During the summer holidays of 2026 we hosted four online sessions with authors who have either been shortlisted or won the HA Young Quills for Historical Fiction. The authors Tony Bradman, Barbara Henderson, Ally Sherrick and Matthew Wainwright were in interviewed talked about what it means to be an author; how they come up with their stories; how they do research; which authors and books inspired them as a child; and what they are working on now.

Included in the session were realistic tips for young people to write their own stories and selected readings of some of their own books.

The recorded sessions can be used in a variety of ways for families, schools and libraries, providing an opportunity to talk about historical fiction, storytelling and how to get involved with and develop creative writing.

The webinars support informal and formal education and are part of the HA support of the 2026 Year of Reading. The recordings are now available to watch for free on these pages as part of our commitment to making history accessible to all ages in support of our outreach programme. The HA is a charity and can only carry out these activities with the financial support of our membership and donations.