What's New in Historical Fiction

This installment of What’s New in Historical Fiction brings together four authors whose latest novels examine memory, survival, belief, and reinvention across sweeping historical landscapes—from the Armenian Genocide and Jazz Age spiritualism to multigenerational journeys through twentieth-century America and the hidden lives preserved within New York City’s past. Moderated by Colin Mustful, the panel will explore how historical fiction gives voice to forgotten histories, confronts cultural upheaval, and reveals the deeply human stories that endure across generations.

Featured Authors and Novels:
N.T. McQueen, Never Hide from the Devil
Maryka Biaggio, Margery and Me
Jeanine Boulay, What Keeps Us
Eliza Knight, Lost in the Summer of ’69

N.T. McQueen — Never Hide from the Devil
Set during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, Never Hide from the Devil follows fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian as his ordinary childhood in the city of Van gives way to terror, resistance, and impossible choices. Inspired by true events, the novel explores friendship, courage, and survival amid one of history’s darkest atrocities, while capturing the emotional turmoil of a boy forced to confront violence, loyalty, and the sudden loss of innocence.

Maryka Biaggio — Margery and Me
In 1920s Boston, famed medium Margery Crandon becomes the center of an international spiritualist sensation, drawing the fascination of intellectuals, artists, and believers eager to witness her séances. But as supporters like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle champion her abilities, legendary illusionist Harry Houdini sets out to expose her as a fraud. Blending historical intrigue with questions of belief, performance, and deception, Margery and Me revisits one of the era’s most captivating public rivalries.

Jeanine Boulay — What Keeps Us
Spanning more than a century of New York history, What Keeps Us unfolds through linked stories centered around Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where the lives of ten women intersect across generations of grief, resilience, secrecy, and reinvention. From the aftermath of the Civil War to the isolation of the pandemic era, Jeanine Boulay’s novel examines the stories history buries and the emotional legacies that continue to shape the living.

Eliza Knight — Lost in the Summer of ’69
Set against the soundtrack and social transformation of 1969 America, Lost in the Summer of ’69 follows three generations of women on an unforgettable cross-country journey sparked by disappearance, music, and memory. As aging musician Eleanor Bell heads west toward the era’s iconic festivals, her daughter and granddaughter race to find her before time and illness erase what remains. Warm, nostalgic, and deeply emotional, the novel celebrates family, reinvention, and the enduring power of music and self-expression.