Our latest catch up podcast from selected sessions of the 2021 HNSA Conference features our 2023 Winter Online Program tutor, Paula Morris, in conversation with Julie Janson and Cassandra Pybus. They discuss how history is written by the victors, but when such accounts are challenged, who then gets to define history in the context of
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for a special Summertime Series in 2023. Our next episode features our Winter Workshop tutor Kayte Nunn, author Rosalie Ham and host Jackie Ballantyne. Jackie Ballantyne explores how each author approaches common themes of revenge, love, betrayal, isolation and treachery from these very different perspectives. Kayte NunnKayte Nunn is a former book and
Drum roll… our 2023 HNSA Conference will be held on 21-22 October at the Southern Sydney Event Centre at Hurstville, conveniently located close to Sydney Airport and Hurstville Station. Early bird tickets will go on sale in July. Make sure you save the date! THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS We’ve decided to offer
Join us for the HNSA 2023 Winter Online Weekend Program on Saturday and Sunday 1 -2 July 2023. Our Program will feature an exciting line-up of talented authors and industry professionals in both workshops and chat salons. It’s the perfect way to spend those chilly July days. WORKSHOPS ON WRITING, EDITING AND PUBLISHING The workshop
Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce that entries for the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Prize are now open. The ARA Historical Novel Prize is the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia, incorporating both an Adult category and a Children
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for a special Summertime Series in 2023. Our next episode features writer and critic, Stephen Romei, in conversation with Steven Carroll and Pip Williams. The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a woman seeking to define the words of women erased from texts written by men. O peels back the story of a famous female
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for a special Summertime Series in 2023. Our next episode features HNSNA Chair Jenny Quinlan in conversation with Kate Forsyth and Kate Quinn. Originally recorded as part of the HNSA 2021 Conference, Quinn and Forsyth discuss what draws them to a particular era of history, the challenges faced in their research, and whether they
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for a special Summertime Series in 2023. Our first episode stars Geraldine Brooks. Originally recorded as part of the HNSA 2021 Conference, HNSA Chair Elisabeth Storrs, chats to Brooks about the conference theme: Recovery: Restoring, Reconciling and Re-imagining Lost Histories. Brooks’ first historical novel, Year of Wonders, proved
Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce the winners of the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize. This year’s winners make the past come alive in an astonishing way. Their luminous prose conjures worlds that intertwine history with imagination to explore
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 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize. This year’s Shortlists explore a diverse range of powerful themes, from reinvention, diversity and the meaning of truth, through to self-reliance, confidence and fulfilling
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 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize. This year’s Longlists explore a diverse range of powerful themes, from reinvention and the meaning of truth, through to mischievous, fast-paced fables and the
The HNSA Committee is excited to announce the launch of our 2022 online program of workshops and chat salons. Join us this winter for an exciting line-up of authors and industry professionals. It’s the perfect way to spend those chilly August days. WORKSHOP WEEKEND: 6 & 7 AUGUST 2022 Our Workshop Weekend will run on
Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce that entries for the 2022 ARA Historical Novel Prize are now open. The ARA Historical Novel Prize is the richest genre-based literary award in Australasia, incorporating both an Adult category and a
It’s time to catch up on the sessions you missed in the HNSA 2021 Main Weekend Program or revisit the ones you enjoyed! There are 28 sessions recorded including In Conversations, Panels and the First Pages Pitch Contest. Chat salons and workshops were not recorded to preserve privacy and intellectual property rights. The recordings will
Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with Australia’s leading essential building and infrastructure services provider ARA Group, is excited to announce the winners of the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize. The winner of the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize – Adult Category is The Burning Island, by Jock Serong (Text Publishing). The winner of
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for another series in 2021. In this week’s episode, G.S. Johnston is joined by Pip Williams. Pip chats to Greg about The Dictionary of Lost Words, which was longlisted for the 2020 ARA Historical Novel Prize), her writing process and some of her writing choices. Pip’s first publication was a poem in Dolly magazine
In the lead up to the HNSA 2021 Virtual Conference, G.S. Johnston recently interviewed Nadine Davidoff who will be facilitating a Manuscript Bootcamp. Nadine Davidoff is a freelance book editor and writing teacher with extensive trade publishing experience. She has worked as a senior editor at Random House and a commissioning editor at Black Inc.
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for another series in 2021. In this week’s episode, G.S. Johnston is joined by Steven Conte. Steven speaks about planning and executing The Tolstoy Estate (which was recently longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize), writing ‘behind the enemy lines’, the risks of shaking up a novel’s structure, the Gurya Ghost and
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
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for another series in 2021. In this week’s episode, G.S. Johnston is joined by Julie Janson. Julie discusses her recent novel, Benevolence, the challenges of writing First Nation’s historical fiction, and of First Nation’s writers finding publishers. Julie is a Burruberongal woman of Darug nation. She is a novelist, playwright, and poet.
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for another series in 2021. In this week’s episode, G.S. Johnston is joined by Sienna Brown to chat writing, multifaceted research, constructing Jamaican patois, and her novel, Master of My Fate. Sienna Brown was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Canada. But it wasn’t until a
HNSA’s podcast Imagining the Past is back for another series in 2021. In our first episode for the year, Greg Johnston is joined by author and inaugural winner of the ARA Historical Fiction Prize 2020, Mirandi Riwoe. Mirandi and Greg discuss everything from writing, research and gender-bending, right through to sea-cucumbers. Mirandi Riwoe’s Stone Sky Gold Mountain won the
Going virtual has eliminated geographical boundaries enabling HNSA to create its most extensive conference program to date. Join us in a celebration of one of the world’s most popular genres of fiction over not one, but two, successive weekends! Early Bird registration ends on 1 october so buy your tickets now! Introducing our Bootcamp &
The COVID storm clouds have once again gathered over Australia but there is a silver lining for historical fiction fans. The HNSA committee are on the verge of opening registration for our Virtual HNSA 2021 Conference to be held on 22-24 October. Geographical boundaries have now been eliminated enabling HNSA to create its most extensive
The HNSA, in partnership with our generous sponsor, ARA Group, has expanded the ARA Historical Novel Prize to include a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature, bringing the total prize monies to $100,000. Only in its’s second year of operation, it’s now the richest genre based literary award. This month, we spoke to Paul McDonald, Chair
The judging panels for the two categories of the 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize consist of eminent authors and publishing professionals. We thought it might be useful for entrants to understand what catches a judge’s eye by interviewing the Panel Chairs. This month, we spoke to Nicole Alexander, Chair of the Adult category. Nicole Alexander’s novels, poetry,
The 2021 ARA Historical Novel Prize opens for submissions at 9am today. You can find all relevant information about the contest on our website including the rules and nomination form. Take advantage of our Early Bird rate by submitting your novel by 14 May 2021. Entries close on 14 June 2021. The HNSA, in partnership with our generous
Exciting news! The HNSA, in partnership with our generous sponsor, ARA Group, is expanding the ARA Historical Novel Prize to include a category for outstanding Children and Young Adult (CYA) literature. What does this mean? The ARA Historical Novel Prize is now worth a total of $100,000 in prize monies. Only in its’s second
After long deliberation, the HNSA committee have decided to ‘go virtual’ for our HNSA 2021 conference. Unfortunately, COVID19 continues to pose uncertainties for small organisations when planning events. Many of you will be disappointed you can’t meet in person but a virtual conference offers a great opportunity to enjoy the entire program. All sessions and workshops will remain
The inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize has been awarded to Brisbane-based Mirandi Riwoe for her novel Stone Sky Gold Mountain published by University of Queensland Press. You can watch the video broadcast of the awards ceremony via the HNSA YouTube channel or click on the video below. The Historical Novel Society Australasia (HNSA), in partnership with
We’re announcing the winner of the inaugural ARA Historical Novel Prize at 7.30pm (AEDST) on Tuesday 10 November. We’d love you to join us to celebrate the news. Hosted by Brooke Boney, the award ceremony will be held by both video broadcast and live stream via the HNSA YouTube channel. To be one of the first
