iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Cultural Currents: Nineteenth to Twentieth Century Research Event to celebrate the publication of a new book by @coppertapestry.bsky.social. For more information or to register to attend, please contact S.L.Parker@lboro.ac.uk

100

Spooky Season 👻🧟🎃 is upon us, and VPFA's Third Sex Reading Group are discussing BBCs adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. Please send an email to vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com with the title 'FAO: Third Sex' to attend or be added to the mailing list.

000

VPFA Executive Committee Spotlight 🔦 : Meet our Study Day Co-ordinator, Jeremy Newton! Jeremy makes possible all the amazing study days we've had. If you have an idea for one, you should definitely submit your proposal.

010

Our next virtual writing retreat will be held on 10th October. These retreats provide structured, dedicated time to get some writing done. If you are a VPFA member, check your emails to find the sign up link or email network.vpfa@gmail.com for more information.

010

Call for Papers ⚡: We are proud to collaborate with RSVP on the online study day 'Fiction in Victorian and Edwardian Socialist Periodicals'. Proposals should be 300 words and be sent to lvictoriansocialistperiodicals@protonmail.com Full CfP here: victorianpopularfiction.org/vpfa-rsvp-st...

000

NEW BLOG POST 📢 Adding to our series of posts about Neo-Victorian horror, Rebecca Hamilton, VJ René, and Megan Nash reflect on the genre’s potential to voice the unspeakable in "The Era of Neo-Victorian Horror Cinema is Here"! Read the full post here: victorianpopularfiction.org/the-era-of-n...

022

Join us for our next Tea Salon to dive into some of the more unique finds we've all come across in the archives. If you are a member, check your previous emails from us to sign up. Not a member? Sign up here: victorianpopularfiction.org/membership-j...

022

The 2026 VPFA Mary Eliza Root prize is now open! Deadline: 30th September 2026. To see if you are eligible apply, and for more details, please go to: victorianpopularfiction.org/mary-eliza-r...

033

VPFA are now accepting abstracts for our 19th Annual Conference "Beaches and Borders in Victorian Popular Fiction and Culture". To read the full CfP and submission guidelines, head to: victorianpopularfiction.org/vpfa-annual-...

11514

We are very excited to share yet another addition to the Key Popular Women Writers Series: congratulations to Susan Civale on the publication of Mary Shelley! 🎉 This study reveals previously unseen continuities in Shelley's work and affinities with other women writers!

152

For The Third Sex Reading Group's first session back after summer, they will be looking at The Lilac People by Milo Todd. This is a novel about Nazi Germany and the trans community. If you'd like to attend, please send us an email with the subject FAO: Third Sex to vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com

000

Feeling that midweek slump? Why don't you sign up to our writing retreat to get your creative juices flowing again? If you are a VPFA member, check your previous emails from us for a sign-up link. If you are not a member and want to join, become one here: victorianpopularfiction.org/membership-j...

000

Huge congratulations to Joanna Turner on the publication of her new book, Marie Corelli, in our Key Popular Women Writers Series!! 🎉 The book explodes the myths of prior biographies, revealing Corelli the performer, her working-class roots, and her hidden periodical publications of the 1870s.

2105

NEW BLOG POST 🧟‍♀️👻 Shannon looks at newly trending Neo-Victorian horror fiction and reflects on both its global interest and its appeal to readers living in unhinged times. Read the full post here: victorianpopularfiction.org/exacting-rev...

043

We are delighted to share with you two new wonderful publications by VPFA members! Gothic Masculinities in the Victorian Age, ed. by Ruth Heholt and Mariaconcetta Constantini and Valerie Fehlbaum's edited collection of Ella Hepworth Dixon's short stories, Sidelights on the Feminine Temperament.

151

Get to know our Web Manager, Emma Butler-Way ✨ @ebutler-way.bsky.social Here are her answers to our 5 questions: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/... Read her blog post about joining VPFA here: victorianpopularfiction.org/in-which-emm...

063

Happy Pride Month to all of our LGBTQIA+ members! 🏳️‍🌈 🌈 To celebrate, Helena Esser has put together a fun little quiz to find out what your Queer Archetype is (all of which are open to queering and any gender identity). Let us know your results! Quiz: victorianpopularfiction.org/pride-specia...

030

We are thrilled to announce the winner of VPFA's First Book Prize 2025: Rebecca Nesvet, James Malcom Rymer, Penny Fiction, and the Family! Honourable mentions were Riley McGuire, Dysfluent in Fiction: Vocal Disability & Nineteenth-Century Literature and Jay Sullivan, Egyptian Gothic: 1884-1920.

122

Looking for some weekend motivation? Sign up for our full day writing retreat next Saturday, where we will go over techniques for writing and you will be provided with structured writing blocks If you are a VPFA member, check your emails for the registration link. If not - become one on our website.

001

We are looking for three conference live "posters" for our 18th Annual Conference 6-8th July. You will be tasked with posting updates about the panels you attend on Bluesky, using #VPFAPublics, and Instagram stories tagging @vpfamedia. You need to be an in-person attendee.

121

Put the kettle on and step inside the nineteenth-century home! ☕️ From the material culture of parlour objects to the daily routines and invisible labour found in popular fiction and periodicals, we’re diving into the micro-histories of Victorian daily life. VPFA members check your emails for a link

010

Don't forget to submit your abstracts for our Science fiction Study Day! Deadline is 31st May, so you still have some time to think of an idea. Email your abstracts tobaldwinadamw@gmail.com, and for more information head to: victorianpopularfiction.org/out-of-this-...

022

Our online Study Day, 'The "Critical Age" in Victorian Popular Literature' is only 4 days away!! Everybody is welcome, more info and registration here: victorianpopularfiction.org/the-critical...

011

Registration is OPEN for our 18th Annual Conference: "Victorians and Their Publics". 🌎Liverpool John Moores University 📅6-8th July, 2026 💸£20-135 (depending on in-person/ student status). To read the full conference programme and to register, head to: victorianpopularfiction.org/vpfa-annual-...

186

In a time of fixed-term or zero-hour contracts and uncertainty in HE, come join us as we discuss alternative careers. We'll hear from 3 members working outside academia, and there will be Q&A after! This event is free for VPFA members, so don't forget to check that your membership is up to date.

012

Don't forget to sign up for our writing retreat next Wednesday. If you're struggling with writers' block, this is for you! If you are a VPFA member, check your emails for the registration link. If not - become one on our website.

042

VPFJ is seeking to expand its pool of expert reviewers. Send an email to VPFJournal@gmail.com with subject "VPFJ Reviewer Database" including: - A short CV (or link to institutional profile) and ORCID. - Preferred email address for contact. - Up to 10 research keywords - Any recent publications

063

You might find getting back to your writing difficult after the Easter break 🥚🐰🐥, so why not come along to our writing retreat next Saturday? If you are a VPFA member, the sign up link will be in your recent emails from us. Otherwise, become a member on our website to receive the link

041

Registration for VPFA Study Day 'The "Critical Age" in Victorian Popular Literature' is now OPEN! 📍 Online 📅 19th May 2026 🕑 10am-4.30pm (GMT) The study day will also feature a digital humanities workshop with Gale. More info and registration here: victorianpopularfiction.org/the-critical...

083

This month's session of the Third Sex Reading Group will be on Selby Wynn Schwartz's After Sappho (2022), co-hosted with Casey Maeve. If you'd like to attend, please send us an email at vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com with the subject FAO: Third Sex.

010

Registration for VPFA's Study Day 'The Victorian Short Story: Influence, Innovation and Legacy', is now OPEN. Register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-victor... For the full programme, abstracts, and links to the short stories discussed, head to: victorianpopularfiction.org/the-victoria...

122

VPFA virtual Victorian tea salon exploring the feathered, furred, and feral stars of 19th century literature. Register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creatures-... Free for VPFA members, £6.13 for non-members.

031

Join us on the 16th April at 6pm for an amazing interactive workshop led by Dr Catherine Pope, author of How to Publish Your PhD! Catherine will discuss the many steps of turning your thesis into a book. This event is open to VPFA members only, and space is limited to 30 people - check your emails.

051

Join us for a mid-week, mid-afternoon writing retreat and beat that afternoon slump! As usual, this event is free for VPFA members, but we have now opened this up to non-members for a small fee of £5 (£6.13 inc. Eventbrite fee). Sign up is available here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1984543534...

131

With all the hype around Wuthering Heights since Emerald Fennel's (wild?) adaptation, we thought that this would be a great opportunity for a discussion of Emily Brontë's classic novel for a VPFA collaboration with the Society of Young Publishers.

183

Join the VPFA for a workshop on publishing Victorian Popular Fiction! ✅ Turning your thesis into a monograph. ✅ Writing a winning book proposal. ✅ Insights from the VPFJ editorial committee. ✅ Handling peer review & rejection 📅 26th February at 6pm 🔗 See your emails for the registration link!

186

Want to discuss Allison Epstein's new novel FAGIN THE THIEF? To join the informal discussion of the novel, please email Rebecca Nesvet at nesvetr@uwgb.edu for zoom link or more information. 📆6-7PM BST, Tuesday 24 March.

100

New VPFA Study Day Announcement 📢: 'Out of this World: Science Fiction in the Victorian Period'. Read the CfP on our website: victorianpopularfiction.org/out-of-this-.... @bavs-uk.bsky.social @rs4vp.org @thevicsoc.bsky.social @global19c.bsky.social

055

The next session of VPFA's Third Sex Reading Group is Sarah Waters' Affinity! Lots of interesting things to be included in the pack from the queer space of the seance room and prison, to intertextuality, and the connection between spiritualism and sexuality. To join email vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com

020

For those of you who need some mid-week inspiration, why not join us for our next virtual writing retreat? It is the perfect opportunity to get some work done in two solid writing blocks. 11 Feb 2-4pm (GMT) Free for all VPFA members - check your emails for more information on how to register!

042

The next special issue of Victorian Popular Fictions Journal is “Human–Animal Relations in Victorian Popular Literature and Culture” and will be guest-edited by Dr Bethany Dahlstrom & Dr Helena Esser. For full CFP and submission guidelines, please see: victorianpopularfiction.org/wp-content/u...

11716

Start the year gently with conversation, curiosity, and a cup of tea. We invite you to revisit familiar Victorian texts, share what still resonates, and explore how our research questions evolve over time. Free for all VPFA members - check your emails for more information on how to register!

030

VPFA's Third Sex Reading Group are back with their first session of 2026! In this session, co-hosted by Crescent Rainwater, they will be discussing Netta Syrett's The Victorians. If you would like to attend or be put on the mailing list,please email vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com with 'FAO: Third Sex'.

042

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Katie Brandt's doctoral research analyzes representations of intoxication and addiction in realist literature of the time, and how addiction itself can be a theoretical foundation for understanding the development and formal technologies of realism in Vic. lit.

110

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT SERIES 🔦 : Claudia Sterbini, whose PhD traces the history of asexuality through the construction of ‘nonsexuality’ in fin de siècle sexology and literature. Check out her new article on non-sexual patients and doctors in The Island of Doctor Moreau: academic.oup.com/jvc/advance-...

042

New Special Issue of Victorian Popular Fictions Journal, edited by @helenaesser.bsky.social and @drclaireocall.bsky.social alert ‼️ The issue explores Victorian popular fiction and culture as key sites for negotiating gender and sexual non-conformity, with a focus on the concept of the ‘third sex’.

1186

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT! 🔦 : Milly Harrison. Milly has been a VPFA member since 2021. Her thesis, 'Deviant Cartographies', examines how British Weird fiction allowed late-Victorian authors to explore deviant masculinity. Harrison recently published in Gothic Studies: www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/...

132

Join us for our final Virtual Tea Salon of 2025! Continue the festivities by networking with fellow Victorianists. Christmas attire and festive drinks encouraged! ☃️❄️

111

CfP for VPFA's 18th Annual Conference is now live and the topic is 'Victorians and their Publics'. To read the CfP and full submission guidelines online, please head to: victorianpopularfiction.org/vpfa-annual-....

198

Victorian Periodicals Review is hiring an Associate Editor! Send a 1 page letter detailing interest and qualifications and 1 page CV to katherine.malone@sdstate.edu by Monday, December 15, 2025 @rs4vp.org

021

Victorian Popular Fiction Association