MJ (Miranda) Carter is the author of three books featuring 19th century detective duo Blake and Avery; Antonia Hodgson writes books featuring louche but good-hearted 18th century gentleman, Thomas Hawkins. Both write as their male first person narrators, and both their first novels, The Strangler Vine, and The Devil in the Marshalsea, were shortlisted for […]
Historia Interviews: Jerry Brotton
We talk to Jerry Brotton about his HWA Non-Fiction Crown shortlisted book, This Orient Isle. The HWA Non-fiction Crown celebrates the best in historical non-fiction writing. When did you first become interested in history? Since schooldays I’d always been interested in where history met literature, art and politics. My first degree was at Sussex University, a […]
Historia Interviews: Abir Mukherjee
We talk to Abir Mukherjee about his path to publication, colonial India and his Debut Crown shortlisted novel, A Rising Man. The HWA Debut Crown celebrates new voices in historical fiction. Have you always been interested in history? I’ve been fascinated by history for as long as I can remember – everything from Biblical history […]
Historia Q&A: Jemahl Evans
Jemahl Evans was born in Bradford on Avon to nomadic Welsh school teachers and was brought up in a West Wales mining village during the 70s and 80s. He has pursued a lifelong passion for History, inspired by his grandfather’s stories and legends. His debut novel, The Last Roundhead, is the first of his critically acclaimed Blandford […]
Historia Interviews: Daniel Beer
Historian Daniel Beer on Russian history, the joys of archival research and his Non-Fiction Crown shortlisted book, The House of the Dead. The HWA Non-fiction Crown celebrates the best in historical non-fiction writing. Have you always been interested in history? Yes, I have, but I came to Russian history in particular through my interest in […]
Historia Interviews: Rachel Rhys
Dangerous Crossings, shortlisted for the HWA Endeavour Ink Gold Crown Award, is the first foray into historical mystery for Rachel Rhys, who also writes psychological thrillers as Tammy Cohen and contemporary drama as Tamar Cohen. We caught up with her to talk about moving into historical fiction, terrible first drafts and the time Napoleon went […]
Historia Interviews: David Bellos
We talk to Princeton Professor David Bellos about his HWA Non-fiction Crown shortlisted book, The Novel of the Century. The HWA Non-fiction Crown celebrates the best in historical non-fiction writing. Do you consider yourself a historian, a biographer or both? I would like to be thought of as a scholar and a writer with no […]
Historia Interviews: Emily Bitto
Next up in our HWA Crown Award interview series we talk to Emily Bitto about memory, the Australian art world and her Debut Crown shortlisted novel, The Strays. The HWA Debut Crown celebrates new voices in historical fiction. Have you always been interested in history? I have always been interested in history, but probably as […]