The Past Is Never Past: Historical Fiction Workshop

The historical novel is reaching new heights and audiences.

Recent bestsellers have found their stories in World War II, pre–Civil Rights Mississippi, and the court of England’s Henry VIII.

In these successful historical novels, the concerns of the past resonate powerfully with readers today.

This hands-on workshop will teach you to do the same in your own historical fiction.

We will draw inspiration from All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, The Wise Woman by Philippa Gregory, and Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane.

Through close reading, discussion, and guided exercises, we will explore varied approaches to plot, character, and theme that connect historical moments to enduring questions of power, identity, and moral choice.

Each student will write and workshop one chapter of 10 to 25 pages, leaving with a strong foundation for a longer work that speaks as urgently to the present as it does to the past.