Welcome to the Middle Grade Historical Fiction Blog

Welcome from writer/blogger Chris Eboch

Happy New Year, and welcome to our new blog!

Who We Are

We are a group of writers – ten as of this writing – who love writing historical fiction for young people. Some of us are published and some not yet. Some write exclusively historical fiction and/or exclusively middle grade, while others write in many genres and for different age groups. Many of us write books set in the United States, though group members also have published books or works in progress set in Europe and the Middle East. Time periods span from ancient Egypt to the 20th century. Some of us give history a fantasy or mythological twist, while others write realistic historical fiction. You’ll get a little bit of everything!

Our primary focus here is middle grade historical fiction. However, we may also discuss picture books and young adult novels, especially when they may be suitable for classroom use/middle grade readers as well. Some posts may list nonfiction titles that go well with historical novels.

What We’ll Do Here

Our target audience is teachers and librarians, as well as any writers or readers who want to explore historical fiction. You’ll find some book reviews and author interviews. (Email mghistoricalfictionblog[at] gmail[dot] com if you have a book you’d like reviewed or would like a guest spot.)

We’ll share insights into our writing processes, though we’ll try to keep it interesting for non-writers. We’ll also discuss using historical fiction in the classroom and getting kids excited about history.

Other possible upcoming topics:

What librarians can do to encourage reading of historical fiction.

How teachers can explain the differences between nonfiction and historical fiction and help kids identify what they’re reading.

Specific times and places in history, with lists of books (nonfiction and fiction) that can be used in the classroom when learning about a particular era.

Resources for teachers to get lesson plans.

And much more!

We plan on posting twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You can subscribe by e-mail, or follow in a couple of other ways. We hope you’ll subscribe or check back often for new content.

The other authors will introduce themselves in their posts. You can also click on the author names in the right-hand column to learn more about our work. And here’s a little about me:

Chris Eboch writes fiction and nonfiction for all ages, with several novels for ages nine and up. The Eyes of Pharaoh is an action-packed mystery set in ancient Egypt. The Genie’s Gift is an Arabian Nights-inspired fantasy adventure. In The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan girl in ninth-century Guatemala rebels against the High Priest who sacrifices anyone challenging his power. Learn more at www.chriseboch.com or her Amazon page