Dorothy Simmons has been on the Write Around the Murray committee since the festival was conceived in 2006, but this year she will be taking her involvement to a new level, by joining authors Anita Heiss and Jock Serong to discuss historical fiction with Jason Steger.

Ms Simmons' work includes a stage play, four young adult novels, the historical fiction, Living like a Kelly, multiple short stories, occasional poetry and micro-fiction, and her second work of historical fiction, Of Breath and Blood.

Ms Simmons said the question and answer session would be live streamed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"It's called Historical Frictions, so I hope there won't be any," she said.

"History is a factual record of what has happened in the past, but there's facts we simply don't know, we know the dates, we know the consequences, the repercussions.

"But we can't know how individual people felt at the time, we can't know what the true wheelings and dealings were that lead to a particular result, the moment's gone.

"So historical fiction is away of re-imagining the past and how human beings change and don't change."

Ms Simmons said she hoped the event would raise people's awareness of the role of historical fiction.

"It's not just dress ups and costumes, it's more exploring your past and also your present," she said.\

IN OTHER NEWS:

Festival director Ann-Marie Ellis said the committee worked hard to adapt the festival to an online presence when restrictions set in.

"We were prepared that we may well have to take things online," she said.

Ms Ellis said the bookings had still gone relatively well despite the change, but the online festival format might be an opportunity to tap into a new audience with people potentially stuck in their home craving human interaction.

She said this years theme was inspired by COVID-19.

"It was the sense of wanting to come back to what really matters to us," she said.

"To thinking about what's close to our heart, what matters, what do we care about in the face of everything being upended and our whole lives being turned upside down."

The festival will run from September 15 to 19.

For more information and bookings, go here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: