About

In the beginning

The Historical Novel Society was founded in the UK in 1997. At first it was conceived of as something of a campaigning society, because historical fiction was in the doldrums then. Or at least that was the perception. Our magazine Solander tried to alter that amongst authors and publishers.

Quickly a second magazine was conceived, the Historical Novels Review. This was because we found our members enjoyed reviewing, and publishers and authors appreciated the feedback.

In time we began to realise that the sheer scale of the review magazine was the best argument you could make for the strength of the genre. We also recognised that our reviews could grow to be the best and most complete guide to the genre, and that there was a unique value in that. There are now more than 20,000 reviews online, with as many as we can squeeze into our magazine.

For historical fiction fans

Over the last 20 years we have become very much an international society. We are an entirely open membership, for readers and authors alike. This includes established writers, and those on the journey to publication.

No-one has ever had to jump through hoops to join. If you enjoy historical fiction of whatever kind and for whatever reason, you’re welcome.

From editors to social media ‘elves’

We are also an open organisation in terms of who can participate in society activities – our writing, editing or social events.

Obviously these things need a structure, and so we have official society officers. The way to become one is simply to volunteer. Everything we achieve is through the unpaid voluntary work of enthusiasts. We encourage new members to get involved at any time.

Take a look at our team of volunteers.

Please join us

If you love historical fiction, please join us, and help us make a noise about them.

Get in touch

From getting involved with our Facebook groups, to contacting an individual officer, please take a look at our Contact us page.