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I am removing 11/22/63. The historical fiction genre is defined partially as a book written about an event that occurred well before the lifetime of the author. Stephen King is a baby boomer and was alive when President Kennedy was murdered.

Reinstating 11/22/63 by King. Nowhere have I found a definition that states that, "... historical fiction is about an event that occurred well before the lifetime of the author." I have checked Webster, Yourdictionary.com, and dictionary.com. Therefore; with a lack of evidence for any such definition available to the public, I am reinstating it on the list. It may not fit your personal definition but, that is not what this list was formed around.

Jack wrote: "Reinstating 11/22/63 by King. Nowhere have I found a definition that states that, "... historical fiction is about an event that occurred well before the lifetime of the author." I have checked Web..."

Having said that, if you can cite me a reputable definition that matches your's, I would have no contention with the removal. I started this list so, that we could share the books with each other and I would hate to have books removed at the whims of the individual readers. Thanks for understanding.

I don't want to start a fight, but I'm working on a Master's degree in library science, and we went over this very thing recently. You may not ever find a definition on the web, but it is conventional wisdom in library circles that historical fiction is defined as being about a time period occurring at least 25 years before the author's birth. So your first instinct to remove the King was valid. I would be happy to look up some sources if you're interested. Of course, as you also point out, this is simply a list to share good books, so it might not be all that important. It's a good list, I've enjoyed looking through it, and I am using it to help with one of my assignments, so thank you for compiling it.

You are most welcome. Although I too am not seeking a verbal war, I must contest the use of, 'Conventional Wisdom'. The articles and definitions that I have read, dealing with Historical Fiction, have mentioned the author's age, as being a factor in the definition, a total of zero times.
One of the things I did find was an interesting summation of Historical Fiction by Celadon Books.
Two points that they make are of interest to me in this discussion; one pertains to the age of the topic for it to be considered historical. "Historical Fiction is a story that takes readers to a time and place in the past. How far back in time does an author have to go for their work to be considered Historical Fiction? A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 50 years." Now, it does go on to say that the idea is to take the reader out of their lifetime but mentions nothing about the author's age.
The second point that they made that plays in here is their comment, "These days, the events from the 1960s officially qualify as Historical Fiction. Denis Johnson’s Tree of Smoke (2007) examines the psychological horrors of Vietnam through characters that did and did not go to war. Denise Nicholas’ Freshwater Road (2005) is set during the Freedom Rides of the 1960s civil rights movement."
Both of these bits from their page, I am in agreement with as well as most of their definitions of the genre. In closing, I would like to say good luck with your post-graduate studies in a most-worthy choice of career field. My degree is in, Aviation Management and although I have considered going back for the Masters, I have decided not to as I am so close to retirement. My choices in my educational pursuits came too late. However; I did enjoy working as a Broadcast and Print Journalist for the U.S. Army for six years.
Although we may need to agree to disagree on this one, I do once again truly wish you the best in your endeavors and if I can help in any way. Please, let me know. Also, I would be highly interested in hearing from other members on this topic. Take care and remember that all of Hitler's speechwriters were, 'Grammar Nazis'.