HBRW 2026 - Histories Real & Imagined

We’re delving into the past with three authors bringing history to life. Tracy Farr’s novel Wonderland imagines a 1912 family of girls whose father owns a Miramar amusement park when Marie Curie visits. Lauren Keenan’s second novel is The Other Catherine, a story about friendship, survival and whakapapa set in two time-zones. Local author, Tess Redgrave has written a family memoir, The Unfortunate Lunatic, which retraces the story of her grandmother and her spells in a mental asylum. Chairing this session is local historical fiction author Cristina Sanders.

About the Authors

Tracy Farr is a writer who used to be a scientist. Her third novel, Wonderland, won the 2024 NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize and was longlisted for the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. Tracy is co-curator of the live literary series Bad Diaries Salon and its sister project, Bad Diaries Podcast. She’s lived on Te Motu Kairangi Miramar Peninsula in Wellington, where Wonderland is set, for thirty years.

Lauren Keenan (Te Āti Awa ki Taranaki) is an award-winning writer of historical fiction, children's books and creative non-fiction. Her bestselling debut novel The Space Between was a national bestseller, and she returns with the sweeping historical novel The Other Catherine.

Tess Redgrave is a journalist and the author of two books, including her novel Gone o Pegasus. She has worked as an editor, writer and media adviser. She lives in Hawke’s Bay, contributing to BayBuzz magazine and teaching writing at the Heretaunga Women’s Centre. Tess is an active member of Forest & Bird and walks up Te Mata Peak most days.

Cristina Sanders had a career publishing, book marketing, and in business before coming a writer. Her novels Jerningham and Displaced were both shortlisted for the NZSA Heritage Literary Awards. Her novel Mrs Jewell and the Wreck of the General Grantis was shortlisted for the 2023 Ockham NZ Book Awards.

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