Historia’s early October giveaway is the second of three Crowns shortlist specials. Win all six books shortlisted for the 2018 HWA Non-fiction Crown Award, showcasing the best in historical writing. Just follow the instructions below to enter. You’ve got four chances to win and can enter using any or all of the options: 1. Sign up to the Historia […]
Dr Darwin’s Writing Tips
Our resident agony aunt, Dr Darwin, answers a common question: what counts as historical fiction? Dear Dr Darwin, I told my grandmother that I was writing a historical novel set in the Liverpool of the early Beatles, and she laughed so hard she nearly fell off her motorbike. I told my brother the Beatles weren’t […]
Was America, not Wallis, the real reason Edward VIII abdicated?
What if Wallis Simpson wasn’t the real reason for Edward VIII’s abdication? Historian Ted Powell, Edward’s most recent biographer, writes about the playboy prince’s greatest love affair. Years before he met Wallis Simpson, King Edward VIII had fallen in love with America. As a young Prince of Wales he was captivated by the energy, confidence […]
Twisting the Tale
Author Chris Bishop discusses why writers of historical fiction don’t always adhere solely to the ‘facts’ – and why they sometimes shouldn’t. As a writer of historical fiction, I am frequently asked whether my work is based solely on fact. My stock answer is that I am a writer not a historian and, as such, […]
In Search of Mercia
Annie Whitehead on research roadblocks, and writing history when the evidence is elusive. I spend my life writing about the characters who inhabited ancient Mercia. The history of this Anglo-Saxon kingdom is full of colourful characters, some familiar – Lady Godiva and Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians – and some not so well-known, but no […]
Historia Q&A: Lindsay Powell
Lindsay Powell is the author of several acclaimed books on battles, generalship and warfare. His speciality is the early Roman Empire and, in particular, the lives and times of the notorious extended family of Caesar Augustus. Among his books are two firsts – full-length biographies of Drusus the Elder and of his famous son Germanicus. […]
2018 HWA Crowns: the shortlists
The Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) is delighted to announce the shortlisted books for the 2018 Gold, Non-Fiction and Debut HWA Crown Awards. Each shortlist category contains six outstanding books, ranging across centuries and continents and proving, once again, the richness, variety and vigour of historical writing currently being published in the UK. From all of […]
HWA Crowns Longlists Announced!
Thirty six remarkable books will fight it out in the race for the 2018 HWA Crowns, as the longlists