Description:
Historians document the past by presenting the available evidence. Their chief responsibility is to lay out “the facts” and help us interpret them. But historical novelists are storytellers whose mission is to entertain. Imagining, dramatizing, and speculating about the past are essential to their craft.
In History and Imagination: Historical Fiction’s Magic Elixir, authors Erica Obey (Dazzlepaint) and Martha Jean Johnson (The Queen’s Musician) will talk with author/moderator Helen Lundström Erwin (The Lure of Water and Wood) about how writers should balance their responsibility to “the facts” with their purpose as storytellers. Do historical novelists ever decide to simply “make that part up”? What about historical fantasies and alternate histories? Our three writers will consider how far a novelist can go in breaking the rules without sacrificing their responsibilities as historical novelists.
Join the NYC Chapter of the Historical Novel Society on April 22 from 5:30-7pm. This event will be hosted by the Book Club Bar, 197 East 3rd Street (and Avenue B) in the East Village. The Book Club Bar is an independent bookstore featuring a full espresso and cocktail bar. Our panel will begin at 6pm sharp! You are welcome to come early and stay late, browsing, socializing, and sipping spirits as you discover new authors. There will be book signings and sales following the panel.
About the Panelists:
There are two places that you can find Erica Obey when she’s not writing: out on the trail looking for birds; or taking Trivia Night far too seriously at a local establishment. She is the author of six mystery novels set in the Hudson Valley, including the award-winning The Curse of the Braddock Brides. Her short fiction has been widely published, most notably in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and on several episodes of The Strange Recital. Erica is a past president of the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and a frequent reviewer and judge. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and published academic work on female folklorists before she decided she’d rather be writing the stories herself.
Website: https://ericaobey.com/
Martha Jean Johnson writes both fiction and non-fiction. She published her debut novel, The Queen’s Musician, in May 2025. Kirkus Reviews praised her imagined biography of Tudor musician Mark Smeaton as “original and worthwhile.” Open Letters Review noted its “superb writing and soulful characterization.” Johnson regularly comments on historical fiction and the writing life in her Substack, Historical Magic.
During a long public policy career, Johnson analyzed and reported on American public opinion and policy, working with noted social analyst and public opinion pioneer, Daniel Yankelovich. She has published articles in USA Today and The Huffington Post and appeared on Bill Moyers’ Journal, CNN, and MSNBC. She is also the author of three books with Scott Bittle—all from HarperCollins: Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis; Who Turned Out the Lights? Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis; and Where Did the Jobs Go? In 2012, she published You Can’t Do It Alone: A Communications and Engagement Manual for School Leaders Committed to Reform (Rowman & Littlefield).
Website: www.marthajeanjohnson.com
Substack: Historical Magic
Instagram and Facebook: #authormarthajean
About the Moderator:
Helen Lundström Erwin is a historical novelist and a trailblazer in XR and the literary world, being the first novelist in the world to have created a Virtual Reality space inspired by one of the settings in her own novel. Her VR space, The Foremothers Café, not only pays homage to her novel Sour Milk in Sheep’s Wool and the café within its storyline but also serves as a thriving cultural center in VR. Her latest work, The Lure of Water and Wood, marks her foray into Historical Fantasy, drawing from folklore and sorcery trials in 17th and 18th century Sweden, blending meticulous research with imaginative storytelling.
Website: https://helenerwin.com/
