Hazel Gaynor, Gill Paul, and Heather Webb
Hollywood’s Golden Era of film offers many tantalising prospects for the historical novelist, but how does an author successfully develop the life of a well-known Hollywood star in the pages of a novel, or reimagine some of the screen’s most famous fictional characters on the page? Having written about Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, and many more famous women, three internationally bestselling historical novelists, Hazel Gaynor (pictured), Gill Paul and Heather Webb, will share a lively and entertaining discussion about the challenges and delights of bringing some of our best known stars of the screen – and their often troubled and turbulent lives – to the page.
Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning New York Times, USA Today, and Irish Times bestselling author known for her deeply moving historical novels which explore the defining events of the 20th century. Her debut, The Girl Who Came Home, won the 2015 RNA Historical Novel award, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter was shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown, and several of her books have also been shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards. Her latest novel, The Last Lifeboat, was an Irish Times bestseller, a Times historical books of the month pick, and is shortlisted for the 2023 Irish Book Awards. Her co-written novels with Heather Webb have all been published to critical acclaim. Hazel’s work is translated into 20 languages to date. Originally from Yorkshire, she lives in Ireland with her family.
Gill Paul is the bestselling author of twelve historical novels, many of them about real 20th-century women who led remarkable lives. Her novels are USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Toronto Globe & Mail bestsellers, and have been translated into twenty-three languages. Her latest novel, A Beautiful Rival (2023), is about the infamous feud between beauty tycoons Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. Gill lives in London where she swims year-round in a wild pond, and speaks at libraries and literary festivals on topics ranging from Tutankhamun to Taylor and Burton.
Heather Webb is an award-winning USA Today and Globe and Mail bestselling author of nine historical novels, including her most recent, Queens of London, about the all-female gang, the Forty Elephants. Strangers in the Night, a novel of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, as well as Meet Me in Monaco, a story of Grace Kelly’s royal wedding, offer a view of the lives of screen and stage actors. Her co-written novels with Hazel Gaynor have all been published to critical acclaim. Heather’s works have been translated into 17 languages to date. She lives in New England with her family, a mischievous kitten, and a wily rabbit.
The Historical Novel Society UK 2024 conference 