Historical Novel Society North American Conference

The biennial Historical Novel Society (HNS) North America Conference was held from June 8 to June 10 at the Marriott Rivercenter hotel in San Antonio, Texas, as well as online. The conference featured presentations, panels, pitch sessions with agents and editors, query critiques, a Readers Festival, and social events for historical fiction writers. The theme for this year’s conference was “The Working Writer.” Participating writers included fiction writers James Scott Bell, Jamie Ford, Libbie Grant, and Lisa Wingate. Participating publishing professionals included editors Amy Durant (Sapere Books), Amelia Hester (Dragonblade Publishing), and Verena Rose and Harriette Sackler (Level Best Books); and agents Danielle Egan-Miller (Browne & Miller Literary Associates), Cate Hart (Harvey Klinger), Shannon Hassan (Marsal Lyon Literary Agency), Viola Hayden (Curtis Brown), Imogen Pelham (Marjacq), Marcy Posner (Folio Literary Management), Rayhané Sanders (Massie & McQuilkin), Mitchell Waters (Brandt & Hochman), and Paige Wheeler (Creative Media Agency). The cost to attend the conference in person was $639 ($589 for HNS members), or $350 for students, not including lodging. The cost to stay at the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter was $195 a night. The cost for virtual participants was $299. Registration was rolling through May 15 for in-person participants, and June 4 for virtual participants. The cost of master classes ranged from $50 to $75. The cost of pitch sessions and query critiques was $25 per session. Visit the website for more information.

Accessibility accommodations included closed captioning for virtual participants. E-mail hnsnorthamerica@gmail.com for more accessibility details.