Blog
Announcing the History Through Fiction Virtual Book Festival
The History Through Fiction Virtual Book Festival is a free, one-day online event for readers who love discovering new books, exploring the past through story, and connecting with the authors behind the novels they love. Join us on Saturday, November 14, for headliner conversations, reader panels, discussion rooms, and a featured community read.
Best New Historical Fiction - September 2026
September brings five new historical fiction releases that move from witch trials and wartime Oak Ridge to sixteenth-century Ireland, a 1970s traveling circus, and railroad-era New Hampshire. Discover stories of inherited trauma, moral courage, independence, family, freedom, and belonging in this month’s History Through Fiction recommendations.
Killing Your Darlings, Circus Style
For historical fiction writers, real-life experiences can be both a source of inspiration and a challenge. In this personal essay, Tim Schooley reflects on his years as a Ringling Bros. clown and the real-life stories that inspired scenes in Circus of the Vanishing Elephant. He explores the difficult process of “killing your darlings” and explains why even his most memorable circus experiences ultimately had to be cut from the novel.
Book Feature: After Appomattox by Diane Green
After Appomattox: The Foot Soldier’s Journey Home follows Nathan Nelson Campbell, a Union soldier in the 10th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, through the final days of the Civil War and the difficult journey back to ordinary life. Inspired by documented family history and military records, After Appomattox is a moving work of historical fiction.
Manuscript Matchup: Bringing Historical Fiction Writers and Readers Together
Writing historical fiction can be a solitary process, but great stories are shaped by collaboration. Grace E. Turton introduces Manuscript Matchup, History Through Fiction’s guided beta reader program connecting historical fiction authors with fellow writers and passionate readers. Learn how authors and beta readers can become part of a community dedicated to bringing new historical stories to life.
From Pamphlets to Podcasts: The History of the True Crime Genre, the Real Stories That Inspired It, and Why Our Culture Craves It
True crime may feel like a modern obsession, but its roots stretch back to sixteenth-century pamphlets, ballads, and courtroom narratives. This essay traces the genre’s evolution from print to television to podcasts while exploring why stories of crime, fear, and human darkness continue to fascinate us.
Margaret Morgan: The Forgotten Woman Behind a Landmark Supreme Court Case
Margaret Morgan is rarely named in accounts of Prigg v. Pennsylvania, yet her abduction and disappearance stood at the heart of one of the most consequential Supreme Court cases before the Civil War. This article restores Morgan to the center of the story and shows why her life matters as much as the legal ruling.
Best New Historical Fiction - August 2026
A new month means another outstanding collection of historical fiction! This month's selections transport readers from Tudor England and ancient Rome to wartime France, Victorian America, and the misty Scottish Highlands.
The Hidden Details That Make Historical Fiction Feel Authentic
Historical fiction feels authentic when its world can actually function. In this essay, Ali Mujtuba Zaidi argues that roads, ports, clocks, wells, and other invisible systems often matter more than costumes or crowns—and that writers who understand those systems create stories readers can truly inhabit.
HTF PUBLISHING SIGNS AUTHOR JUDI LAMBLE; WILL PUBLISH SWEEPING HISTORICAL NOVEL CAPTAIN M
HTF Publishing is delighted to announce the signing of author Judi Lamble for her forthcoming historical novel, Captain M. Inspired by the little-known history of Sephardic Jewish refugees in the seventeenth-century Atlantic world, Captain M follows the extraordinary journey of Miryam Asoze—from a child fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition to the legendary Captain M, commander of a fearless sisterhood of female pirates. Learn more about Lamble's remarkable background and this sweeping tale of resilience, adventure, and survival in our full press release.
The Cadet Nurse Corps: A Wartime Solution to a National Nursing Shortage
Created in 1943, the Cadet Nurse Corps helped the United States confront a dangerous wartime nursing shortage by funding training, reshaping nursing education, and recruiting young women into essential service. This guest post explores how the program worked, why it mattered, and what it changed for American nursing.
Best New Historical Fiction - July 2026
From Reconstruction-era reckonings and Regency intrigue to frontier captivity, intergenerational survival, and the aftershocks of 1967, these July 2026 historical fiction releases offer readers a wide-ranging month of stories shaped by memory, identity, love, and endurance across continents and generations.
How to Make Your Ancestor, a Culinary Murderer, into a Lovable Character
Angela Page reflects on turning family lore into fiction as she traces the path from an inherited story about her great-grandfather to Enrico G, a historical novel shaped by Italian immigration, Mafia entanglements, olive groves, and the extraordinary wartime episode that first sparked her imagination.
Cover Reveal: All Different Kinds of Free and the Story of Margaret Morgan
History Through Fiction introduces All Different Kinds of Free, Jessica McCann’s powerful historical novel about Margaret Morgan, a free woman of color whose kidnapping helped spark a pivotal Supreme Court case. This cover reveal invites readers into a forgotten chapter of American history and offers the chance to pre-order the anniversary edition ahead of its wider release.
Seasonal Labor and Daily Life: How Early Twentieth‑Century German‑Russian Immigrant Families Worked Nebraska’s Beet Fields
What did it take for German-Russian immigrant families to survive Nebraska's sugar beet economy in the early twentieth century? This guest post explores the seasonal labor system, the demands placed on women and children, and the daily routines that shaped family life from spring contracts to fall harvest.
Now Accepting Applications: Remote Publishing Internship for Fall 2026
History Through Fiction is now accepting applications for its Fall 2026 Remote Publishing Internship. This hands-on opportunity offers aspiring publishing professionals experience in editing, marketing, design, and author support—along with direct mentorship and a closer look at how story-driven historical fiction moves from manuscript to publication.
Best New Historical Fiction - June 2026
June is bringing an extraordinary lineup of historical fiction, from windswept Irish coastlines and dangerous nineteenth-century sea voyages to Gothic horrors in the American South and stories of resilience in early Los Angeles. Whether you love immersive literary fiction, page-turning mysteries, or emotionally rich historical epics, this month’s releases offer unforgettable journeys through the past. In our latest roundup, we highlight five of the most anticipated new historical novels arriving in June 2026—each filled with vivid settings, compelling characters, and stories that linger long after the final page.
More Than a Panel: Why What’s New in Historical Fiction Matters
What’s New in Historical Fiction began as an effort to expand History Through Fiction’s reach, but it has become something more lasting: a space where authors can celebrate years of work, readers can discover new stories, and the historical fiction community can gather around craft, conversation, and connection.
Setting the Scene: The Amazon Rainforest
In this essay, Brynn Barineau explores the Amazon rainforest not as mere backdrop but as a living force behind Jungle of Ashes. From Fordlandia’s doomed ambitions to the forest’s staggering scale, danger, and beauty, she reveals why this setting shapes every emotional and historical dimension of the novel.
The Hubris of Henry Ford in Jungle of Ashes
Brynn Barineau reflects on the real history behind Jungle of Ashes, tracing Henry Ford’s rise from industrial legend to the failed Amazonian dream of Fordlandia. The essay explores ambition, control, and cultural blindness, showing how the tragedy of Fordlandia shaped the novel’s world, themes, and emotional stakes.