Round 1 judging has been completed and we are delighted to announce the Category Shortlists.
CONGRATULATIONS to the writers who made the CATEGORY SHORTLISTS in the 2024 HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY’S First Chapters Competition.
A sincere THANK YOU to the First Round Judges for all your care and work! Your time and expertise are most appreciated. These shortlists will now go forward to the Second Round Judges. The Category Winners will be announced on 10 JUNE 2024. The Overall Winner will be announced at the 2024 HNS UK Conference on 7 SEPTEMBER 2024
Shortlisted entries are listed alphabetically. The number of shortlisted entries per category is dependent on a combination of factors, including the number of entrants within that category, the judges’ scoring, and the range of scoring within the individual categories. In the event of absolute tied scores, we increased the number of shortlisted entries in that category.
Entries were judged anonymously, with the judges receiving the category, manuscript title, and entry number. Evaluations were completed electronically. Entries were all judged on the same scale across 10 criteria with a bonus tie-breaker and calculated electronically. Reports were then compared and checked (and re-checked) by the contest coordinator.
Individual scoring and any additional comments provided by the judges will be sent to all entrants in June, after the Category Winners are announced. Thank you, again, for all the entries.
We had an enormous response to the competition in our first year with over 400 entries! The judges were thoroughly impressed with the number and quality of the entries. To reflect this, we increased our shortlists from a planned six selections in each of the categories. Thank you to everyone who entered the competition.
As we are an international organisation and the contest was open internationally, we were especially excited to receive entries from 23 countries. To see 10 countries represented on these shortlists is amazing!
Shortlist for the Ancient History to 16th-Century Historical Fiction Category
ANKHE – EGYPT’S CURSED QUEEN by Corinne MacKenzie (Australia)
DAUGHTER OF ENVY by Julianne Douglas (United States)
DAUGHTERS OF THE PURPLE by Aron Paul (Australia)
JACKANAPES RISING by Samantha Seal (United States)
TALKING WITH BEES AND WASPS by Douglas Bruton (United Kingdom)
THE ARTIST AND THE ANGEL by Jayne Boxall (United Kingdom)
THE MERCHANT OF SIENA by Carol M. Cram (Canada)
THE PATH BETWEEN SHADOWS by Julia Howard (United Kingdom)
THEREIN LIES THE PEARL by Catherine Hughes (United States)
THREADS IN THE TAPESTRY by Sara Dahmen (United States)
Shortlist for the 17th– to 19th-Century Historical Fiction Category
A-WALKING THE DEVIL IS GONE by Alison Pearson (United Kingdom)
ANNEKE JANS by Sandra Freels (United States)
ARROW SONG by Martha Taylor (United States)
FEARN AMONG THE EUCALYPTS by Missy Birch (Australia)
FLOTSAM AND DROSS by Cecily Van Cleave (United States)
ON AETHER HILL by Marian Matta (Australia)
PHEBE AND ARTHUR: LOVE, LIBERTY AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION by Jane Lancaster (United States)
THE CONCEALMENT by Lorna Fergusson (United Kingdom)
THE ORPHAN’S WHEEL by Suzanne Samuels (United States)
THE WRECKER’S DAUGHTER by G. M. Baker (Canada)
Shortlist for the 20th-Century Historical Fiction Category
BEYOND THE PALE by Julia Levitina (Australia)
BIOGRAPHY OF THE SEA by Sheila Myers (United States)
I AM NOT LED; I LEAD by Shona Woods (Ireland)
INHERITANCE by Judy Gregory (Australia)
MURDER IN THE BOUDOIR by Lilianne Milgrom (United States)
OVER THERE by Jane Loeb Rubin (United States)
RUBBLE WOMEN by Alix Christie (Germany)
THE PILOT’S WATCH by Cynthia Anderson (Switzerland)
THE TYPEWRITERISTS by David Martin (United Kingdom)
THINGS I WISH YOU’D TOLD ME by Tracee de Hahn (United States)
UNITY by Mara Dougall (United Kingdom)
Shortlist for the Historical Adventure Category
THE COSMONAUT AND THE FISHERMAN by Kirk Rafferty (United States)
PHYSICK GARD’NER by Joan Sumner (United Kingdom)
RUNE SONG by A. D. Rhine (United States)
SPYISSIMA by H. J. Reynolds (United Kingdom)
THATCH’S WAR by J. L. Oakley (United States)
THE BAKU INHERITANCE by Anne M. Kennedy (United Kingdom)
THE GRAND ADVENTURE OF SARINA MIRACLE by Tamatha Cain (United States)
THE IRKSOME O’DONOVANS by Xavier McCaffrey (United States)
THE LAST COWBOY by Katie Nelson Stone (United States)
THE OWL IN THE WINDOW by Andrew Devereux (United Kingdom)
THE SECRET MAP OF FREYA STARK by Katherine Gypson (United States)
THE TEMPORARY LEAGUE OF CASTAWAYS by E. Cox (United States)
Shortlist for the Biographical Historical Fiction Category
BETWEEN TWO WATERS by Karen Ott Mayer (United States)
EMINENCE by D. Kamra (United States)
FORGED ON A LAND BREEZE by Joseph Arensdorf (United States)
FRANCIS by Liyana June Adnan (Singapore)
HEART’S JOURNEY by Kate Giles (United Kingdom)
LITTLE QUEEN by Tara Bradway (United States)
THE EIGHTH WONDER OF LILLIAN SINCLAIR by Sandra L. Young (United States)
THE WARDER’S DAUGHTER by Sharon Barba (Australia)
THE WOMAN WITH THE WICKED FACE by Trish MacEnulty (United States)
Shortlist for the Children & Young Adult Historical Fiction Category
FAIR AS SNOW: THE STEPMOTHER’S TALE by Tracy Barrett (United States)
FLY BY NIGHT, ANYA by Genetta Adair (United States)
FROM THE UNBELIEVABLE FILES OF OWNEY: GLOBE-TROTTING ADVENTURER, DETECTIVE, AND RAILWAY MAIL PROTECTOR by Mary Hertz Scarbrough (Netherlands)
LUCY’S MOVIE: THE PRISONER’S PROMISE by Kimberly Cross Teter (United States)
PAPER WINGS by Rusty Allen (United States)
SECRETS OF THE RED CITADEL by Michael Lynes (United Kingdom)
STRATFORD’S WILL by Kristen McDermott (United States)
THE FACE PAINTER by Barbara Ristine (United States)
VIOLETA’S ADVENTURES IN DOLL-LAND by Mayra Calvani (Belgium)
Shortlist for the Historical Crime/Mystery Category
BIRDS OF BRITAIN AND EUROPE by Joe Whitehead (United Kingdom)
BLOOD FEUD: THE FORESTER OF GRAVELINGES by John Edwinson (United Kingdom)
EMPIRE LADIES by Clare Langley-Hawthorne (United States)
SORCERER STREET by Dean Hamilton (Canada)
THE CYRANO SOLUTION by Craig H. Bowlsby (Canada)
THE PEACEMAKER’S WIFE by Julie Dorsey (United States)
THE KING OF HOLLYWOOD AND CASE OF THE MISSING LOOK ALIKE by Denis Berkfeldt (United States)
VEXATION RIVER by Sally Milliken (United States)
WOMEN ON FIRE: A TAPESTRY by Kathleen A. Kelly (United States)
WORLD WITHOUT END by Alana White (United States)
Shortlist for the Fantasy/Time-Slip/Alternate History Historical Fiction Category
DAEMONIUM REX by Liam Stokes (United Kingdom)
MRS JORDAN’S FINAL ACT by Molly Gartland (United Kingdom)
REDSMITHS AND ROBINS by Kate Wilson (United Kingdom)
THE ALCHEMY OF LIGHT by Lenore Hart (United States)
THE CHALICE AND THE GRAIL by Lucy Pick (Canada)
THE FIRST GROWTH OF SERAFINA LYNCH by Stefano Bottaio (United Kingdom)
THE LAST CURATOR by Kristen Loesch (Switzerland)
THE PEVENSIE CODICIL by Erica Obey (United States)
THE SHAREG by A.G. Rivett (United Kingdom)
THE WATER LILIES OF MISHIPESHU by Karla Cruise (United States)
Shortlist for the Historical Romance Category
HER LAND AGENT LOVER by Helen Conway (United Kingdom)
IN THE THUNDER AIR by Fran Bosan (United Kingdom)
STONEM by S.A. McCullough (United Kingdom)
THE FREEDOM KEYS by Narelle Bartlett-Clark (Australia)
THE LUTHIER’S PROMISE by Cathie Hartigan (United Kingdom)
TWO RIVERS by Glenda Kirkby (Australia)
WARTIME CHRISTMAS WITH THE KINGSTONS by Deb Stratas (Canada)
The Historical Novel Society UK 2024 conference 