Historical Fiction Writing Workshop

Join bestselling author Barbara Erskine - The Lady of Hay - to learn about researching a historical novel in our one day writing workshop.

There is much fascination and surprise to be found in historical research. Whether you are an established writer of historical fiction, a beginner or just a lover of history, the subject is addictive and rewarding.

Barbara will share her own experiences of what she has learned and failed to learn over her years of writing history-based novels and encourage an informal discussion about the intricacies and pitfalls involved; the excitement and danger of diving down rabbit holes; the best ways of channelling a passion for meeting the real or imagined inhabitants of the past: when to take short cuts and when that can spell disaster; how to pull up messages from hoofbeats and gas lamps and stones; the fine line between fiction and biography ; whether it’s better to use books or on-line sources and much more.

And maybe there will be talk of ghosts . . .

PAY WHAT YOU CAN

We would like our events to be as accessible as possible while also making sure that we cover costs and are starting to introduce 'pay what you can' tickets.

We have tickets available at £75 (reduced rate), £100 (actual cost), and £125 (pay it forward).

Consider contributing more on the scale if you:have the ability to comfortably meet all of your basic needs

• have investments, retirement accounts, or inherited money
• travel recreationally
• own the home you live in
• have a relatively high degree of earning power due to level of education (or gender and racial privilege, class background, etc.)

Consider contributing less on the scale if you:

• have difficulty covering basic expenses
• are supporting children or have other dependents
• are an elder with limited financial support
• have unstable housing and/or limited access to reliable transportation

If you select an amount at the higher end of the scale, you will make possible future events and activities and support our volunteers who are generously contributing time. Thank you!