Laura Vivanco
@lauravivanco.bsky.social
Independent scholar of popular romance fiction https://www.vivanco.me.uk/ On the Editorial Board of the Journal of Popular Romance Studies https://www.jprstudies.org/
My database of scholarship about romances: https://rsdb.vivanco.me.uk
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My database of scholarship about romances: https://rsdb.vivanco.me.uk
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Laura Vivanco
@lauravivanco.bsky.social
· Sep 24
I thought I'd try out making a starter pack. So here's one of romance scholars. Please let me know if you've spotted an omission.
I just realised that the modern equivalent of the breathy ... pauses that ... Cartland heroines ... indulged in... is blurbs written in extremely short sentences and paragraphs. Here's one which looks ridiculously like a poem because of how short the sentences and paragraphs are.
November 8, 2025 at 2:35 PM
I just realised that the modern equivalent of the breathy ... pauses that ... Cartland heroines ... indulged in... is blurbs written in extremely short sentences and paragraphs. Here's one which looks ridiculously like a poem because of how short the sentences and paragraphs are.
Feel like this might be a niche opportunity for an early career romance scholar. Bit of a long shot, but anyone working on London in Regencies or K J Charles, for example?
The Worshipful Company of Curriers essay prize on London for early career scholars, in association with The London Journal Trust and the Institute of Historical Research.
The author of the winning submission will receive £1,000, and publication, subject to peer review, in The London Journal.
The author of the winning submission will receive £1,000, and publication, subject to peer review, in The London Journal.
Curriers' Essay Prize | The London Journal
The author of the winning submission will receive £1,000, and publication, subject to peer review, in The London Journal. Other promising entries may also be considered for publication.
www.thelondonjournal.org
November 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Feel like this might be a niche opportunity for an early career romance scholar. Bit of a long shot, but anyone working on London in Regencies or K J Charles, for example?
Reposted by Laura Vivanco
Hi DH friends, join us on Nov 10, 10-11 am CT, for “New Book History Research with Internet Data”, a hybrid panel sponsored by SHAR, to explore challenges and opportunities of using Internet data and digital methods for book history research. More info in the poster attached and comments :)
November 6, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Hi DH friends, join us on Nov 10, 10-11 am CT, for “New Book History Research with Internet Data”, a hybrid panel sponsored by SHAR, to explore challenges and opportunities of using Internet data and digital methods for book history research. More info in the poster attached and comments :)
Joseph Crawford 's written an open access essay which addresses ethical issues he's considered while teaching a course about romantic fiction.
‘I'm Alright, It's Just so Horrible’: Teaching Romance Fictions, Pre‐ and Post‐#MeToo
This article discusses the author’s experiences of teaching the history of romance fiction to undergraduate students from 2013 to 2024, with a particular emphasis on changing approaches to teaching r...
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Joseph Crawford 's written an open access essay which addresses ethical issues he's considered while teaching a course about romantic fiction.
Reposted by Laura Vivanco
Come and study with me! Call for doctoral proposals in the field of Romance and/or Erotica at Falmouth University: www.falmouth.ac.uk/research/phd...
Romance and/or Erotica
This Research & Knowledge Exchange Doctoral Project brief summarises our priority areas of research interest under the heading of: Romance and/or Erotica
www.falmouth.ac.uk
November 5, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Come and study with me! Call for doctoral proposals in the field of Romance and/or Erotica at Falmouth University: www.falmouth.ac.uk/research/phd...
I'm sure you know about this already @romgothsam.bsky.social but I thought you might like the photo.
Did you know Mary Shelley once had to correct Sir Walter Scott for crediting her novel, Frankenstein, to her husband? 🔍
For one day only, see this story on paper at the National Library:
➡️ Mary Shelley's letter to Sir Walter Scott
➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives
➡️ and more!
For one day only, see this story on paper at the National Library:
➡️ Mary Shelley's letter to Sir Walter Scott
➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives
➡️ and more!
November 4, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I'm sure you know about this already @romgothsam.bsky.social but I thought you might like the photo.
😭 I tried to verify my age so I could see a DM that had arrived for me, but the system didn't like my card and told me to provide another one, or use a different method.
So, still no DMs for me!
So, still no DMs for me!
October 30, 2025 at 10:27 PM
😭 I tried to verify my age so I could see a DM that had arrived for me, but the system didn't like my card and told me to provide another one, or use a different method.
So, still no DMs for me!
So, still no DMs for me!
Reposted by Laura Vivanco
"But read looking backward, having seen all that came later, the nurse novels come to look like more than a curiosity."
Fanny Howe Found Her Voice in the Romance Novel
In nurse romances written under a pseudonym, Howe began working through the questions that would sustain and bewilder her.
newrepublic.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:50 AM
"But read looking backward, having seen all that came later, the nurse novels come to look like more than a curiosity."
From Chloe Camara's "Threading the Narrative: A Critical Discourse Analysis of LGBTQ+ Resistance to Heteronormativity Through Textile Arts":
Aaron McIntosh's "The Couch" 2010 "is a colonial-revival couch upholstered with quilted digital textile prints of romance novels and gay erotica."
Aaron McIntosh's "The Couch" 2010 "is a colonial-revival couch upholstered with quilted digital textile prints of romance novels and gay erotica."
October 23, 2025 at 1:03 PM
From Chloe Camara's "Threading the Narrative: A Critical Discourse Analysis of LGBTQ+ Resistance to Heteronormativity Through Textile Arts":
Aaron McIntosh's "The Couch" 2010 "is a colonial-revival couch upholstered with quilted digital textile prints of romance novels and gay erotica."
Aaron McIntosh's "The Couch" 2010 "is a colonial-revival couch upholstered with quilted digital textile prints of romance novels and gay erotica."
As part of a book review in which "an interdisciplinary panel of historians and scholars of literature discuss important works of historical fiction" Julie-Marie Strange, Professor of Modern British History, wonders "maybe I am taking it too seriously, and perhaps it is just a romance".
October 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM
As part of a book review in which "an interdisciplinary panel of historians and scholars of literature discuss important works of historical fiction" Julie-Marie Strange, Professor of Modern British History, wonders "maybe I am taking it too seriously, and perhaps it is just a romance".
Clothing choices hold meanings and are therefore important to analyse and understand. [To bring things back to romance, some critics said linked romances to the trivial because they describe clothing so much and no, that can also have meaning, as I discussed here: www.vivanco.me.uk/popular-roma... ]
The not-so secret language of fascist fashion
Today’s rightwingers want their message to go mainstream, so it’s coming to a store near you
www.theguardian.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Clothing choices hold meanings and are therefore important to analyse and understand. [To bring things back to romance, some critics said linked romances to the trivial because they describe clothing so much and no, that can also have meaning, as I discussed here: www.vivanco.me.uk/popular-roma... ]
Reposted by Laura Vivanco
📣📣📣
There's still time! JPRS is still accepting reviews of recent YA scholarship for our special issue on YA series romance. See our Padlet for more details: padlet.com/bookreviews/...
#RomanceResearch @jprstudies.bsky.social @iaspr.bsky.social
#RomanceResearch @jprstudies.bsky.social @iaspr.bsky.social
October 15, 2025 at 11:44 AM
📣📣📣
Reposted by Laura Vivanco
Red Squirrels always looking like they're about to politely interrupt
October 14, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Red Squirrels always looking like they're about to politely interrupt
This update got very long, but maybe that means there's a higher chance of it including something you'd be interested in reading?
Most of the entries are to open-access publications, so they're free to view.
Most of the entries are to open-access publications, so they're free to view.
A very long list of new (and some not so new) publications about romance
The open access journal TEXT dedicated a special issue to romance/romantic fiction, under the subtitle " Trope Actually – Popular Romance" b...
teachmetonight.blogspot.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
This update got very long, but maybe that means there's a higher chance of it including something you'd be interested in reading?
Most of the entries are to open-access publications, so they're free to view.
Most of the entries are to open-access publications, so they're free to view.
I'm 😡 and 😱 and sending 🫂 to my US colleagues. [Words are failing me somewhat, hence the emojis.]
US professors facing threats, firings and harassment over Charlie Kirk posts
As many as 40 academics have been dismissed in aftermath of shooting, allegedly without due process
www.theguardian.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:24 PM
I'm 😡 and 😱 and sending 🫂 to my US colleagues. [Words are failing me somewhat, hence the emojis.]
Amy Krug from the University of Dayton got in touch about their library's popular romance novel collection, which is being created by her students
Romance at the University of Dayton
Amy Krug, from the University of Dayton, is happy to report that the University of Dayton (Dayton, Ohio) now has a dedicated collection, the...
teachmetonight.blogspot.com
October 8, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Amy Krug from the University of Dayton got in touch about their library's popular romance novel collection, which is being created by her students
@orkneylibrary.bsky.social I just saw this post from @metoffice.gov.uk and wondered if your photos of the dark sky would be starting soon.
Noticing the nights drawing in? 🌙
October brings a big shift with most of the UK losing over 2 hours of daylight this month!
Do you enjoy the cosy evenings or miss the longer days?
October brings a big shift with most of the UK losing over 2 hours of daylight this month!
Do you enjoy the cosy evenings or miss the longer days?
October 8, 2025 at 12:27 PM
@orkneylibrary.bsky.social I just saw this post from @metoffice.gov.uk and wondered if your photos of the dark sky would be starting soon.
This is for the UK Government, but also I thought it was worth sharing the photo of the extremely cute hedgehog (since there's no alt-text, the hedgehog is partially curled up, but facing the camera with a speech bubble saying "Can you help" as it looks out with bright black eyes + shiny nose)
It only takes a moment to help save our hedgehogs 🦔
Now officially listed as near threatened, our hedgehog numbers have crashed by at least 30% in just ten years 💔
But there’s a simple way to help: hedgehog highways. This just means a small hole in a fence or wall to let them roam more safely.
Now officially listed as near threatened, our hedgehog numbers have crashed by at least 30% in just ten years 💔
But there’s a simple way to help: hedgehog highways. This just means a small hole in a fence or wall to let them roam more safely.
October 5, 2025 at 1:32 PM
This is for the UK Government, but also I thought it was worth sharing the photo of the extremely cute hedgehog (since there's no alt-text, the hedgehog is partially curled up, but facing the camera with a speech bubble saying "Can you help" as it looks out with bright black eyes + shiny nose)
@jenniebatchelor.bsky.social You've probably seen these already, but my brother and father went to Agatha Christie's house recently and my father happened to send me a photo of the copies of the Lady's Magazine which they have there.
The Lady's magazine :. or, entertaining companion for the fair sex, appropriated solely to their use and amusement. 3181909
www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk
September 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM
@jenniebatchelor.bsky.social You've probably seen these already, but my brother and father went to Agatha Christie's house recently and my father happened to send me a photo of the copies of the Lady's Magazine which they have there.
"The professions assigned to protagonists + love interests in novels [...] signal more than just character backstory: they reveal symbolic hierarchies of labor, prestige + aspiration. A detective, a doctor, or a florist is [...] a shorthand for competence, authority, glamour, or ordinariness."
September 23, 2025 at 2:11 PM
"The professions assigned to protagonists + love interests in novels [...] signal more than just character backstory: they reveal symbolic hierarchies of labor, prestige + aspiration. A detective, a doctor, or a florist is [...] a shorthand for competence, authority, glamour, or ordinariness."
@dramyburge.bsky.social and Joseph Crawford have a short article out on the legacy and impact of Twilight
Twilight at 20: how Stephenie Meyer’s vampire saga changed young adult fiction forever
In 2005, Twilight’s adolescent female readership made it a target for mockery. Today, that same demographic is the most coveted in publishing.
theconversation.com
September 23, 2025 at 11:03 AM
@dramyburge.bsky.social and Joseph Crawford have a short article out on the legacy and impact of Twilight
@spurtle.bsky.social Thought this might be of interest to some readers of the Spurtle bsky.app/profile/drha...
📢✨️ Call for research participants about Scottish #IndyRef
Dr Coree Brown Swan & Dr @maydinger.bsky.social, University of Stirling, are creating a digital map of #IndyRef places, traces, and memories. You can participate anonymously or opt to be interviewed.
🔗📄 Form
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Dr Coree Brown Swan & Dr @maydinger.bsky.social, University of Stirling, are creating a digital map of #IndyRef places, traces, and memories. You can participate anonymously or opt to be interviewed.
🔗📄 Form
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
September 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
@spurtle.bsky.social Thought this might be of interest to some readers of the Spurtle bsky.app/profile/drha...
This new series from the University of Wales Press is looking for proposals! I'm on the Board, as are some other romance scholars, so there's definitely an openness to proposals including/focussed on popular romance fiction.
September 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
This new series from the University of Wales Press is looking for proposals! I'm on the Board, as are some other romance scholars, so there's definitely an openness to proposals including/focussed on popular romance fiction.
Got this in an email from Academia. I'm not encouraging their use of AI by clicking on this. In any case, I think I can be fairly certain that no-one is sitting on a pile of 💵, desperately hoping I'll apply for funding to research monster romance.
September 15, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Got this in an email from Academia. I'm not encouraging their use of AI by clicking on this. In any case, I think I can be fairly certain that no-one is sitting on a pile of 💵, desperately hoping I'll apply for funding to research monster romance.
Reposted by Laura Vivanco
I am very excited to announce the CfP for our Special Issue "Romancing the Posthuman" for JPRS! Please share widely 😀
CfP 🚨 The Journal of Popular Romance Studies is now accepting paper submissions for its Special Issue "Romancing the Posthuman", focusing on romance, critical love studies and posthumanism:
📆 Deadline: 31 October 2025
📄 Send 300-word abstracts
➕ More information: www.jprstudies.org/submissions/...
📆 Deadline: 31 October 2025
📄 Send 300-word abstracts
➕ More information: www.jprstudies.org/submissions/...
Special Issue Call for Papers | Journal of Popular Romance Studies
JPRS publishes special issues on a range of topics relating to the study of romantic love and its representations. These issues contain at least 3 articles on their shared topic, as well as an introdu...
www.jprstudies.org
September 9, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I am very excited to announce the CfP for our Special Issue "Romancing the Posthuman" for JPRS! Please share widely 😀