Victorian Popular Fiction Association
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vpfa.bsky.social
Victorian Popular Fiction Association
@vpfa.bsky.social
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A forum for everyone interested in #Victorian and #Neovictorian popular fiction and culture. Hosts VPFJ Journal and Third Sex and Short Story Reading Groups 📚https://victorianpopularfiction.org/
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vpfa.bsky.social
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-...
December 22, 2025 at 2:40 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
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’.
December 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM
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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/...
December 11, 2025 at 2:30 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
Join us for our final Virtual Tea Salon of 2025! Continue the festivities by networking with fellow Victorianists. Christmas attire and festive drinks encouraged! ☃️❄️
December 2, 2025 at 5:42 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
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-....
December 1, 2025 at 4:44 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
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
November 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
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We are Study Day MAD: 'The Victorian Short Story: Influence, Innovation, and Legacy'.
🌏 Online
📅 19th April 2026
💰 Fee for non-members
Full CfP: victorianpopularfiction.org/the-victoria...
Send abstracts (250-300) for 20-min papers and bio (50) to VPFAconference@gmail.com by 20/12/25
November 12, 2025 at 6:03 PM
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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Helena Esser. Helena's book, Ouida, was a runner up in our Second Book Prize. It has recently been reviewed by Professor Sara Murphy on The Victorian Web: www.victorianweb.org/authors/ouid...
Esser runs VPFA Blog, and she serves on the committee for VPFA's Third Sex Reading Group
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Helena Esser. Helena has been a loyal VPFA member since 2018. She runs the VPFA Blog, and she serves on the committee for VPFA's Third Sex Reading Group, making all of the fantastic reading packs many of you know and love. As some of you may already know, Helena's book, Ouida, was a runner up in our Second Book Prize. It has recently been reviewed by Professor Sara Murphy on The Victorian Web, and we wanted to highlight Helena's book and this wonderful review. Murphy writes: "this book constitutes a valuable contribution as both an introduction and, with its extensive bibliography, a provocation to further research. Esser's volume not only takes us on a tour, more or less chronological, of a long and prolific career, but also opens up important ways in which popular fiction — an appellation that, as Esser points out, Ouida would have protested — helps us tell an important and under-recognized story of the nineteenth-century literary field". Read the full review here: https://lnkd.in/dWvnCz_g If you love this book, might we recommend you also read her book Steampunk London: Neo-Victorian Urban Space and Popular Transmedia Memory? This is the first of (hopefully) many Member Spotlights to come. We want to make this a fortnightly series, where we highlight any achievements of our Members, because YOU are the heart and soul of VPFA. So if you have anything you want us to highlight or broadcast - whether that be a publication, a review, a fellowship, or ANYTHING - please get in touch with us at vpfamedia@gmail.com with details and a photo of yourself and we will be delighted to share.
November 10, 2025 at 4:16 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
Another VPFA Study Day: 'The Critical Age in Victorian Popular Literature'
❓literary representations of the (peri-) menopause
🌏 online
📅 19th May 2026
💰 free for VPFA Members/ £5 for non-members
Send proposals (250) to
jessica.cox@brunel.ac.uk and siobhan.smith@tees.ac.uk by 19th February 2026
This one-day symposium seeks to explore representations of the ‘critical age’ – the (peri-) menopause – in Victorian popular literature. The peri-menopausal and menopausal experiences of Victorian women have to date been overlooked or underrepresented in scholarly discussions of the period. Victorian popular literature, from novels to periodicals to advice books, provided an essential forum for discussing and shaping the public understanding of women’s bodies, even as much of it sought to obscure the female body. The (peri-) menopausal experience was often framed in terms of illness, excess, and degeneration, or, conversely, was relegated to silence. Women at the ‘critical age’ are frequently marginalised and associated with a range of negative stereotypes in literary and cultural narratives. This call for papers invites exploration of how this phase of women’s lives was constructed in the Victorian imagination, in medical discourses and advice literature, and in women’s lived experiences. We invite 20-minute papers exploring any aspect of the critical age in Victorian popular literature. Topics for exploration include but are not limited to: • Representations of the critical age in Victorian popular fiction • The medicalisation of (peri-) menopause • Cultural constructions of middle-aged women • Class and (peri-) menopause • (Peri-) Menopause in Victorian advice literature • Motherhood and (peri-) menopause • Experiences of the critical age in Victorian women’s life writing • Myths and popular misconceptions The event will also include a Digital Humanities Research Skills Workshop, with an emphasis on making digital methods more accessible. We invite short papers or workshop proposals that showcase how digital tools can be used to research women and their bodies in Victorian literature. Possible topics include data creation/cleaning/visualisations, textual, quantitative or statistical analysis, using AI or specific tools (such as Voyant or Power BI).
November 7, 2025 at 4:08 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
@exacteditions.bsky.social has expanded its illustrated archives with six newly digitised titles, two of which are C19 and of interest to our members:
- The Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News (1874-1970)
- The Sketch (1893-1959)
For more information, please visit: publisher.exacteditions.com
Digital platform Exact Editions has expanded roster of illustrated archives with the launch of six newly digitised titles, now available for both individual and institutional subscriptions. Subscriptions include fully searchable access to each title’s complete archive across web, iOS and Android, with each publication capturing a vivid snapshot of the social, cultural, and political landscape of its time. The new titles, which join The Illustrated London News, The Illustrated War News, The Graphic & The Sphere are: - Britannia & Eve (1929-1957): Two legendary titles (Britannia and Eve) were brought together in 1929 and the resulting magazine was notable for its coverage of women in art, sport, literature and lifestyle, also featuring notable women writers. - The Bystander (1903-1940): A protégé of The Graphic, The Bystander was a weekly satirical magazine designed to look at the ‘lighter side of life’. Each issue was packed with political satire, topical drawings, illustrations, cartoons and short stories, along with reviews of sport, travel, motoring and society news, all carried out with a characteristic, tongue-in-cheek humour. - The Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News (1874-1970): Catering for an increasing enthusiasm for sporting and leisure pursuits by the upper and middle classes, The Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News focussed on pastimes ranging from cricket, tennis, rugby and rowing and equestrian sports to theatre and the arts. - The Tatler (1901-1965): Advertised as the “lightest, brightest and most interesting Society and Dramatic paper ever published”, The Tatler was a weekly aimed at the British upper classes and regularly featuring articles on fashion, the arts, opera, cinema, debutante balls, society events, and the sporting calendar. - London Life (1965-1966): Swooping onto the scene in the 60s at a time of great cultural and social change, this glossy magazine presented a radical scene of fashion and culture, where key figures o…
November 3, 2025 at 5:20 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
Due to technical difficulties, we had to postpone our last Tea Salon. Never to fear, because we have another one coming next month! Members: check emails for 'Upcoming VPFA Events'. If you aren't a member, sign up here and you will be sent the event links: victorianpopularfiction.org/membership-j...
November 1, 2025 at 4:16 PM
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Join us for a Halloween themed tea salon! Brew your favourite blend and engage in a lively evening of discussion, creativity, and Victorian charm. If you are a member, check your emails for event links. If you're not, sign up and you'll be sent all links: victorianpopularfiction.org/membership-j...
October 14, 2025 at 12:02 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
New Blog post alert- 'Neo-Victorian Gothtober 2025' by Helena Esser. Some spooky neo-Vic gothic films and tv series recommendations for your Halloween watching pleasure! Read here: victorianpopularfiction.org/neo-victoria...
October 13, 2025 at 3:02 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
Submissions for the VPFA First Book Prize are now OPEN! Deadline is 31st December 2025. For full eligibility criteria and submission guidelines, go to: victorianpopularfiction.org/vpfa-book-pr...
October 7, 2025 at 3:24 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
Sign up to attend the VPFA's Third Sex Reading group's October session on Natasha Pulley's The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, a neo-Victorian novel To sign up this month, please email
vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com with 'FAO: Third Sex No. 43' and ask to be added to the attendees list.
October 6, 2025 at 9:57 AM
vpfa.bsky.social
🚨Call for Papers!
❓Sensation Fiction and the Health Humanities: A VPFA Study Day
🗺️Loughborough University
📅27 March 2026
💷 FREE
For full CfP: victorianpopularfiction.org/studyday/for...
Contact the organiser Anne-Marie Beller (@braddonite.bsky.social) at a.m.beller@lboro.ac.uk for more information
Mentally ill patients dancing at a ball at Somerset County Asylum. Process print after a lithograph by K. Drake, ca. 1850/1855. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/xswz3swa CFP: Sensation Fiction and the Health Humanities A VPFA Study Day Loughborough University, 27 March 2026 The Health Humanities and Victorian popular fiction intersect in revealing ways, offering insights into how 19th-century literature shaped and reflected contemporary understandings of health, illness, and the body. Popular narratives not only mirrored anxieties surrounding public health and medical progress but also contributed to shaping public perceptions of health and healing. Health Humanities approaches re-examine these texts to uncover how cultural narratives and literary representations influenced attitudes toward physical and mental well-being, gendered experiences of illness, and the ethics of care in an age of rapid scientific change. Health Humanities is a particularly useful approach to sensation fiction because it illuminates the ways in which these emotionally charged, often morally ambiguous narratives explore and interrogate concepts of the body, illness, and mental health. Sensation fiction, with its focus on secrets, trauma, nervous disorders, and abnormal psychological states, frequently dramatizes the anxieties of Victorian society surrounding health, gender, and identity. By applying the lens of Health Humanities, scholars can uncover how these texts reflect and shape contemporary medical discourse. Interdisciplinary approaches also highlight how sensation fiction critiques institutional medicine, domestic care practices, and the pathologization of women’s experiences. Ultimately, Health Humanities allows us to see sensation fiction not just as entertainment, but as a culturally significant form that negotiates the meanings of illness, morality, and human vulnerability in a rapidly changing world. 20-minute papers are invited on any aspect of the health humanities and sensation fiction. Topics may include, but are not limited to the following: • Madness, Hysteria, and the Sensation Heroine • The Role of Doctors and Medical Authority in Se…
October 2, 2025 at 11:03 AM
vpfa.bsky.social
CURRAN FELLOWSHIPS awarded by The Research Society for Victorian Periodicals
Applications due: 15 October 2025. Open to researchers of any age exploring the British periodical press of long C19. More information can be found here: rs4vp.org/awards/curra...
September 17, 2025 at 1:58 PM
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You can find a 'Historic View' link here, which gives you a moving snapshot of each of the archives from circa 100 years ago: exacteditions.com/historic/cahl
September 15, 2025 at 2:34 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
Exciting new Digital tool for Victorian scholars with
@exacteditions.bsky.social
,providing a new, fully searchable window into The Illustrated London News, The Illustrated War News, The Graphic & The Sphere. For more information: For more information: publisher.exacteditions.com
September 15, 2025 at 2:33 PM
vpfa.bsky.social
RSVP 2026 Conference Call for Papers: 'Movements and Migrations', to be held at Trinity College, Dublin, 23-25th July 2026. Share widely! @rs4vp.org
September 12, 2025 at 9:30 AM
vpfa.bsky.social
Join us for a virtual writing retreat designed for VPFA members! Working on a conference paper, article, thesis, or admin tasks? this structured retreat offers dedicated time, body doubling, and proven productivity techniques inspired by Rowena Murray. Drop in or stay the full day!
September 11, 2025 at 1:37 PM
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COMING SOON for VPFA Third Sex Reading Group. Email vpfareadinggroup@gmail.com to be added to our mailing list to find out how to sign up for future sessions 📖
September 10, 2025 at 1:01 PM
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The 2025 prize is now open! (deadline: 30th September 2025). The prize offers the winning scholar two nights' accommodation (with breakfast and dinner) for up to three days' research at Gladstone's Library. To find out more about eligibility and process: victorianpopularfiction.org/mary-eliza-r...
September 4, 2025 at 9:11 AM
vpfa.bsky.social
VPFA Third Sex reading group will be returning for their first session of Season 6 on 17th September, 5.30-7pm. The topic will be Mary Shelley's Lodore, co-hosted with Susan Civale and Siobhan-Michelle Smith! Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/lodore-tic...
August 14, 2025 at 5:25 PM
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The Editors of Victorian Popular Fictions are looking for guest editors for autumn special issues from 2027 - 2030. Please see the attached CFP. The deadline for proposals is 30th September 2025, and we are very happy to take any queries, please just email us at vpfjournal@gmail.com.
August 8, 2025 at 3:40 PM