Last weekend I attended my sixth in-person Historical Novel Society Conference. Typically, the annual gathering alternates between American and British locations, but this year HNS UK went to Ireland. The setting? The historic university town of Maynooth outside Dublin. The attendees? A mix of historical novelists, of differing levels of professional experience, from around the world.
As usual, I’m summarizing the conference through some of my favorite quotes from the plenary and parallel sessions. Unfortunately, this year sessions were not recorded, but I still managed to catch a lot of talks.
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| Finola Austin reporting from HNS 2026! |
“Curiosity may not kill the cat, but it certainly encourages me to explore rabbit holes,” Kevin Connolly
Research is always a hot topic at HNS conferences and Kevin Connolly gave us a great overview of the digital resources available to those writing historical novels with an Irish setting.
“Correspondence will give you the social worlds of your characters,” Professor Terence Dooley
Meanwhile, Maynooth History Professor and conference keynote speaker Terence Dooley suggested letters and auction catalogues as two incredible primary sources for uncovering facts that could be stranger than fiction.
However, the question of how much research is necessary or helpful continues to be hotly debated.
“If you’re writing the truth, who cares about the facts?” John Banville
Keynote speaker John Banville encouraged us to prioritize emotional verisimilitude over pedantic research, while Carol Cram’s advice was similar:
“Don’t confuse accuracy with fidelity,” Carol Cram
We heard from writers who have different “rules” for themselves about sticking (or not sticking!) to the historical record, and, for many, these “rules” evolve between projects.
“The more novels I write, the more inclined I am to take liberties,” Martina Devlin
Anne Easter Smith reminded us that, when conducting independent research unattached to an academic institution, we may face obstacles.
“We are lowly novelists and historians will look at us like this,” Anne Easter Smith
And keynote speaker Vaseem Khan raised the point that some topics and perspectives have been expunged from the mainstream historical record:
“I use my books to talk about the history I didn’t learn about in school,” Vaseem Khan
Leslie Carroll cautioned us to consider the “who” behind each primary source we consult:
“I always weigh what I’m reading against who said it,” Leslie Carroll
And the question of point of view goes beyond research and into the writing process itself:
“Most stories have been written, so it’s about finding a fresh perspective,” Louise Fein
Finding a fresh perspective can help your book become more marketable, but speakers had other tips for helping your novel stand out from the slush or on the shelf.
Give your characters plenty of problems:
“Layer on obstacles to your ideas to strengthen your pitch,” Amanda Geard
Choose a progressive historical figure as your main character:
“Artists are people in society who like to push boundaries and break rules,” Laura Morelli
Or tap into themes that have continued relatability today:
“Sisters have universality. We have expectations of sisterhood,” Kate Braithwaite
I wish there had been more sessions digging deeply into writing craft, but Lenore Hart had some helpful advice for first chapters (before her Q&A got slightly derailed by a hot debate about writing and AI!).
“Withholding information creates confusion, not mystery,” Lenore Hart
This was my favorite tidbit from her talk, as she advised early career writers not to delay giving readers crucial information, like who is this character and when and where are we they, in a misguided attempt to create intrigue.
There were also only a couple of sessions digging into the business of publishing, including a keynote conversation between Essie Fox and her publisher, Karen Sullivan.
“First novels contain seeds of everything we’ve read,” Essie Fox
I liked Essie’s idea about going back to your first novel to rediscover the passions that first brought you to writing. And Karen’s thoughts on not “chasing” market trends, as a historical novelist, were well-received by the writers in attendance:
“Trend-driven publishing is flawed,” Karen Sullivan
To round out this recap, I’ll turn back to John Banville, whose rejection of the idea that writing is a form of self-expression really stuck with me. His insistence that our novels are “no longer ours” when they’re out in the world resonated, especially in an environment where you don’t know whether to lead with what you’ve done or what you’re working on next.
“I can’t remember my own books. They’ve left me. They’re in the past,” John Banville
That’s a wrap for HNS 2026, but I’m looking forward to the North America conference in Pittsburgh in 2027! If we met at the conference, please stay in touch. If we didn’t, feel free to get in touch too. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, and sign up for my monthly email newsletter here.
