Faculty of English, University of Oxford

Professor Rachel Burns awarded the ISSEME Best First Monograph Prize

Congratulations to Prof Rachel Burns whose book 'A History of Old English Verse Layout: Poetics on the Page' (ARC, 2024) was awarded the ISSEME Best First Monograph Prize!

Judges said: "Burns' important study has the potential to fundamentally change how we think about Old English verse layout."

Professor Ros Ballaster elected Fellow of the British Academy

Congratulations to Prof Ros Ballaster @ballasterros.bsky.social who has been elected a Fellow of the @britishacademy.bsky.social.

Prof Ballaster is one of 58 Fellows from UK universities elected this year in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the humanities & social sciences.

👏👏👏

The #BAVS2025 @bavs-uk.bsky.social conference kicked off with the ECR/PGR Professionalisation Day @engfac.bsky.social - an insightful pedagogy & careers panel, a fun Victorian Parlour Games session, productive peer review workshops & a fantastic séance magic show from @careenafenton.bsky.social 📚👻

Love stretched to breaking point Distance and communication difficulties put a couple’s relationship to the test in ‘Ice Shock’

Arja Salafranca reviews ICE SHOCK by @ellekeboehmer.bsky.social for Business Day

www.businesslive.co.za/bd/life/book...

Before Earthrise: Global Imagining in Literature and Visual Culture, 1550-1968

Astronaut William Anders' iconic photo #Earthrise was the starting point for a recent one-day conference at Oxford’s English Faculty, entitled 'Before Earthrise: Global Imagining in Literature and Visual Culture, 1550–1968'.

Read a blog on the event: english.web.ox.ac.uk/article/befo...

Congratulations to the amazing team at the @engfac.bsky.social Library @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social on their final day before moving to the New Humanities Library in the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. Sad to be leaving, but excited to be making history in the new library!

Lord Alfred Douglas Memorial Prize awarded to Corinne Clark

Congratulations to Corinne Clark @somervillecollege.bsky.social who has been awarded this year’s Lord Alfred Douglas Memorial Prize for her poem ‘1929-’.

Sam Collier and Isabella Cho were runners-up for their poems ‘On a couple good concerts’ and ‘Aphid Monody’.

Find out more >>

Registration closes on 30 June.

British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) 25th Anniversary Conference

There's still time to register for the British Association for Victorian Studies (BAVS) 25th Anniversary Conference on 23-25 July at the University of Oxford.

See the full programme and register on our website: www.english.ox.ac.uk/bavs2025

#BAVS #Victorianstudies #19thC

@bavs-uk.bsky.social

You can now register to attend the Oxford Bloomsbury #Fantasy Literature Summer School ONLINE this September.

Register now to learn more about the past, present & future of the fantasy genre from leading scholars, writers & publishers.

Find out more and see the full programme of speakers >

Achilles at Lincoln Discover medieval Oxford’s appreciation of the Classics, in a manuscript of the life of Achilles

Today! 'Achilles at Lincoln', in which Simon Whedbee and I discuss a @lincoln.ox.ac.uk manuscript inc. a heavily glossed copy of Statius' Achilleid.
From Lincoln's good-looking founder (really!) to his dashing humanist nephew, to some intense medieval glosses.
visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/jun25/...

We're delighted to announce the first ever winner of the Oxford / 42 New Writing Prize! Congratulations to Steve Mellen who was awarded the prize this evening in a ceremony at Magdalen College for his novel 'Ask the Ghosts'.

Congratulations to Steve and all those shortlisted!

English Faculty/OWC Shakespeare Webinar: The Comedy of Errors In this free webinar, Professor Emma Smith will be discussing the new edition of The Comedy of Errors from Oxford World's Classics.

You can register for the next webinar on The Comedy of Errors (on 1 September) via Eventbrite: shakespeare-webinar-comedy-of-errors.eventbrite.co.uk

English Faculty / Oxford World's Classics Shakespeare Webinar Series with Professor Emma Smith - YouTube In this free webinar series, Shakespeare expert Professor Emma Smith will be discussing a different Oxford World's Classics Shakespeare title each month. Emm...

NEW VIDEO ALERT!

You can now watch our recent English Faculty / OWC Shakespeare webinars on 'The Tempest' & 'Titus Andronicus' on our YouTube channel:
youtube.com/playlist?lis...

The webinar series will now have a break for summer but will return on 1 Sept to explore 'The Comedy of Errors'

Don't miss @oxfordcct.bsky.social Translation Day on 14 June. So many wonderful events taking place, incl. a creative workshop with English DPhil student Alyssa Ollivier-Tabukashvili, a discussion on Starting Out in Translation Studies with Dr Minna Jeffery & an In Conversation with Polly Barton!

Professor Siân Grønlie highly commended at Vice-Chancellor’s Awards

Congratulations to Professor Siân Grønlie who was highly commended at the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards in the Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion category for their work on developing a culture of equality, diversity and inclusion at St Anne’s College and the English Faculty.

Oxford/42 New Writing Prize: Shortlisted Writers Announced

We're delighted to announce the shortlist for the Oxford/42 New Writing Prize:

Edelle Dwyer - Ascension
Keelan Gallagher – Billy Balaclava
Ed Hancox – Outraged
Steve Mellen – Ask The Ghosts
Abir Mohammad – Bhaijaan
Megan Shandley – Roar, Bellona

The winner will be announced on 16 June.

Don't miss our next English Faculty / Oxford World's Classics #Shakespeare webinar on

JULIUS CAESAR

with Emma Smith and Brandi K. Adams

2 June
6-7.15pm
Online via Zoom

All welcome! Register via Eventbrite: shakespeare-webinar-julius-caesar.eventbrite.co.uk

#juliuscaesar #historyplays

Oxford University announces its next Professor of Language and Communication

We're delighted to announce that Professor Devyani Sharma has been appointed to the Professorship of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford, a post endowed by News UK.

‘Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and the Greatness of The Great Gatsby’ Special Guest Lecture: John Guillory (Emeritus Professor, New York University)

Last chance to book tickets for this evening's talk by John Guillory on ‘Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and the Greatness of The Great Gatsby’.

21 May at 5.15pm
T. S. Eliot Lecture Theatre, Merton College

special-lecture-john-guillory.eventbrite.co.uk

‘Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and the Greatness of The Great Gatsby’ Special Guest Lecture: John Guillory (Emeritus Professor, New York University)

THIS WEDNESDAY (21 May) Don't miss the opportunity to hear John Guillory talk at Merton College on ‘Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and the Greatness of The Great Gatsby’.

#JohnGuillory #GreatGatsby #Booksky

All welcome. Booking required via Eventbrite.

English Faculty/OWC Shakespeare Webinar: Julius Caesar In this free webinar, Professor Emma Smith will be discussing the new edition of Julius Caesar from Oxford World's Classics.

Our Shakespeare webinar series with Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social continues on 2 June when we will be exploring 'Julius Caesar' with Brandi K. Adams.

When: 2 June at 6pm
Where: Online via Zoom
#Shakespeare #JuliusCaesar #Theatre

Please join us! Get your free ticket >>

Before Earthrise A one-day symposium at the University of Oxford, 24 June 2025 Location: English Faculty, Oxford

Before Earthrise: Global Imagining in Literature and Visual Culture, 1550-1968

This one-day interdisciplinary symposium will explore the theme of global imagining in literature and visual culture of the “modern age,” from the Copernican revolution up to the “earthrise” photographs of the 1960s.

Tower Poetry Competition winners announced Christ Church, University of Oxford is delighted to announce the winners of the 2025 Christopher Tower Poetry Competition, the most lucrative prize for young poets (16–18) in the UK.

Congratulations to the winners of the Christopher Tower Poetry Competition!

Faculty member Dr Anna Nickerson, who was one of the judges, commented: "It was a pleasure to read so much accomplished new verse-writing"

‘Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and the Greatness of The Great Gatsby’ Special Guest Lecture: John Guillory (Emeritus Professor, New York University)

Special guest John Guillory will be giving a lecture at Merton College on 21 May on ‘Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and the Greatness of The Great Gatsby’

Register for your free ticket via Eventbrite.

#greatgatsby #booksky

Elleke Boehmer has just arrived in the country - she and her latest novel, ICE SHOCK, proudly published by Karavan Press, are making their debut at the FLF this weekend! @ellekeboehmer.bsky.social

Book at Lunchtime: Sally Bayley. Performance and Conversation

Book at Lunchtime: Sally Bayley. Performance and Conversation. Wednesday 14 May, 12.30pm Lunch, 12.45pm - 1.45pm performance and discussion
Seminar Room, Radcliffe Humanities Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford @oxhumanities.bsky.social @engfac.bsky.social

torch.ox.ac.uk/event/book-a...

For our final Ertegun Futures talk this year we welcome Professor Bart Van Es on May 20, 5.15 pm
@torchoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @engfac.bsky.social

All welcome! Tickets are free but must be booked
torch.ox.ac.uk/event/true-f...

We apologise that our seminar space has no disabled access

Today! (Yikes!)

Their Finest Hour project uncovers rare VE Day stories and objects for 80th anniversary

To mark the 80th anniversary of #VEDay, Their Finest Hour project is sharing a collection of newly unearthed stories & artefacts – gathered not from official archives, but from kitchen drawers, family photo albums & attic boxes across the UK and beyond.

Browse the collection on their website >>