To recognize the popularity of fiction set in the First World War, we will ask contemporary authors to explore questions around engaging history in their work.

Some of Britain’s best known contemporary novelists use WW1 as the setting for their novels, and we plan to engage them and international counterparts in a discussion about how to represent such globally important time periods. We will discuss questions such as why contemporary authors work with history and, for British authors especially, explore the perennial fascination of setting their work in WW1. We also hope to tackle the question of what - if any - are the ethical obligations of re-telling history to a modern audience.