Brooks and Russell Wow at Midwinter ERT Author Forum

• "Genre junkie" Russell says librarians hooked her on books
• Brooks recounts librarians saving illustrated hagudah throughout history
• Both claim getting "voice right" is key to historical fiction

Best selling historical fiction authors Mary Doria Russell and Geraldine Brooks killed the crowd with ample doses of humor and charm at the ERT Author Forum Friday afternoon, making a perfect launch for ALA Midwinter. "Genre junkie" Russell especially drew belly laughs with her tales of how librarians hooked her on reading, books, and writing, dubbing Nancy Drew the "tobacco of books."

Although equally appealing, Brooks was more sobering in relating how librarians throughout history saved an illuminated manuscript of a Jewish hagudah in Europe, initially from the church, then the Nazis, and more recently the Serbs.

The authors both stated that the most important element of writing historical fiction is to "get the voice right."