Imagining The Past

Imagining the Past’s new season features live recorded sessions from the 2019 HNSA conference brought to you by our host, Greg Johnston. Our sixth episode talks of Bette and Joan.  Elizabeth I and Joan of Arc have been the subjects of countless books, engendering myth, obsession, and various interpretations of their lives. Linda Funnell asks Jane Caro and Ali Alizadeh why they chose to investigate...

Imagining the Past’s new season features live recorded sessions from the 2019 HNSA conference brought to you by our host, Greg Johnston. Our fifth episode explores The Feminine Mystique.  Ensuring a female protagonist’s thoughts and actions remain true to the norms of by-gone eras and cultures causes headaches for writers – and readers. How does an author maintain immediacy if limited to second ha...

Imagining the Past’s new season features live recorded sessions from the 2019 HNSA conference brought to you by our host, Greg Johnston. Our fourth episode explores parallel narratives.  Interlocking stories crossing different eras have been used to great effect in historical novels. What plot devices do authors use to trace the connections between their characters? Do writers use the same techniq...

Imagining the Past’s new season features live recorded sessions from the 2019 HNSA conference brought to you by our host, Greg Johnston. Our third episode explores point of view.  When starting to write, deciding which type of point of view will be exploited is a significant decision with far-reaching consequences. Who knows what? Who sees what? How much do you want the reader to know?  And when?...

Imagining the Past’s new season features live recorded sessions from the 2019 HNSA conference brought to you by our host, Greg Johnston. Our second episode explores Creative writing postgraduate degrees which have become increasingly popular in the last decade. Associate Professor Sara Knox (WSU) talks to Dr Jesse Blackadder, Dr Rachel le Rossignol and PhD candidate, Joshua Mostafa, about the bene...

Imagining the Past’s new season features live recorded sessions from the 2019 HNSA conference brought to you by our host, Greg Johnston. Our first episode explores Dispossession and Betrayal: Recovering the Erased history of First Nations. Indigenous writers, Madison Shakespeare and Lisa Chaplin, discuss with Maori writer and academic, Dr Paula Morris, why Aboriginal history has been suppressed, w...

Our final episode for this season features a queen of historical fantasy, Alison Goodman, author of seven novels including her award-winning Lady Helen Regency supernatural trilogy. Alison talks with host Kelly Gardiner about combining fantasy elements in a meticulously researched historical story.

Our interview with best-selling author Nicole Alexander on writing about rural Australia: the challenges, the research, the histories, and the people.

In this episode, we speak with Catherine Jinks, award-winning author of this year's Shepherd , and the Theophilus Grey and Pagan series - on voice, character, and writing for readers of all ages.

Kelly Gardiner talks to David Whish-Wilson, author of The Coves , about the wild years of the American gold rush, fascinating people from the past, and the allure of crime writing.

Pamela Hart discusses her research processes and favourite resources, what makes a great idea for a book, and offers advice to emerging writers of historical fiction.

Our first podcast interview for 2019 features one of Australia's favourite authors, and our guest of honour at this year's conference –  the incomparable Jackie French .

Kelly Gardiner and Catherine Padmore chat about the craft of writing Historical Bio-Fiction.

Kelly talks to Ngahuia and Deborah about the challenges of reinterpreting C19 narratives of first contact and colonisation #HNSA #NgahuiateAwekotuku #DeborahChallinor #historicalfiction

Kelly Gardiner chats with Lucy Treloar about specific issues encountered writing Australian colonial fiction #historialfiction #writing #history #fiction #LucyTreloar

Kelly Gardiner chats with Kate Forsyth about her passion for history, fairy tales and writing stories that combine both. #writing #history #historicalfiction #fiction #kateforsyth

Kelly Gardiner chats to Sulari Gentill and Robert Gott about their fictional detectives and the challenges of co-writing an historical mystery play. #writing #history #historicalfiction #fiction #Sularigentill #robertgott

Kelly Gardiner talks with publisher and novelist Sophie Masson about aspects of publishing and writing historical fiction for children and young adults. #writing #history #historicalfiction #fiction