Our friends at the Adirondack Center for Writing have a “Setting the Scene in Historical Fiction” workshop series starting next month, led by Kim van Alkemade.
Historical fiction aims to situate unique characters in compelling situations set in the past that will resonate with readers today. Though research is important, what brings historical fiction to life is the scene. In this class, students will learn what goes into writing strong scenes in historical fiction, how to develop diverse characters, and how to integrate research without interrupting the flow of the scene.
After viewing video lectures, reading example pieces, participating in discussions, and writing in response to prompts, students will workshop a fully developed scene and receive personal feedback from the instructor.
Kim van Alkemade earned a PhD in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and was a professor at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania before becoming a full-time writer living in Saratoga Springs. Her debut novel, Orphan #8, about medical experiments in a Jewish orphanage in the 1920s, was published in 2015 by William Morrow and appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, the Indies Next List, was a Target Club Pick, an Indigo Pick of the Month, a Woman’s National Book Association Great Group Reads selection, and has been translated into eleven languages. Her second novel, Bachelor Girl, about a mysterious bequest to an unknown actress by the millionaire owner of the Yankees baseball team in 1939, was published in 2018 by Touchstone and was a Toronto Star bestseller. Her third novel, Counting Lost Stars, about a pioneering woman computer programmer in 1960 who helps a Holocaust survivor discover his mother’s fate, will be published by William Morrow in 2023.
Click here for more information and to register for this great workshop.
