iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

It’s been a real pleasure working with a fantastic group of academics on this project that includes a diverse set of topics from demons to alchemy. Happily, we’ve already received this pair of very kind endorsements as well 😊

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Charlotte Spence and I can now happily say The Christian and the Supernatural in Late Antiquity was published yesterday! 🎉🎉 📖 The page on Trivent’s website with the full table of contents: trivent-publishing.eu/home/241-464... And the open access Introduction chapter: doi.org/10.22618/TP....

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Newest podcast interview out now! 🎙️ It was so fun to have been invited to speak on Dani’s wonderful Myths, Gaming & Meaning podcast about an assortment of different aspects of my research work. The link to the episode: open.spotify.com/episode/7twX...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This one on Michael Satlow’s An Enchanted World: The Shared Religious Landscape of Late Antiquity - a very nice work emphasizing the commonalities across religious divisions within the late antique world, rather than the usual emphasis on conflicts between them. bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2026/2026.09...

bmcr.brynmawr.edu

An enchanted world: the shared religious landscape of late antiquity – Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Latest academic book review out from me in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review this morning!

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Another new journal article out from me! 📝 This one is for Greece & Rome, examining the hippocamps and the other imaginary animals of Greco-Roman culture that are 'sea versions' of terrestrial animals in art and literature. Open access as well: doi.org/10.1017/S001...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

This is planned as a useful and accessible resource within the ongoing interdisciplinary work between classics and folkloristics. It'll hopefully help to better introduce Herodotus to folklorists, while also getting classicists better acquainted with the tools and methodologies of folkloristics.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Newest book project in the works! 📖 I can announce that I've signed a contract for a third book project, entitled The Folklore of Herodotus: Translation and Commentary. This will be published with the University of Exeter Press in their Folklore and Traditional Narrative in Antiquity series.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Latest academic book review from me, which I was delighted to be asked to write for the journal Folklore. This one is an impressively wide ranging volume that explores the concept of Promethean Horror. doi.org/10.1080/0015...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

As a reminder, there’s still plenty of time to submit an abstract for our online conference on Byzantine hybrids and imaginary animals. This takes place in November and being organized us here at the Centre for Byzantine Studies at the University of Silesia. www.academia.edu/166258740/CF...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Conference Programme: sites.google.com/view/bloodan... Humanitix Registration: events.humanitix.com/an-extraordi...

sites.google.com

Blood & Demons 2026 - Conference Program

Our Speakers

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

New conference alert! And it's on a topic perfectly timed for the upcoming spooky season! 🎃 👻 This one Is entitled: An Extraordinary Substance: A History of Blood and Demons Across Time.

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Bloomsbury Classical Studies & Archaeology @bloomsburyclass.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Let's talk about sea monsters, baby! Dr Ryan Denson, the author behind 'A Zoobiography of the Ancient Sea Monster', chatted ancient and mythical sea creatures with @mythsbaby.bsky.social. Check out the episode and an exclusive pre-order discount on Ryan's book 👇 bit.ly/4gjmQPu

bit.ly

Conversations: The Wonders of the Ancient and Mythical Mediterranean, More Sea Monsters w/ Dr Ryan Denson

Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! | Greek Mythology & the Ancient Mediterranean · Episode

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Episode link: open.spotify.com/episode/4qLZ... And the book: www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-zoobiog... Please take a moment to also sign the UCU petition against such cuts at Exeter: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

In the current climate of AI’s threat to critical thinking, the literacy crisis, and billionaires pushing the horrors of capitalism even further, the humanities are more necessary than ever. We’d very much appreciate people even just signing the petition by Exeter UCU against these unnecessary cuts

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

But more important than the book itself is what we speak about at the start on the proposed redundancies at the University of Exeter and more broadly these attacks on the humanities around the world.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Liv very kindly let me come on her podcast again to speak about my new book, A Zoobiography of the Ancient Sea Monster. It’ll be out on September 3. This also comes with the discount code: SEAMONSTER that’ll grant an amazing 35% off when bought through Bloomsbury’s website.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Newest podcast interview out now! 🎙️ And it’s a very special one to promote the book! [See the comments for our only ancient Greco-Roman depiction of a shark that we talk about here]

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Final Call for Contributions 🚨 The deadline for the CFC for the deserts imaginative landscapes and otherworlds volume by Charlotte Spence and myself is this weekend!

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Proofs in for this very fun chapter! This’ll be in the Christian Political Cultures In Late Antiquity volume for LUP, edited by Robin Whelan, Richard Flower, and Meaghan McEvoy, and out this December.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Another publication in the mail last week! The editor, Jessica Hemming, also very kindly let me recommend a cover image for this issue of Folklore. It’s one very good depiction of a Nereid riding a sea-bull on a second century BCE sculptural relief.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Final stages of this one with Charlotte Spence! 📚

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Final call for abstracts! 🚨 The deadline for abstracts for our online conference on demons and blood closes in just under one week! This is being organized by Tiana Blazevic, Charlotte Spence and myself. The link to the abstract submissions and conference website: sites.google.com/view/bloodan...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

New publication today! 🚨 I had the fantastic opportunity to write this ecotheological piece comparing the traditions of sea monsters in ancient Judaism and Greco-Roman mythology. The full volume here: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Proofs in for another article - to be published for Greece & Rome. I was surprised how there’s never been an article to directly examine the hippocamps, given how ubiquitous they are, not just in ancient art, but also in later medieval and modern media. So I had to write such an article myself 😊

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

New series alert! 🚨 This one from UEP and led by Daniel Ogden. Especially in the current climate of attacks on the humanities, it comes as a good reminder of the brilliant things Exeter academics are putting out into the world. Series page: www.exeterpress.co.uk/collections/...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Call for Contributions out today from Charlotte Spence and I for a volume that we’re proposing for UEP! For a PDF of this, see: www.academia.edu/169383930/Ca...

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Francesca Stavrakopoulou @proffrancesca.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I’d love it if you’d sign this. It might not prevent me and my colleagues losing our jobs, but it will draw attention to the ideological vandalism being perpetrated by the wealthy execs running our university. Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter - sign the petition below! c.org/NpvY4sR9gH

c.org

Sign the Petition

Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter

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Lewis Wade 🗃️ @wadehistory.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

🚨 PLEASE SHARE WIDELY 🚨 If you are an Exeter alumnus, and wish to express your horror at the proposed cuts to the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, please sign the Google Doc petition below. Not an alumnus? You can still help by signing the Exeter UCU petition at c.org/msXfsb2g5b 🗃️

docs.google.com

Alumni petition against the cuts to the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Any Exeter alumni who wish for their names to be added to the petition below should please complete the form at this link: https://forms.gle/SpdYvmmsCaJbmZft6. If you are not an alumnus, but still wis...

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Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

If you asked me, off the top of my head, to name a non-Oxbridge university in England synonymous with excellence in the Humanities - I would probably think of Exeter first. This feels like a very deliberate, targeted and ideological Bonfire of the Humanities

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Newest academic publication out now! This one is a article for the journal Folklore, centered around a legend from Nearchus’ lost historiographical work, but getting to do a lot with Nereids up to a pair of Byzantine/medieval references. Full text here: doi.org/10.1080/0015...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

The final reminder for registration on the 2026 iteration of the Imaginative Landscapes and Otherworlds conference on the theme of The Alterity of Deserts and Arid Environments. The (free) registration link: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/imaginativ...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

The proofs now in for our edited volume, The Christian and the Supernatural in Late Antiquity - and will be out later this year!

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Delighted to put out the programme for our 2026 iteration of the Imaginative Landscapes and Otherworlds (ILO) conference! This year we received a fantastic variety of topics on desert/arid spaces To attend, register here to receive the Zoom link the day before: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/imaginativ...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

New Call for Papers! This one being for an online conference in the fall being organized by us here at the Centre for Byzantine Studies at the University of Silesia. www.academia.edu/166258740/CF...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

New book contract acquired! This one should be particularly fun to work on. It’ll be a monograph, entitled Triton. This’ll be examining the ambiguous figure of Triton (and his pluralized form), while also exploring his reception in the medieval, Byzantine, and modern imaginations.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Received an email notification from PSU that our Preternature special issue on has now been put up on Scholarly Publishing Collective! They’ve kindly provided the below link to put up on social media as well that allows for free access for 90 days scholarlypublishingcollective.org/psup/pretern...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Final(ish) Call for Papers for the ILO 2026 Conference on The Alterity of Deserts and Arid Environments. The abstract deadline is Monday (April 20). We've received fascinating wonderfully diverse set of abstracts so far! Full CFP Link: www.academia.edu/146003339/IL...

academia.edu

ILO 5 CFP

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Call for Papers for our newest conference venture! This one is co-organized by Tiana Blazevic, Charlotte Spence and myself, and the start of larger project on cultural ideas of demons and blood over a long timespan. The link to the abstract submissions website: sites.google.com/view/bloodan...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Newest academic book review from me! This one in The Medieval Review on an insightful volume devoted the examining the understudied short oral narratives within the Late Antique and Early Byzantine worlds. scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/ind...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Link to the PDF version of the CFP: www.academia.edu/146003339/IL...

academia.edu

ILO 5 CFP

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

A reminder that the CFP deadline for the Imaginative Landscapes and Otherworlds 2026 conference closes in just under a month.This year’s theme being on deserts and other arid environments. We’re received a fantastic set of abstracts so far, and there’s still room for more!

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Nice to see the sea monsters book now up on the Kindle store for pre-order too, and set to be out in August (a month before the physical copies’ release date), along with a pair of very kind academic endorsements already!

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Proofs to start off the week! This one will be published in Folklore as part of their June issue. It was a very fun one to write, especially for this interdisciplinary context.

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

. . . And just got the front/back cover proofs now as well!

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Proofs in for the sea monsters book with Bloomsbury! www.bloomsbury.com/uk/a-zoobiog...

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Just sent off the finalized chapters for Charlotte Spence’s and my edited volume with Trivent. This has been fantastic working on a very international volume with contributors currently living in eight different countries. And, likewise, they’ve supplied a phenomenal variety of topics!

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Ryan Denson @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Following up on the recent publication of a special issue of Preternature (Spring 2026), which was based on papers from the ILO 2024 conference, we're happy to announce the upcoming theme for ILO 2026. The theme now turns from such aquatic spaces, to more desert-like environments!

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Yale Classics Library @yaleclassicslib.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural Vol. 15, No.1 (2026) muse.jhu.edu/issue/56223 @projectmuse.bsky.social @psupress.bsky.social @seamonsterscholar.bsky.social @drpolina.bsky.social

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