Amanda Willimott writes historical fiction centring the experiences of women. She has always been captivated by history, mythology and folklore, which led to her pursuing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in History and Anthropology with Honours in Anthropology, where she wrote her thesis on witchcraft and paganism. 

Her first novel, Winter of the Wolf, is based on a real werewolf trial that took place in eastern France in the winter of 1572-1573. When she’s not researching, writing or editing, you can find her singing popular show tunes, reading from or adding to her to-read pile of books, or trying to find gluten-free bread that tastes like real bread. Amanda lives in Melbourne, Australia.

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?

I would want to have dinner with Mary Shelley, author of the first science fiction novel, Frankenstein, and hear her thoughts on how she combined imagination, science and gothic horror to explore themes of creation, responsibility and humanity.