Jane Austen Society of North America, Southwest Region
Welcome
Whether you have just discovered Jane Austen or are a lifelong aficionado, you are welcome at the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) and our local region of the society, JASNA Southwest.
Our chapter is one of the oldest and largest in the national society. We host four regional meetings annually that feature a wide range of speakers and presentations, offer numerous local reading and game groups, sponsor an annual Young Filmmakers Contest and maintain a comprehensive guide to Austen Adaptations.
Learn more about the benefits of joining JASNA and JASNA Southwest on our membership page.
We hope you enjoy exploring our site and we hope to see you soon!
Left: Lyme Park stood in for Pemberley in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini series.
Celebrating 40 Years!
JASNA (October 5, 1979) and JASNA Southwest (December 14, 1979)
Countdown to the 40th anniversary of our founding (December 14, 1979)
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Upcoming Events
Save the Date for the following upcoming events! Sign up for our mailing list for more information.
Chapman University
Jane Austen Meets Mary Shelley
Featured speakers:
John Kessel will discuss Pride and Prometheus, his mashup of Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein
UCLA Professor Anne Mellor will give a talk on Mothering Monsters: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Author Victoria Shorr will discuss her new book Midnight: Three Women at the Hour of Reckoning
USC Town & Gown
JASNA Southwest’s 40th Anniversary Celebration
What’s Next in Jane Austen?
Featured speakers:
Janine Barchas, University of Texas at Austin and author of Matters of Fact in Jane Austen
Devoney Looser, Arizona State University and author of The Making of Jane Austen
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Mission Inn, Riverside
Miss Austen Goes to Washington
Our event will explore Regency-era politics as well as Austen’s influence today.
Featured speakers:
Congressman Mark Takano (D-Riverside), former English teacher who launched a Jane Austen reading group on Capitol Hill
Austen scholar Sheryl Craig, author of Jane Austen and the State of the Nation
Follow Us
Reading, Film and Game Groups
For the upcoming schedule for each of our reading, film and game groups, visit the groups page.
Bringing Sanditon to Life
The mini-series Sanditon—based on the unfinished novel Jane Austen was working on shortly before her death in 1817—is being brought to life by award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies, who has already adapted Pride and Prejudice (1995), Sense and Sensibility (2008),...
read moreSanditon Mini-Series Coming in 2020
Registration Now Open for Austen Meets Shelley
Registration is now open for our Sept. 14 event, Jane Austen Meets Mary Shelley, to be held at Chapman University. We hope to see you there! Details are on our registration page.
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Huntington Event Recap
More than 180 members and guests attended "It's All Relative: Relationships in Austen" on June 1 at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, making this one of the largest turnouts ever for a JASNA Southwest regional meeting! The opening...
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Preview of Jane Austen Garden Trail
JASNA Southwest is proud to sponsor one of only 20 named spots along the new Jane Austen Garden Trail at Chawton House in England. The image above is a preview of our plaque on the walk. JASNA Southwest members helped us raise funds for this project to support Chawton...
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Pride and Prejudice and Pelisses
Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell's informative talk at the JASNA Southwest December meeting at Sony Pictures Studio covered how fashion is used in Austen adaptations to convey the passage of time, express a character's transformation and signal differences in class, age and...
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Q&A With Ashley Clements
At our December 2018 meeting at Sony Pictures Studio, JASNA Southwest Regional Coordinator Susie Wampler moderated a conversation with Ashley Clements, star of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, on how she first became an Austen fan, the process of translating the book to a...
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2018 Young Filmmakers Contest Winner
Ellyn Cardon, a senior undergraduate at Brigham Young University, is the winner of this year's Young Filmmaker Contest for her entry, Mrs. Bennet's Plan. Both Ellyn (above) and her mother, Dana (below) -- the inspiration for Mrs. Bennet in the short film -- attended...
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2019 Young Filmmakers Contest
The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) invites you to submit your short film (five minutes or less) to our third annual Young Filmmakers Contest. Entry is FREE. WHO IS ELIGIBLE: Students at the high school, undergraduate and graduate-school levels (If you...
read moreImmerse yourself in an Austen novel, participate in a reading or game group or catch up on the latest JASNA Southwest news.
Explore the benefits of becoming a JASNA and JASNA Southwest member, or join or renew your membership now!
Join other Jane Austen fans from around Southern California by attending one of our regional meetings.
Greet visitors at our Festival of Books booth, organize a new reading group or assist with events and more as a valued volunteer.
Support JASNA’s Southwest region with a tax-deductible donation in any amount. Your gift truly makes a meaningful difference in all we do!
Discover a treasure trove of resources, including our comprehensive guide to film adaptations as well as books Austen herself admired.
Email jasnasw or visit our contact page to direct your query on a specific topic or to a board member. We look forward to hearing from you.
Join Our Mailing List
Sign up today to receive our monthly e-newsletter, event invitations and occasional news, such as free Austen-related film screenings. We never (ever) share your information with anyone. Period.
