Historical Fiction and The Search for Truth

The 27th Annual Seminar

2nd Session January 15 - 18, 2009

(For a printable version please click here.)


The second session opens with a keynote address on Thursday evening (January 15) at 7:30 p.m. and concludes with a conch chowder luncheon around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon (January 18). From 2:00 - 4:00 on Sunday, there will be an additional program which is free and open to the public. This is not included in the registration fee, and admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Registration will be at the San Carlos Institute, 516 Duval Street from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

All events take place at the San Carlos Institute, 516 Duval Street, Key West, or within walking distance, as noted. Schedule and participants are subject to change.


Thursday, January 15

7:45 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.  |   Introductions

Lynn Kaufelt, President, Key West Literary Seminar
Rafael Peñalver, President, San Carlos Institute

8:00 - 9:15  |   John Hersey Memorial Address

         Barry Unsworth

“The Nature of Truth in Historical Fiction”

9:30 - 11:00  |   Reception at Audubon House & Gardens



Friday, January 16

8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.  |   Coffee, tea, pastries


9:30 - 9:45  |   Introductions

Cynthia Crossen, 2009 Program Chair

9:40 - 10:00  |   John Burnham Schwartz

Reading and remarks from The Commoner

10:00 - 10:20  |   Calvin Baker

Reading and remarks from Dominion

10:20 - 11:00  |   David Nasaw

“The Historical Imagination: The Historian as Storyteller”

11:00 - 11:20  |   Break


11:20 - 11:50  |   William Kennedy

“Imagining a real-life place called Albany”
A reading from Roscoe

11:50 - 12:30  |   The Fictional Imagination: Bending the Truth

"Historical Fiction: Noun or Adjective?"

How does a writer create literary or imaginative truth? How does he or she achieve authenticity in voice, character, and setting? What are the boundaries of historical fiction? Where would you not go?

With Calvin Baker, Andrea Barrett, Elizabeth Gaffney, and Samantha Hunt; moderated by Alan Cheuse

12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.  |   Lunch


2:00 - 2:20  |   Marilynne Robinson

A reading from Gilead

2:20 - 2:45  |   Thomas Mallon

"Thoughts on Fictionalizing Political History"
A reading from Fellow Travelers.

2:45 - 3:15  |   Madison Smartt Bell

"The Relation of Fiction to Fact in Historical Fiction:
Assimilating Historical Knowledge into an Engaging Fictional Form"

How does the weight of history inspire and alter the story?

3:15 - 3:35  |   Break


3:35 - 3:50  |   Valerie Martin

A reading from Property.

3:50 - 4:30  |   Entering the Lives of Others

“Historical Empathy and the Conquest of the Imagination”

With Francisco Goldman, Valerie Martin, Marilynne Robinson, and John Burnham Schwartz; moderated by Mary Morris.

7:00 - 10:00  |   Dinner at the Lighthouse Gardens



Saturday, January 17

8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.  |   Coffee, tea, pastries


9:30 - 9:45  |   Samantha Hunt

A reading from The Invention of Everything Else.

9:45 - 10:00  |   Andrea Barrett

A reading from Ship Fever.

10:00 - 10:45  |   Science and History

"Uncanny Investigations in Human Curiosity"

A conversation between Andrea Barrett and Samantha Hunt; guided by Alan Cheuse.

10:45 - 11:05  |   Break


11:05 - 11:45  |   Russell Banks, Thomas Mallon, and David Nasaw:

“Dreaming Up America: Putting My Words into Their Mouths”

A conversation on the uses and abuses of history and the limits of invention: What do novelists owe to history? What does history owe to fiction?

11:45 - 12:30  |   Why the Past? What Do We Hope to Learn by Looking Back?

"Getting Beyond Genre fiction: Constraint or Liberation?
Social and Political Implications of Using the Past to Comment on the Present."

Why choose historical fiction as a vehicle?

A discussion with Calvin Baker, Elizabeth Gaffney, Valerie Martin, Joyce Carol Oates, and John Burnham Schwartz; moderated by Mary Morris.

12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.  |   Lunch


2:00 - 2:15  |   Chantel Acevedo

A reading from Love and Ghost Letters.

2:15 - 2:30  |   Rachel Kushner

A reading from Telex from Cuba.

2:30 - 3:15  |   Recreating Cuba’s Past & The Politics of Historical Fiction

A conversation between Chantel Acevedo and Rachel Kushner.

3:15 - 3:35  |   Break


3:35 - 4:05  |   Elizabeth Gaffney

A reading and remarks from Metropolis.

4:05 - 4:30  |   Barry Unsworth

A reading and remarks and reading from Sacred Hunger.

7:45 - 9:00  |   The John Malcolm Brinnin Memorial Event

7:45 - 8:15: Anchee Min and Laryann Jiang
A dramatic performance from “Empress Orchid” and “Women of Red Detachment.”

8:15 - 9:00: Our Place in Historical Fiction
A conversation with Russell Banks, William Kennedy, and Joyce Carol Oates.

9:15 - 11:00  |   Champagne Reception, Custom House



Sunday, January 18

8:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.  |   Coffee, tea, pastries


9:30 - 9:45  |   Madison Smartt Bell

A reading from All Souls’ Rising.

9:45 - 10:00  |   Russell Banks

A reading from Cloudsplitter.

10:00 - 10:45  |   Francisco Goldman

"Jose Marti: The Divine Husband."

10:45 - 11:05  |   Break


11:05 - 11:45  |   Joyce Carol Oates

"Wild Nights!: Re-inventing American Literary Icons"

11:45 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.  |   Humanizing History: The Return to the Personal Voice

How do writers of historical fiction transform the past into a story which is alive in the present?
What does the writer of historical fiction owe the past and/or the real-life characters she re-creates and re-presents in her fiction? Does it matter if we tell the truth?

With Madison Smartt Bell, Thomas Mallon, Valerie Martin, Rachel Kushner, and Barry Unsworth; moderated by David Nasaw

12:30 - 2:00  |   Conch Chowder Library Lunch


Note: The Sunday afternoon session is free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served. This session is not included in registration fee.

2:00 - 2:15  |   Barry Unsworth

A reading from Land of Marvels.

2:15 - 2:30  |   Marilynne Robinson

A reading from Home.

2:30 - 3:00  |   Anchee Min

"Becoming Madam Mao: Life Merging with Art"

3:00 - 4:00  |   The Voice of the Past: Getting It Right

With Chantel Acevedo, Elizabeth Gaffney, Francisco Goldman, and John Burnham Schwartz; moderated by Madison Smartt Bell