The Open University’s new one-day conference, ‘Voices from the Past: Peterloo and New Historical Fiction’ will be held on Saturday 11th May, 2019 at the People's History Museum, Manchester. It is free, and open to all

The conference commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, and we’ll be looking at ways in which Peterloo inspired fiction on the page and screen, and sharing ideas about historical fiction and its ability to help us see the past differently, celebrating forgotten or marginalised voices.

The day will consist of talks, workshops and Q&A sessions. Emma Darwin’s books The Mathematics of Love and This is Not a Book About Charles Darwin will be the focus of a Big Book Group workshop.

The keynote speaker is Jacqueline Riding, historical advisor to Mike Leigh on his epic film ‘Peterloo’. Other speakers include: Emma Darwin, whose novel ‘The Mathematics of Love’ re-imagines Peterloo; Michael Green, professor in Creative Writing at Northumbria University and author of novels including ‘For the Sake of Silence’; Heather Richardson, author of ‘Doubting Thomas’ set in 17th century Edinburgh; Vivienne Richmond, senior lecturer in History at Goldsmiths, University of London who specialises in the history of working class dress; Jerome De Groot, senior lecturer in English Literature at the University of Manchester, an expert on historical fiction; Sara Hunt, managing director of independent publisher Saraband, and Eva Schlunke and Paul Fitzgerald (Polyp), the authors of the graphic novel ‘Peterloo’.

Participants can choose one of two workshops: starting to write historical fiction with Sally O’Reilly or a Big Book Group with Emma Darwin. Anyone planning to attend Emma's events is encouraged to read the books first if possible.

The conference is free, and open to all, but tickets are limited: click through to book .