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• Kevin Baker
• Megan Chance
• Bernard Cornwell
• Karen Essex
• Margaret George
• Glen David Gold
• Tayari Jones
• Matthew Kneale
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Historical Fiction Author Roundtable
 AuthorsOnTheWeb.com brought together 8 popular historical novelists to discuss their selection of the historical time periods they write about, how they conduct historical research, and the difficulties of creating fiction while respecting the limits of historical facts. The participants include Kevin Baker, Megan Chance, Bernard Cornwell, Karen Essex, Margaret George, Glen David Gold, Tayari Jones, and Matthew Kneale.
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| Kevin Baker |
The critically acclaimed novel Dreamland established Kevin Baker as "one of America's best new writers" (Boston Herald). Now, with Paradise Alley, he emerges as one of the most important voices of his generation. Currently at work on the third volume of his "City of Fire" trilogy, Mr. Baker is also the author of the novel Sometimes You See It Coming and served as chief historical researcher for the nonfiction bestseller The American Century. He is married and lives in New York City.
Kevin Baker's Website
HarperCollins
Browse Kevin Baker's books on Amazon.com.
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| Megan Chance |
From a very young age, Megan Chance wanted to be a writer, but she made a brief detour at Western Washington University, where she received a B.A. in Broadcast Communications. After several years as a television news photographer, where she found that truth really was stranger than fiction, Megan left broadcasting to write stories of her own.
Historical novels were an obvious choice. "The adaptability of the human spirit has always fascinated me, and historical novels allow me to explore that in a way that is both satisfying and life-affirming," says Megan. "I love immersing myself in another time. Luckily, I also love research-the more arcane, the better."
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Megan moved to Washington State as a girl. She currently lives near Seattle with her family.
Photo © Jerry Bauer
Author Bibliography
Megan Chance's Website
TWBookmark
Browse Megan Chance's books on Amazon.com.
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| Bernard Cornwell |
Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed Richard Sharpe series, set during the Napoleonic Wars; the Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles, about American Civil War; the Warlord Trilogy, about Arthurian England; as well as Stonehenge 2000 B.C.: A Novel, The Archer's Tale, and Vagabond. Mr. Cornwell lives with his wife on Cape Cod.
Photo © Christine Clarke
Bernard Cornwell's Website
HarperCollins
Browse Bernard Cornwell's books on Amazon.com.
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| Karen Essex |
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| Margaret George |
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| Glen David Gold |
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| Tayari Jones |
I was born in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, just off Peachtree Street. Sometimes people are disappointed to hear me speak, "You don't have a Southern drawl!" But I just explain to them that I have an Atlanta accent, a way of speaking that is both urban and Southern, just like me. It's no wonder that I chose my hometown as the setting for my first novel.
I spent most of my formative years in Atlanta-with the exception of my ninth grade year, which I spent in Nigeria, West Africa. After high school, I attended Spelman College, alma mater of authors such as Alice Walker, Pearl Cleage and Tina Ansa. It was here that I started thinking of writing as a calling, not just a hobby. I began to read, not just for pleasure, but to learn how novels and short stories are constructed. Some of my favorites were Sula by Toni Morrison, Winter Birds by Jim Grimsley, Dying Young by Marti Leimbach. I also fell in love with quiet novels written by poets, particularly Maude Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks.
I finished college early, and headed off to the university of Iowa at age twenty to work toward a PhD in literature. After finishing my masters, I decided that I wanted to do something more hands on. This took me to Prairie View, Texas where I taught remedial reading to young people who had finished high school but were not quite ready for college.
This was rewarding work. Some of my students have gone on to complete law degrees! But I left my position as a teacher to pursue my writing. Shortly after I decided follow my dreams, Fate intervened. Someone told me once that when you dedicate yourself with your entire heart, the entire universe conspires to see that you get what you want. This was certainly the case for me. While attending a conference in Portland, I literally ran into one of my favorite authors, Jewell Parker Rhodes. She offered me the opportunity to move to Arizona to study creative writing under her tutelage. I did and three years later, I finished Leaving Atlanta.
TAYARI JONES won first prize in the 2000 Hurston/Wright Award literary competition while still a student in the prestigious M.F.A. writing program at Arizona State University. She was a child in Atlanta during the period covered in this, her first novel, and currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
Photo © Douglas Kent Hall
Leaving Atlanta Review and Excerpt
Tayari Jones' Website
TWBookmark
Browse Tayari Jones' books on Amazon.com.
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| Matthew Kneale |
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