TRACY BARRETT
REVIEWS EDITOR (US),
Children's & YA Titles
Tracy Barrett has written more than twenty books for children and young adults. She has published nonfiction as well as historical fiction, mysteries, fantasy, time travel, myth and fairy-tale retellings, and contemporary realistic novels. She knows more about ancient Greece and Rome and the European Middle Ages than anyone really needs to know, can read lots of dead languages, and used to jump out of airplanes. She holds a BA in Classics and a PhD in Medieval Italian. She was awarded an NEH Summer Study Grant, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Work-in-Progress Grant.
KAREN BORDONARO
REVIEWS EDITOR (US), Indies
Karen Bordonaro is a Librarian Emeritus at Brock University in Canada. She worked for many years as a humanities and social sciences research librarian. Along the way, she earned a doctorate in second language education and worked as a writing instructor as well for many non-native speakers of English at the university level. She has written three nonfiction books. She currently writes book reviews for several publications, transcribes historical documents, and serves as a public library trustee. She is a lifelong historical fiction enthusiast, and a strong supporter of independent publishing for all the avenues it is now opening to talented and creative writers.
KATE BRAITHWAITE
REVIEWS EDITOR (US)
Kate Braithwaite is the author of four historical novels, including The Scandalous Life of Nancy Randolph, and The People Next Door, a contemporary thriller. Originally from Scotland, Kate studied English at Leeds University and has subsequently lived in Canada and the US. A long-time book reviewer and feature writer for HNS, Kate leans toward biographical and literary historical novels, focusing on untold or forgotten women’s history - although a good gothic mystery or witty romance will always catch her eye. Her Substack publication, Sis-Stories, features notable historical sisters and novels, new and old, where sister stories take center stage.
Website: www.kate-braithwaite.com
LUCINDA BYATT
FEATURES EDITOR,
Historical Novels Review
Lucinda Byatt developed a passion for all things Italian as a result of studying, working and marrying in Italy. She has worked as a translator for longer than she cares to remember, and now also teaches Italian Renaissance history at Edinburgh University. Raised on a reading diet of Cynthia Harnett, Rosemary Sutcliff and Anya Seton, she loved history enough to complete a doctorate. She’s fascinated by the lure of historical fiction, but also unashamedly purist. Solid research must underpin the flights of fancy. She’s delighted to be part of the editorial team for the society’s Historical Novels Review.
Website: lucindabyatt.com
MYFANWY COOK
NEW VOICES COLUMN EDITOR
Myfanwy Cook is currently an Honorary University Fellow and a prize-winning short fiction writer. She has published four novels under a pseudonym and has had numerous poems published, some which are held at the Visual Verse archive at Newcastle University. Her non-fiction works include Historical Fiction Writing- A practical guide and tool-kit (Active Sprite Publications) based on workshops and with contributions from 50 writers and also Creative Writing Cocktails. She is passionate about encouraging aspiring writers to use historical facts, places and events as inspiration to write engrossing historical fiction. In order to introduce novice writers to the joy of writing, she designs and runs historical fiction and creative writing workshops and courses for universities, medical schools, museums, libraries, community groups and companies. She has initiated and overseen numerous community writing projects, competitions and anthologies including ‘Go Gothic’, SBG24 (Celebrating the work of Sabine Baring Gould) and for Railway200 (Celebrating the 200th [2025]) anniversary of the modern passenger rail travel.
Website: www.myfanwycook.com
X/Twitter: @MyfanwyCook
BONNIE DEMOSS
REVIEWS EDITOR (US)
Bonnie DeMoss is retired from The Department of Defense, where she worked as a federal background investigator. She graduated from Florida State University in 1998 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. Bonnie has been an HNR reviewer since 2021. She also writes under the name Bonnie Douglas with her husband Doug. They have published a short story together and are planning their first novel. She lives in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, where she soaks up the history of her ancestors who lived there before. You can find her reviewing books and occasionally sharing original stories on her blog.
Website: bonniereadsandwrites.com
ALAN FISK
REVIEWS EDITOR (UK)
Alan Fisk has had many occupations, including economist, Air Force officer, newsletter editor for a bank, technical writer, fruit picker, and unemployment benefit claimant (not in that order). He has published many magazine articles, several short stories, and the historical novels The Strange Things of the World, The Summer Stars, Forty Testoons, Lord of Silver, and Cupid and the Silent Goddess.
Website: https://www.alanfisk.com
SARAH JOHNSON
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR
Sarah Johnson has been an editor with the Historical Novels Review since 2000. An academic librarian and readers’ advisor, she has been reading and collecting historical novels for many years and also reviews for Booklist and CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. Her articles and reviews have appeared in NoveList, The Globe and Mail, Bookmarks Magazine, Library Journal, and other popular and scholarly publications. In 2012, she won the American Library Association’s Louis Shores Award for excellence in book reviewing. She has authored three nonfiction books, most recently Historical Fiction II: A Guide to the Genre.
Website: readingthepast.com
JESSICA KNAUSS
EDITOR,
Sponsored Interviews
Jessica Knauss grew up in Northern California and lives in Spain. She’s worked as a librarian as well as an editor at small presses.
She earned her PhD in medieval Spanish literature at Brown University, where her advisor commented, “You like to tell stories, don’t you?” Writing as J. K. Knauss, she transports readers to medieval Spain, a fascinating era that’s more relevant than ever.
Jessica has also published strange contemporary fiction at many venues, even veering into science fantasy at times.
Website: www.JessicaKnauss.com
PEGGY KURKOWSKI
REVIEWS EDITOR (US)
Peggy Kurkowski is a senior content marketing copywriter for a higher-education IT nonprofit association by day and major history and historical fiction reader by night. She writes for multiple book review publications, including Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, BookBrowse Review, BookTrib, Foreword, Historical Novels Review, History Through Fiction, Independent Book Review, Shelf Awareness, and the Washington Independent Review of Books. She also hosts her own YouTube channel, The History Shelf, where she features and reviews history books (new and old), as well as a variety of fiction. She lives in Colorado with her partner and four rambunctious dogs.
BETHANY LATHAM
MANAGING EDITOR &
CONTACT COORDINATOR
Bethany Latham is a Distinguished Professor, Librarian, and Managing Editor of the Historical Novels Review. She also serves as the Society's Contact Coordinator. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Academic Librarianship, as well as a regular reviewer for HNR and Booklist. She has published book chapters and research articles in various scholarly journals, primarily on subjects related to libraries and librarianship, special collections, and information management. Bethany is the author of three monographs, including Elizabeth I in Film and Television.
ANN LAZIM
REVIEWS EDITOR (UK),
Children's & YA Titles
Ann Lazim was Librarian at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education in London for 29 years, retiring in 2021, and having previously worked in school and public libraries. She has an MA in Children’s Literature and continues to be involved in promoting children’s books, mainly through IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People). Ann has always had an interest in ‘hidden histories’ and local history, especially linked to East Yorkshire where she grew up and to the Peckham and Dulwich area of south London where she lives.
RICHARD LEE
FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN
Richard Lee founded the Historical Novel Society in 1997 after trying to join it, only to find it didn’t exist. The Society has since developed in many ways, following the enthusiasms of the active membership.
Richard has been involved with the organisation of many UK HNS conferences and co-hosted the Cambridge History Festivals. He ran author talks for two years at English Heritage’s flagship Kirby Hall re-enactment event. He has been a judge of the CWA’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, the RNA’s Elizabeth Goudge Trophy, the RNA’s Pure Passion Awards and established the HNS New Novel Award and Short Story Award.
Richard studied English at Merton College, Oxford, and worked for many years bookselling with W.H. Smith and Waterstone’s. One day he will finish his novel of the Crusades.
X/Twitter: @histnovel
CAROLYN MORGAN
REVIEWS EDITOR (UK)
Carolyn Morgan is a certified bookworm and has worked in magazine publishing for decades.
Her first novel, Copperopolis, will be published in August 2026. It is set in Wales, during the 19th century copper boom in Swansea. The novel is based on an unhealthy amount of research into her own great-great-grandparents, and the maritime and industrial history of the region.
Carolyn is a keen sailor and revels in obscure nautical terms. She is happiest in a museum, contemplating objects which have passed through many hands, and believes that understanding past generations is key to navigating the modern world.
Carolyn runs in person book clubs and reviews novels on her website, Instagram and BlueSky.
Website: https://carolyn-morgan.com/
Instagram: @carolynmwrites
BlueSky: @carolynmorgan
CLAIRE MORRIS
FEATURES EDITOR,
Website
Claire Morris has been involved with the HNS since the early days, was managing editor of the HNS journal Solander from 2004 to 2009, and helped start the HNS North American conferences. Her day job involves leading a team of strategic writers and she now also serves as the Web Features Editor for HNS.
AIDAN MORRISSEY
REVIEWS EDITOR (UK)
Aidan Morrissey, a lawyer by profession, has worked in many countries and has lived, at various times, in Italy, Germany, Brazil, the United States and India, picking up several languages along the way. With an enduring passion for all things Ancient Egyptian, Aidan’s first novel The Awakening Aten, twelve years in research and another three in the writing, was published in 2019. Aidan is now busy writing the second book in this series alongside an Anglo Saxon novel about a mysterious body found near his home in Northumberland.
His second published novel The Atenisti is completely different, a present-day fast-paced, action-filled international noir/thriller set against the background of true newspaper stories.
Aidan is enthusiastic about encouraging others to write creatively, effectively and passionately. He runs a fiction writers’ group based at the National Centre for the Written Word, in South Shields, UK, which now has around 130 members.
JANICE OTTERSBERG
REVIEWS EDITOR (US)
Janice Ottersberg has been a reviewer for the Historical Novels Review since 2016. An avid reader all her life, she began a deep love of historical fiction at a very young age with her discovery of authors Norah Lofts, Winston Graham, and Anya Seton. Ever since, she has mined libraries and bookstores in the quest for her next favorite historical fiction author. In 1999, using her computer science degree, she worked as a technical editor, formatting eBooks for netLibrary, a company in Boulder, Colorado that did pioneering work converting books to electronic format. In 2021 she retired from the accounting field as a CPA. Now she devotes her time reading from her vast library, honing her writing skills, and continuing as a reviewer for HNR while stepping into the role of a reviews editor. She lives in Arizona with her husband and is owned by a dog and two cats.
HELEN REYNOLDS
LEADER,
Social Media Team
Helen Reynolds read English at the University of Cambridge and is a life-long fan of history. A pub chat at our Oxford conference in 2016 led to an invitation to volunteer for our social media team. Since 2019, Helen has lead our team of volunteer social media 'elves' across the globe.
Her novel Spyissima, following a female Royalist spy in Oliver Cromwell's England, has been longlisted for the HWA Unpublished Debut and the Exeter Novel Prize. It won the Adventure Gold Medal in the HNS First Chapters Competition and she is currently querying literary agents. Helen also helps authors with social media and web content, having presented her 'How to get higher in Google' webinar as part of the online component of our 2024 HNS UK conference.
Website: https://www.inkgardener.co.uk/
Facebook: @reynoldsauthor
Instagram: @fairytaleofoldyork
FIONA SHEPPARD
PROOFREADER
Fiona Sheppard stumbled across the Historical Novel Society in 2014, and began compiling the first lists for forthcoming novels for children and young adults. From there she gradually took over the adult forthcoming lists, which can be found on the HNS website. She works under the expert guidance of Book Review Editor Sarah Johnson and proofs the quarterly magazine review pages. She reads almost exclusively historical novels, set in various parts of the world. She’s been reviewing for HNR since 2014. She enjoys what she does for HNS, and loves getting a jump on what’s new in the ever-tempting world of historical fiction. Fiona is a British ex-pat who currently resides a little northwest of Toronto, Canada, but she has lived in other times and places in her head since childhood.
REBEKAH SIMMERS
EDITOR,
Sponsored Interviews
Rebekah Simmers is the author of The King’s Sword, the first novel of The Metzlingen Saga. Largely inspired by medieval and renaissance periods and her own family history, Rebekah loves to incorporate details into her writing from her years living, researching, and traveling abroad. As a military child and spouse, former public servant, and special needs parent of five children, Rebekah strives to honor the unique voices and perspective – the perseverance, resilience, struggles, experiences, and grace – of those who live a life of service both inside and out of the home. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and co-admin for a private group of international writers.
Website: https://rebekahsimmers.com/
M.N. STROH
COORDINATING EDITOR,
Sponsored Interviews
M.N. Stroh, fueled by her love for storytelling and history, writes Christian Historical Fiction with an edge, to inspire the downtrodden and outcasts through adventure-laden escapes that lead them back to their First Love. Her debut series, Tale of the Clans, releases in Fall of 2021. M.N. serves as Director of Communications for Serious Writer Inc. affiliate, Writers Chat. She is also the director of Serious Writer Book Club and a member of ACFW and Historical Novel Society.
Website: https://mnstroh.com/
ADELE WILLS
REVIEWS EDITOR (UK)
Adele Wills studied English Literature to MA level and has taught for over 30 years at post-16 level in the UK. She has published a textbook for Advanced Level students called Texts through History which looks at the impact of historical context on literary production. She is an avid reader of historical fiction and, now semi-retired, is relishing the opportunity to read and review even more books. She has previously written reviews for WhatsOnStage and also enjoys theatre and music.
