Which panel will you choose? Crime or research?
You’ll be spoiled for choice with the HNSA Sydney 2019 program. Two parallel streams are running throughout the weekend. Stream 1 is jam packed with authors discussing their inspiration and journeys; the nooks and crannies of history; the psychology of characters, and even a love potion or two. Stream 2 delves deeper into the craft of writing and researching, the nuances of sub-genres, and the business of marketing.
Apart from our plenary sessions, attendees can pick and choose panels in either stream – every hour. Over the coming months, we're giving you a heads-up by highlighting options so you can arrive on the day ready to go. There's no need to reserve your seats in the main weekend program –just move between lecture theatres each session.
If you find yourself still dithering, then toss a coin!
On Saturday 26 October at 2.10 – 3.00 pm, I’m faced with the difficult dilemma of choosing between an examination of the criminal psyche or learning how not to defame the dead.
Pip Smith & Catherine Jinks
Stream 1: TheCriminal Mind: innocence and guilt in historical fiction
A husband poisoner, a transgender man accused of murder, anda psychopathic former highwayman feature in recent books by Janet Lee,Pip Smith andCatherineJinks respectively. RachelFranks explores the criminal mind with these authors, themysteries that surround their protagonists, and the tricky business ofdetermining innocence or guilt from historical sources.
Stream 2: Respectful Research: the challenge ofimagining a dead person’s life
Legally you may not be liable for ‘defaming the dead’ butshould an author do so? Depicting the life of a real person can lead to ethicalquestions as to how to portray their thoughts, motives, and actions, based onhistorical sources and hearsay. CatherinePadmore discusses respectful research methods, and theobstacles and dilemmas of biofiction, with Paula Morris, Isobel Blackthorn andGS Johnston.
As a reader, I’m drawn to listening to the insights of authors such as Catherine Jinks, Janet Lee and Pip Smith discussing the psychopathy of their characters and the challenges of researching historical records. Smith’s Half Wild draws us into the murderous deceit of a transgender man in 1938 while Lee presents the inner thoughts of a C19th condemned woman on death row in The Killing of Louisa. Jinks’s recent non-fiction Charlatan is about a mesmerist accused of rape but she has a long history of exploring evil with The Inquisitor and The Notary. Her upcoming novel Shepherd sounds intriguing about a sinister former highwayman who menaces a young convict walking a tightrope between law and crime himself.
Isobel Blackthorn & Catherine Padmore
As a writer, I’m keen to hear Paula Morris, Greg Johnstonand Isobel Blackthorn discuss their approaches to writing biofiction, or books basedon ‘real’ people. Until now my novels have depicted imaginary characters fromthe C5th BC. My recent WIP is set in WW2 with historical figures front andcentre. I’d like to hear how others approach ‘respectful’ researching andwriting about ‘dead people’ whose reputations may or may not be compromised ina narrative. Learning about a Maorichieftain (Rangitiraby Morris), a maligned Esotericist (TheUnlikely Occultist by Blackthorn), and an Italian Fascist internee in WW2Australia (SweetBitter Cane by Johnston) will definitely be both entertaining andinformative. Morris’ insights into observing Indigenous protocols will also beinvaluable for those wishing to tap into Australian and New Zealand history.
My verdict
As program director,I’m kicking myself that I scheduled these two sessions to compete against eachother! It will be the toss of a coin for me. Too close to call.
Which panel will you choose at HNSA Sydney 2019?
This panel spotlight was written by Elisabeth Storrs, author of the award winning Tales of Ancient Rome saga, and the co-founder and program director of the HNSA. She’ll be conjuring spells with Kate Forsyth and Kim Wilkins at HNSA 2019 in Love Potions & Witchcraft.
HNSA Sydney 2019 will be held on the weekend of 25-27 October 2019 atWestern Sydney University Parramatta.
Our signature FirstPages Pitch Contest returns with $200 prize money on offer. They’ll also bea sword fight or two with our HistoricalRe-enactments & Weapons display!
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Let’s make a noise about historical fiction!
