About us

Our passion is history.  We are authors, publishers and agents of historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction and we have created this Association, the website, the forum and our various literary events and dinners in order to provide professional and social support to our members, and to create opportunities on line and in person for our members to meet with readers, re-enactors and historians of all ages and eras who share our fasciation with, and absorption in, all things historical.

If you're a published author, a publisher or an agent, please consider joining us: criteria are laid out below. If you're a reader, come along to our events and literary festivals, and, of course, join our forum: this is our gateway to the best of historical writing: fiction and non-fiction: If you care about history, this is the place to start.

HISTORY:

In early October 2010, a group of writers and publishers joined together to form the Historical Writers' Association – the HWA.

This grew from the belief that we as historical writers need to have the same kind of professional body run by professional writers for professional writers (and their agents and publishers and booksellers) to sustain, promote and support each other and our work in the way that the Crime Writers' Association provides professional and social support for its members.

To that end, we designed this website, a forum and held our inaugural Literary festival over 2 days at Kelmarsh Hall in conjunction with the Festival of History run by English Heritage in July 2011. We held a social dinner, courtesy of Ben Kane, our Treasurer and social organiser, and will hold another towards Christmas/Solstice/Saturnalia (delete according to preferred timeline and ethos)

As our first anniversary approaches,we are delighted to welcome Michael Morpurgo OBE as our inaugural President.  Michael is one of our nation's foremost writers, a former children's laureate and recipient of the OBE for his services to literature. We could not ask for a better figure at our helm to take us into our second year.

At the first anniversary, we also announced the inception of our first Prize  - the HWA/Goldsboro Crown for Debut Historical Fiction, the short list for which will be announced at the Kelmarsh festival in July, the winner at History in the Court in September (see 'Events' page for more details), and will organise further social events as our members see fit - plus, of course, increasing our online presence of which this website will be the hub.  

If you're a writer and would like to join, our 'Aims of Association' are as follows:

The Historical Writers' Association: an association of both historical fiction and non-fiction who have work published by recognised publishers, plus their agents and publishers. Membership shall be limited to those authors who have work published in the last 5 years, although others may be admitted at the discretion of the committee.

The Association exists to promote, sustain and raise the profile of historical writing. Membership of the association will be granted to all writers, agents and publisher staff who, in the opinion of the HWA committee, have demonstrated, either through their writing or their role in bringing such material into print, their commitment to this ideal.

For the avoidance of doubt, 'historical' shall be defined as being beyond 35 years from the point of application

Thus we are open to writers of fiction and non-fiction alike – anyone who makes a living out of publishing books in which the core matter is historical – plus their agents and publishers, and booksellers.

If you think you'd like to join us, or know someone who does, please mail our Membership Secretary on: tony.riches@btinternet.com giving your name, details of your recent books and your publisher.

Annual subscriptions stand currently at £75 per annum, if paid by BACS or Standing Order, £80 if paid by Paypal or cheque.

We look forward to meeting you online, in the flesh and in the pages of our books

The HWA Committee

Manda Scott - Chair
Ben Kane - Treasurer
Tony Riches - Membership Secretary
AL Berridge
Michael Jecks
Rob Low
Robyn Young

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The HWA has formed a mutual association with the Society of Authors whereby our members are entitled to 25% reduction of the cost in the first year of their joining if they join the SoA: subject, of course, to their eligibility criteria. The SoA similarly has a 'fifteen months for the price of twelve' in the first year of joining if members are already members of the HWA. 

Start date is 1st December 2011.  Please see their website after that date for further details. Those wishing to apply to the HWA, should do so by the usual route (contact Tony Riches) and be prepared to give your Soc of Authors membership number.

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