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Imagining The Past

Author: Imagining The Past

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The Imagining the Past podcast series is brought to you by the Historical Novel Society Australasia. We feature authors appearing at our biennial conferences or have been recognised in our $150,000 ARA Historical Novel Prize.



Our HNSA hosts, Greg Johnston and Kelly Gardiner, discuss researching, writing and publishing historical fiction with acclaimed writers of the genre in its many forms from crime to fantasy to literary fiction, set in eras stretching from ancient times to the Swinging Sixties, and for readers of all ages.



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Imagining the Past is listed in the Top 25 Historical Fiction Podcasts. 



Our hosts

Greg (G.S. )Johnston is the author of three historical novels – Sweet Bitter Cane (2019), The Cast of a Hand (2015), and The Skin of Water (2012), and a fourth novel set in contemporary Hong Kong, Consumption (2011). After completing a degree in pharmacy, a year in Italy re-ignited his passion for writing and he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. Feeling the need for a broader canvas, he started writing short stories and novels.  He is the Treasurer of HNSA.



Kelly Gardiner writes historical fiction for all ages. Her latest series is The Firewatcher Chronicles. Her other books include Goddess, based on the life of Mademoiselle de Maupin; 1917: Australia’s Great War, shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Prize and Asher Award; the Swashbuckler pirate trilogy; and a picture book, Billabong Bill’s Bushfire Christmas. Her young adult novels Act of Faith and The Sultan’s Eyes, were both shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, while Act of Faith was shortlisted for the ASA’s Barbara Jefferis Award. 
102 Episodes
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Pip Williams launched her third novel, The German Ward,  a breathtaking new novel from the author of global bestsellers The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho. A tale of love between enemies behind the lines of WW1 and the Australian artist who captures their secret. Pip was in conversation with Nicole Abadee at the Uniting Church in Paddington, Sydney. 
At the sparkling new bookshop in Sydney’s Summer Hill, Rose Read, Malcom Knox launched the sequel to The First Friend, imaginatively titled The Second Child.  He was in conversation with Shankari Chandran and Sid Chandran 
Emily Maguire’s Rapture won the inaugural ARA History Novel Prize Reader’s Choice Award in 2025. Emily chats with Greg Johnston about writing and researching this breakthrough novel.  
In September, Karen Brooks launched her new novel, The Extraordinary Florence Stoker, at the Peacock Theatre in the Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart.  She was joined by her publisher, Jo Mackay.  
Elisabeth Storrs chats to Greg Johnston about her new novel, Fables and Lies, set in Germany during the Third Reich, and her A Tale of Ancient Rome Series.  
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