Writing Historical Fiction



Overview

History exerts a powerful pull on the imagination, but how, as writers, do we transform the allure of the past into compelling and convincing historical fiction? How do we make the past speak to the present? How do we decide whose story we want to tell and how to make that story engaging and credible?

This action-packed day school with award-winning novelist Rebecca Abrams explores the pleasures and the pitfalls of writing fiction set in the past, and provides an essential guide to making historical settings and stories zing off the page and resonate for a modern reader.

The day will cover research, characterisation, dialogue and narrative structure through a combination of individual writing exercises, group discussion, close textual analysis and workshopping.

Come prepared to write, experiment and discover, and expect to leave enthused, informed and inspired.

Please note: this event will close to enrolments at 23:59 UTC on 22 January 2025.

Programme details

9.45am
Registration at Rewley House reception

10am
Why write historial fiction: who are we writing for? Whose story are we telling?

11.15am
Tea/coffee

11.45am
Creating compelling historical worlds

1pm
Lunch

2pm
Creating convincing characters and dialogue

3.15pm
Tea/coffee

3.45pm
Helpful tools and essential tips: turning historical research into gripping narratives

5pm
End of day

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee (includes tea/coffee) £130.00
Baguette lunch £7.30
Hot lunch (three courses) £19.25

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit or are a full-time student in the UK you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees.

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Ms Rebecca Abrams

Rebecca Abrams is an award-winning writer, teacher and journalist. Her novel, Touching Distance (Picador, 2008) was highly praised by Hilary Mantel, won the MJA Award for Fiction and was shortlisted for a McKitterick Prize for Literature. She is also the author of several non-fiction titles, including The Jewish Journey: 4000 years in 22 objects (Ashmolean Museum), Woman in a Man’s World (Methuen) and When Parents Die (Taylor & Francis), and also writes for the stage. Her play, All of Us, premiered in New Zealand in May 2023.  Rebecca is a long-standing tutor on the MSt in Creative Writing at the University of Oxford and a writing mentor for the Oxford Centre for Life Writing at Wolfson College, Oxford.  She was the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Brasenose College from 2017 –2020, Writer-in-Residence at Gladstone’s Library from 2014–2015, and First Story Writer-in-Residence at Larkmead School, Abingdon from 2011–2012. She is a regular literary critic for the Financial Times, a former columnist for the Daily Telegraph, and the recipient of an Amnesty International Press Award.

Application

Please use the 'Book' button on this page. Alternatively, please contact us to obtain an application form.

Accommodation

Accommodation is not included in the price, but if you wish to stay with us the night before the course, then please contact our Residential Centre.

Accommodation in Rewley House - all bedrooms are modern, comfortably furnished and each room has tea and coffee making facilities, Freeview television, and Free WiFi and private bath or shower rooms. Please contact our Residential Centre on +44 (0) 1865 270362 or email res-ctr@conted.ox.ac.uk for details of availability and discounted prices. For more information, please see our website: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/accommodation

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support