the opportunity to reach readers directly and cut out the gatekeepers. Successful indie authors are creative producers, publishers, and publicists who run small businesses. In this interactive session, GS Johnston is available to answer questions from those intending to venture into indie publishing, or Indies who want to learn more.

Greg Johnston has written in one form or another most of his life.  After far-too-many years of submitting to mainstream publishers he decided to self-publish.  He has three self-published novels.  The Skin of Water achieved great success in the US, briefly bustling into the US Kindle Top 100.  He is working on a novel set in the cane fields of Far North Queensland from the 1920s to 1940s.  He works as a bookkeeper, so half the day is spent in the company of numbers and half in the company of letters.  All hours are spent in the good company of his dog, Joey.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

11.30 – 12.30 pm Session Three

ROOM AMDC505

Authorpreneurship: The Business of Creativity

The business of creativity is changing, not just in the formats in which ideas are presented internationally, but in how authors perceive themselves. ‘Author’ is the brand which can be overwhelming if there’s just you.

Today a creator needs to be an ‘Authorpreneur’: an originator and an entrepreneur. Apart from creating words or images for  specific audiences, this means learning the marketing, publicity, technological, legal and entrepreneurial skills to establish and maintain self-employment in the business of ideas.

Even if a VERY small business. Just you.

Hazel Edwards offers strategies for beginners, mid-list and highly experienced creators needing to adapt to a fast-changing, digital, global industry. It’s about sharing ideas so you can work effectively at what you most enjoy creating and providing ways to help sell your work for longer, in varied new formats and to larger audiences. Great ideas won’t reach audiences unless the creators can stay in business and survive financially.

Click for booking details

Hazel Edwards writes quirky, thought‐provoking fiction and fact for adults and children, and has her own e-bookstore for favourite print books which are now e-pubs. www.hazeledwards.com/shop

Best known for ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’ series, now translated into Chinese and other media, Hazel has two grandsons for whom she writes a story each birthday A Youtube documentary on reactions to f2m: the boy within a coming-of-age YA novel about transitioning gender was  made by Kailash Studio. Outback Ferals her YA novel set in Darwin, is a sequel to Antarctica’s Frozen Chosen, researched during her 2001 Antarctic expedition.

A director of ASA, (Aust Society of Authors) and a National Reading Ambassador, in 2013 Hazel was awarded an OAM for Literature. Her memoir Not Just a Piece of Cake‐Being an Author is now available.

Topics include:

  • Asking for Payment & Costing Your Time
  • Pitching for Business
  • From Local to International
  • Using Author PR photos
  • Speaking Circuits
  • Structuring Public Speaking With Fewer Hassles
  • Adaptations, Translations & Judging
  • Surviving Rejection
  • Etiquette of Literary Events & Launches
  • Confidence, Success & Reputation
  • Proposals Rather than Gambles
  • So You Want to get Published?
  • Mentoring
  • Fans, Reviews, Critics & Privacy
  • Talkback Radio from an Author Perspective
  • Collaboration
  • Speed dating: Titles for Stories or Projects
  • Time & Travel & Energy Management
  • Finances, Agents & Legal Stuff
  • Improving Workstyle, Space & Image

Relevant for historical novelists, illustrators, designers or multi-media innovators.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

One free digital copy of Authorpreneurship: The Business of Creativity included

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

12.30 – 1.30 pm Session Four

ROOM AMDC506

Building an Author Platform: Social Media Basics for Historical Novelists

Whether traditionally published or an indie author, historical novelists are called upon more than ever to be their own publicists. Building an author platform is a necessity if you are to connect with your readers and promote your books. Elisabeth Storrs will guide you through the basics of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, website ‘musts’ and blogging with a particular emphasis on marketing historical fiction.

Elisabeth Storrs is a ‘hybrid’ author who originally published her first novel in Australia with Pier 9 Murdoch Books then reached a global audience by self-publishing in her Tales of Ancient Rome series which was later discovered and re-released by Lake Union, an Amazon imprint. She uses Twitter and Facebook for building her reputation in the historical fiction world including creating the Historical Novel Society Australasia Facebook group which now has over 1000 members.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Hand-out included

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

12.30 – 1.30 pm Session Four

ROOM AMDC505

Scrivener for Beginners

Scrivener is a low-cost software program created especially for writers. In this practical session, Kelly Gardiner will introduce you to Scrivener’s strengths: how to use it to manage chapters and scenes, set and track word count targets, sketch out characters and settings, incorporate research materials, and more.

Kelly Gardiner’s most recent book is 1917 (published early in 2017), a novel for young readers set during the First World War. Her previous books include Goddess, based on the remarkable life of the seventeenth century French swordswoman and opera singer, Julie d’Aubigny. Kelly’s historical novels for young adults include The Sultan’s Eyes and Act of Faith, set during the time of the English Civil Wars and the Inquisition. Both books were shortlisted for the Ethel Turner Prize in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. Her books for younger readers are the ‘Swashbuckler’ adventure trilogy – Ocean Without End, The Pirate’s Revenge and The Silver Swan – set in Malta during the Napoleonic invasion, and a picture book, Billabong Bill’s Bushfire Christmas. Kelly has worked on newspapers, magazines and websites, and her articles, poems, book reviews and travel writing have appeared in journals, magazines and newspapers as diverse as ‘The New York Times’, ‘Marie Claire’, ‘New Idea’, and ‘Going Down Swinging’. She works at the State Library of Victoria and teaches creative writing at La Trobe University.

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

12.30 – 1.30 pm Session Four

ROOM AMDC504

Recreating Historical Costumes

What is it like to wear a Tudor outfit or dance in a Renaissance dress? How heavy is an ancient Chinese hanfu and how much fabric goes into its creation? These questions and more will be answered by Rachel Nightingale in this workshop, where you will have a chance to get up close and personal with a range of outfits made by historical re-enactors based on research and portraits. You will have the chance to look at a number of costuming books that deconstruct historical costumes, and perhaps even to try on a historical outfit.

Rachel Nightingale has been writing since the age of 8 (early works are safely hidden away). She holds a Masters degree and PhD in Creative Writing. Winning the Mercury Short Story competition (Junior Section) at the age of 16 fuelled her desire to share her stories with the world. Since then her short stories have been published in several journals and exhibited twice as part of the Cancer Council Arts awards. Her play, No Sequel, won the People’s Choice Award and Judge’s (First) Prize at Eltham Little Theatre’s 10 Minute Play competition in 2014, whilst the play Crime Fiction has been performed twice as part of the International Short and Sweet play competition. Her second passion after writing is theatre, and she has been performing onstage and working backstage for rather a long time. She co-wrote and performed in the 2012-2015 version of the hugely popular Murder on the Puffing Billy Express, a 1920s murder mystery set on the iconic Dandenong Ranges train. Her novel, Harlequin’s Riddle will be released in 2017 by Odyssey Books. This is the first book of the Tarya Trilogy, which was inspired by a quote by Broadway actor Alan Cumming about that moment before you step onstage and enter a different world – a moment when anything is possible…

Limit: 20 persons

Cost: $20 per person

Purchase of a weekend conference or day ticket is a precondition to booking a super session/workshop.

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