Round 1 will produce the Category Shortlists. The Round 1 assessors are book reviewers for Historical Novels Review magazine. They include:
Christina Nellas Acosta is managing editor of the journal 19th-Century Music (University of California Press), and a freelance editor for Oxford University Press. She has written book reviews for the Historical Novel Society, Copperfield Review Quarterly, Open Letters Reviews, and the Jane Austen Society of North America News (2024). A devoted Austen reader, she is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the National Book Critics Circle.
Valerie Fletcher Adolph has enjoyed being a reviewer for HNS for many years. Between book reviews, she has published a number of historical novels and award-winning short stories. https://www.vadolph.com
Karen Bordonaro is a librarian emeritus who has written three nonfiction books, taught university writing classes, and judged library research writing contests. She is currently a public library trustee, an historical documents volunteer transcriber, and a book review writer for three publications.
Elizabeth Caulfield Felt teaches Children’s Literature and composition classes at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. She writes novels for both children and adults and has been reviewing books for the Historical Novels Society for close to fifteen years.
Julia C. Fischer is an associate professor of art history at Lamar University and specialises in ancient Roman imperial cameos. In her spare time, she is an avid reader of historical fiction and is working on finishing her first novel. https://www.lamar.edu/fine-arts-communication/art-design/faculty-and-staff-directory/julia-fischer.html
Susie Helme is an American from Nashville, Tennessee, living in London. She has a passion for ancient history, politics and magic, mythology and religion. Once editor of Mobile Communications Asia, she co-authored the 2000 Future Mobile Handsets.
Her debut novel, The Lost Wisdom of the Magi, was Winner of the 2021 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical. The Genizah Codex, coming out soon, was a Finalist for Best Historical.
She is a founder member of the Bounds Green Book Writers circle. She subedits Dignity magazine and writes book reviews for Historical Novels Review and Reedsy Discovery and edits other authors’ novels for Reedsy Marketplace.
Penny Ingham has written The King’s Daughter, the story of Aethelflaed; Lady of the Mercians; The Saxon Wolves and The Saxon Plague, set in post-Roman Britain; and Twelve Nights, a murder mystery set in Shakespeare’s London. She lives in Hampshire, and volunteers as a living history re-enactor in the Saxon village at Butser Ancient Farm. https://pennyingham.wordpress.com
Elisabeth Lenckos holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and has published books on Jane Austen and Barbara Pym. She serves on the HNS Social Media Team and is writing a novel about a German Jewish family set in twentieth-century Berlin.
Susan Lowell is a fourth-generation Arizonan and the author of nineteen books, including adult short fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and scholarship, as well as children’s novels and picture books. She divides her time between Tucson and a ranch just north of Mexico.
Michael Lynes writes The Isaac Alvarez Mysteries, a historical crime series set in late 15th century Andalusia. The first, Blood Libel, won a prize at the 2020 Emirates Literature Festival, the third, The Red Citadel, was published in 2023. www.michaellynes.com
Kris McDermott is a Professor of English at Central Michigan University and a reviewer for HNR. She has written books about Renaissance drama and entries for historical novelists Elizabeth Wein and M.T. Anderson for The Dictionary of Literary Biography.
Trish MacEnulty is the author of a historical novel series, crime novels, memoirs, a short story collection, plays, and most recently, the historical coming-of-age novel, Cinnamon Girl (Livingston Press, 2023). A former college professor she has a PhD in English from Florida State University.
Shauna McIntyre is a writer and editor of historical fiction, currently working on a series focused on female prairie homesteaders. She reviews books and writes online feature articles for the HNS.
VEH Masters writes historical fiction set during the turmoil of the Reformation in Europe. Her books are regularly on the Amazon bestseller lists and she’s the winner of the Barbara Hammond Trophy.
B.J. Sedlock is Lead Librarian and Coordinator of Metadata and Archives for Defiance College in Ohio. She has been a reviewer for HNS since 2003, and has written articles on historical research resources for the HNS website since 2013. She plays bassoon in local musical ensembles.
Linnea Tanner is an award-winning and Amazon International Best-Selling author of four books in the historical fantasy series, Curse of Clansmen and Kings, set in ancient Rome and Britain, and a short story, ‘Two Faces of Janus’, set in Augustus Caesar’s imperial court. She will be attending the HNS 2024 conference. https://www.linneatanner.com/
Cindy Valler is a retired librarian. She is a freelance editor specialising in historical fiction, the editor of Pirates and Privateers, and a historical novelist. For fourteen years, she penned the editing column ‘The Red Pencil’ for Historical Novels Review and continues to review books for them. http://www.cindyvallar.com/
Kelly Urgan is a London-based editor and proofreader for both publishers and independent authors. She specialises in historical and fantasy fiction. She reviews books for the HNS and writes on a variety of subjects, including art, history and travel.
Joanne F. Vickers has a doctorate in nineteenth-century American literature from The Ohio State University. She is the co-author of two books on mid-life and has published articles on writing in the academic and business worlds.
Marlie Parker Wasserman writes historical crime fiction, after a career on the other side of the desk in publishing. In addition to Path of Peril, she is the author of The Murderess Must Die (2021) and the forthcoming Inferno on Fifth (2023). Marlie lives with her husband in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Triangle Chapter of Sisters in Crime. https://www.marliewasserman.com
Alana White writes historical crime set in 15th century Renaissance Florence. The most recent title (2022) is The Hearts of All on Fire, with the next book on the way. A former member of the Historical Novel Society Board of Directors, she has been an HNS book reviewer for many years. Currently, she is the HNS Midsouth Chapter Lead. She lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Historical Novel Society UK 2024 conference 