Written by Christie Crawford
Clarksville, Tennessee: – For nearly 20 years, the Clarksville Writers Conference has been held at Austin Peay State University to honor the region’s rich writing tradition.
Clarksville and the surrounding area are considered the birthplace of Southern Renaissance writers and were home to writers such as Robert Penn Warren, Evelyn Scott, Caroline Gordon and Allen Tate, to name a few. Similar to the Algonquin Table in New York, these writers met at the Ben Folly estate on the Cumberland (Tate and Gordon’s home) to discuss and critique each other’s works.
This year’s conference, titled “Tell Us a Story,” featured Susan Beckham Zarenda of Spartanburg, South Carolina, an English teacher for 33 years and whose book, “Bells for Eli,” was published in 2020. “Bells for Eli” won the Gold Medal for Best Debut Book – Fiction at the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards and received many other awards. The conference included presentations and workshops with fifteen authors. The four-day event began on June 5 with a banquet, reception, and book signings.
One author I know personally is Janis Daly, also a member of the Third Thursday online book club. She is a historical fiction writer who traveled from Boston to give two talks: “Paths to Publication” and “Great Grandfather, Tell Me a Story – An Examination and Appreciation of Family History.” Daly, a former marketing and sales executive, came across her book, “The Unlocked Path,” by chance after genealogical research revealed that her great-great grandfather, William S. Peirce, Esquire, was one of the founders of the Women’s Medical College of Philadelphia – the first of its kind in the country.
Although a book on the college’s history had already been published, Daly was able to uncover additional research, including letters and information about the college’s exceptional female students. What inspired Daly was the courage and discipline shown by these female students, many of whom left their home countries to pursue medical training, which was then a traditionally male profession.
Daly’s presentation gave tips on how to do genealogical research, how to stay true to a time period, and how to add depth to characters to write a good story. An interesting part of the review process is the involvement of sensitivity readers, which can be fellow writers or specific readers who represent a profession or culture. Daly mentions that a reader should pick up a historical novel to “learn a lot about history that isn’t taught in school” and to read books that “bring pieces of history out of the shadows.”
Daly’s book received critical acclaim. It was named the #1 new release in historical fiction, received an honorable mention for general fiction at the New England Book Festival Awards, and was also a finalist for the Goethe Award for late historical fiction at the Chanticleer International Book Awards. She chose the historical novel as her genre for three reasons.
First, write about what you know – the old adage of all writers. In this case, Daly used her research to, as she says, “create a platform to reach readers who want to immerse themselves in other eras, where they can experience the sights, sounds and sensations of the past. And not just immerse themselves, but learn.”
Second, the popularity of the historical novel genre. Take a look at the sales rankings of major books. You will find historical novels at the top. Look at the success of Kristin Hannah, who started out as a pure romance novelist but then turned to historical events with her works The Nightingale, The Four Winds and her latest work The Women. Other popular novels include Lessons in Chemistry, All the Light We Cannot See and Daisy Jones and the Six. Many of these novels have been made into successful films and series due to their captivating storytelling and historical depictions.
And that’s not all. Hernan Diaz’s Trust and Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead have established Pulitzer Prizes for fiction in the genre. The genre itself has produced winners over time, including classics such as Gone with the Wind, Man Child, and Les Misérables. Daly says that more and more books in the genre are being included in the curriculum in many schools. For example, Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is currently used in discussions about Japanese internment camps during World War II.
Third, she wanted to challenge herself. Not content with writing a fictional account of the Women’s Medical College, Daly set herself the challenge of presenting a compelling story, with the attention to detail necessary to remain faithful to historical fiction. The very definition of historical fiction is a category of book in which there is a fictional plot but it takes place within the context of historical events. In her experience with editors, an author must decide whether to draw the line between fact and fiction in order to “move the story forward and consider its impact on the characters.” She says she often pauses and asks herself, “are the facts relevant to the story?”
Daly quotes fellow writer Lisa Wingate, who says that “society suffers from history deficiency disorder.” She explains that many events that “have been glossed over, even though they were only minor aspects of history, helped shape it.” We as a society have not learned about it, and there have been disturbing events in recent times that have erased history, which is also part of the disorder. Her favorite authors include Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, Lisa See, and Martha Hall Kelly, not only for their exceptional ability to craft a story, but also for their equally strong skills in researching their books. No matter which author you read, keep in mind the difference that you read historical books to understand them, while you read historical novels to be touched.
Next year’s Clarksville Writers Conference will be held June 4-6, 2025. Nashville author Margaret Renkl and her brother, APSU art professor Billy Renkl, will be present.
