May 2021
I've had my head down since the publication of Betrayal, working on the follow up to Cometh the Hour and there will also be some news soon about an exciting development with 1066 Turned Upside Down
I'm hoping the new novel will be published at some point over the summer - once again I've been working with Cathy Helms of Avalon Graphics who has come up with a beautiful cover design which we'll reveal a little nearer the time.
November 2020
Our Anthology, Betrayal, was published and has been receiving wonderful reviews. I was delighted that the Historical Novel Society highlighted my story and said: “Love to Hatred Turn’d” by Annie Whitehead, set in the Anglo-Saxon court, provides a sweeping scope, fine period details, and beautiful writing."
Helen Hollick and I went on our blog tour and you can find all the links HERE
October 2020
Very soon, a new anthology of historical stories will be published. You can see the cover image on the 'Anthologies' page...
October is shaping up to be an exciting month. Renowned author Helen Hollick and I embarked on a joint blog tour, Stepping Back into Saxon England - links to follow soon - and Alvar the Kingmaker had a facelift. This is to coincide with another project, which will be announced very soon. Watch this space!
The paperback edition of Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom is also scheduled for publication on 15th.
September 2020
My publishers, Pen & Sword Books, organised a blog tour to celebrate the US release of Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England. The tour was a mixture of reviews and articles and you can find all the links here:
https://anniewhitehead2.blogspot.com/2020/09/women-of-power-blog-tour.html
June 2020
These are still strange times but against all the odds Pen & Sword Books were able to publish the hardback edition of Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England
I've been honoured to be invited to a number of blog sites to talk about these amazing Anglo-Saxon women and you can find the articles here:
In search of a royal sister at the History Lair
At the English Historical Fiction Authors' blog
Meanwhile the paperback edition of Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom is up for pre-order and I'm thrilled that in recent weeks both books have hit the #1 spot for Hot New Releases in Anglo-Saxon History on Amazon.
I've been approached to do a couple of talks later in the year and we can only hope that things are a little more normal by then.
April 2020
We are living through some strange and worrying times, aren't we? Before we all went into lockdown I was able to celebrate Women's History Month by chatting to author Elizabeth St John about my writing and I contributed to Gillian Polack's series for Women in History. Here are the links:
February 2020
I'm delighted to announce that my new nonfiction book, Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England, is available for pre-order, prior to its release on May 30. You can order it at: http://mybook.to/WomeninPower
Autumn 2019
I was thrilled to be able to attend the HWA Crown Awards in London. Two years ago I set off to receive my award for winning the HWA/Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition but all trains into London were cancelled that evening. This year I was able to attend, in my capacity as first round judge and it was a wonderful evening. I have seen the cover design for the new book about Anglo-Saxon women and can't wait to share it here! Meanwhile I am working on a collection of short stories and will be working on the sequel to Cometh the Hour in the New Year.
Summer 2019
I've spent the summer working on edits and proofs for a new book about Anglo-Saxon women, which will be published by Pen & Sword Books in 2020. Cover reveal soon, I hope!
I was one of the judges for the Historical Novel Society short Story Competition, and I've also been involved in the first round judging of the HWA/Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Awards. I was the winner of this competition two years ago and was honoured to be asked to judge the entries in this year's competition.
Meanwhile, Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom received a wonderful review from All the book Blog Names are Taken
December 2018
On the very last day of 2018 I received notification that To Be A Queen had been chosen as Historical Fiction book of the year by the review site Mr Book Squirrel. This award is really special because I didn't submit the book for review, so it was a complete surprise! You can read the original review here.
I was thrilled to be asked by Staffordshire Live for my thoughts on the portrayal of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, in the Netflix series The Last Kingdom. Here's the link to the interview/article, wonderfully put together by Josh Layton:
https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/news/local-news/regal-loyal-deadly-expert-eye-2302643
I'm also delighted that having reviewed my history of Mercia (Click to read the review HERE) Glynn Young then chose it as his nonfiction book of the year! Here's the link: https://faithfictionfriends.blogspot.com/2018/12/best-books-im-not-recommending-for.html
Mercia: The rise and Fall of a Kingdom received a wonderful review from Adventures in Historyland
October 2018
I was honoured to speak at a meeting of the Garstang Historical Society. I delivered a talk about 'Anglo-Saxon Attitudes', looking at pre-Conquest outlooks on marriage, childhood, religion, death and war. I was given a warm welcome, got chatting afterwards and sold my books. A wonderful evening.
September 2018
[Update: the book hit #1 shortly after I posted this!]
I'm delighted to announce that Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom has been published by Amberley Books and on its second day in the big wide world is sitting at #2 in its category and has already received two wonderful reviews:
It's available from Amazon
from Amberley and all good bookstores
August 2018
I had a wonderful time in Tamworth speaking about the Lady of the Mercians. I even met the Lady herself! If you would like to read the transcript of my talk, it's here: https://anniewhitehead2.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-thelfld-paradox-my-tamworth-litfest.html
June 2018
In the week of the 1100th anniversary of the death of the Lady of the Mercians, my novel, To Be A Queen, will be on special offer at 99p/99c from 12 June to 18th June 2018 http://mybook.to/To-Be-A-Queen
May 2018
I'm delighted to announce that I have been invited to speak at the Tamworth Literary Festival on July 14th 2018. Tickets are available from this site.
November 2017
I was thrilled to learn that my story, A Poppy Against the Sky, had won the HWA/Dorothy Dunnett Short Story award. You can read the story HERE
