TOPIC : "Historians and Novelists: Telling a Compelling Story & Keeping the Facts Straight"

DATE: 20-21 October 2006

PLACE: CUNY Graduate Center, Fifth Avenue at 34th Street.

Program Outline

Object: To put some novelists who’ve done “period pieces” together with some historians who are specialists in those periods, to talk about the interrelationship of art and history, questions of accuracy vs. the demands of story telling, and so forth.

Friday, 20 October, 7:00-9:00: Introductory session, during which the novelists will read some portions of their work, followed by Q&A and general discussion.

Saturday, 21 October, 9:30-12:00 & 2:00-4:30. A full panel. The novelists will each make short presentations discussing their work and their approach to integrating historical material while trying to keep the story vital. This will be followed by a conversational interchange among the novelists and historians. The program will conclude with participation by members of the audience.

NYMAS events are free to the public. Several previous events have been on C-SPAN’s “Book Notes.”

Participants:

* Susan Shwartz, novelist and historian. Author of Cross and Crescent, Shards of Empire, and other works of historical fantasy, with a website at http://www.sff.net/people/SusanShwartz/
* Tom Quinn, novelist. Author of The Lion of St. Mark: Book One of the Venetians, with a website at http://www.thomasquinnbooks.com
* Kevin Baker, novelist. Author of Paradise Alley: A Novel, Dreamland, and Strivers Row
* Thomas Fleming, historian and novelist. Author of The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee, Conquerors of the Sky, and other novels, as well as several works of history, with a website at http://thomasflemingwriter.com/

* Albert A. Nofi, historian. Author of Alamo and the Texas War for Independence The Gettysburg Campaign: June-July 1863, and other works, with a website at http://www.al-nofi.com/

* Valerie Eads, historian. Author of Women and War in the Middle Ages (pending) and numerous articles, with a website at http://libraryautomation.com/valerieeads/valerieeadshomepage.html
* Barnet Schecter, historian. Author of The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America and The Battle For New York: The City At the Heart of American Revolution with websites at http://www.walkerbooks.com/ and http://www.thebattlefornewyork.com/

Suggested Reading: In addition to the novels noted above, attendees may wish to read the interesting article by Cornell’s Prof. Carol Kammen, “ . . . on the Value of Historical Fiction,” History News, Summer 2003, available online at http://www.atlasbooks.com/hillsongpress/perspectives.htm