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 region is the largest and one of the oldest 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 a 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 miniseries.
Upcoming Free Zoom Events
We are pausing our in-person events until it is safe for large groups to meet again in person. In the meantime, join our monthly free Zoom presentations by notable scholars, authors and others with an interest in all things Austen-related!
Sign up for our mailing list for more information. Or visit our YouTube channel to view past presentations.

Saturday, March 27
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Pacific time


Saturday, April 24
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Pacific time

Her book Treasures Afoot: Shoe Stories from the Georgian Era (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018) traces the history of early Anglo-American footwear from the 1740s through the 1790s. Alexander was Andrew Oliver Research Fellow at the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) (2016-2017) and guest curator of “Fashioning the New England Family” (October 2018- April 2019) at MHS. Her companion book, Fashioning the New England Family, was published in 2019.

Saturday, May 15
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Pacific time
Registration information coming soon!
Austen Family Theatricals
A staged reading will follow the presentation.
Featured speaker:
Melinda Finberg, a dramaturg and theatre history scholar at the USC School of Dramatic Arts
Finberg is an associate professor of theatre practice in critical studies at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. She is a nationally known dramaturg and scholar of theatre history.

Her volume Eighteenth-Century Women Dramatists (Oxford University Press, 2001) is now in its third printing and is taught in colleges and universities across the U.S., Canada and Europe. This anthology opened college classrooms to historical women playwrights by giving teachers and students access to authoritative, annotated editions of plays that had previously been available only in rare books libraries. In addition, she has been instrumental in bringing the plays of these women to professional and university stages, receiving the 2006 Elliot Hayes Award for Achievement in Dramaturgy from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas for her work on the 2005 Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s critically acclaimed revival of Hannah Cowley’s The Belle’s Stratagem.
Finberg’s scholarly work is widely published and cited in journals, collections of essays and reference books. Her goal is no less than rewriting theatre history by restoring these forgotten geniuses and by establishing their place in our classrooms and on our stages. Without reexamining how minority playwrights have been written out of our history in the past, we will not be able to prevent them from being erased in the future. She also loves to teach production dramaturgy, Shakespeare, Restoration comedy, gender issues in theatre and staging the American experience(s).
Saturday, June 19, 2021
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Pacific time
Registration information to be posted by April.
Topic: Costuming Regency-era Films (event title forthcoming)
Featured speaker:
Deborah Nadoolman Landis, founding director and chair of the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design at UCLA

Landis’ distinguished career includes Coming to America (1988), for which she was Academy Award-nominated; An American Werewolf in London (1981); Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981); the classic Animal House (1978); and the costumes for the groundbreaking music video Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983). From 2001-2007, she served as two-term president of the Costume Designers Guild, Local 892. She is the author of six books, including Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design (2007) and the catalogue for her landmark exhibition, Hollywood Costume, which she curated at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Upcoming In-Person Events
We are pausing our in-person events until it is safe for large groups to meet again in person. We have moved our events that had to be postponed in 2020 to new dates in 2022. Sign up for our mailing list for more information.

Saturday, April 30, 2022
Mission Inn, Riverside
(a block of rooms will be reserved for those wishing to spend Friday and/or Saturday evening)
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

Saturday, December 3, 2022
The Grand, Long Beach
We originally planned for our event on Regency fashion and footwear to be held at The Grand, followed by dance lessons and an English country dance. We have shifted our two stellar speakers for that event to a virtual meeting to be held on Saturday, June 19, 2021. See more information above.
Please save the date for our new event at The Grand in December 22. Details on the topic and speakers will be announced at a later date.
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Reading, Film and Game Groups
For the upcoming schedule for each of our reading, film and game groups, visit the groups page.
“Virtual Book Club” Duo Join 2021 YFC Team
Jillian Davis and Yolanda Rodriguez have joined the 2021 Young Filmmakers Contest committee after winning the 2020 contest in the over-20 category. Davis is a Southern California native and L.A. resident who can thank the 2005 Pride & Prejudice movie and The...
Video of “Austen and Cassatt: Working From Home” Now Available
In her beautifully illustrated Zoom presentation on February 20, art historian, curator and author Nancy Mowll Mathews addressed the public image of both Jane Austen and impressionist Mary Cassatt. Mathews revealed how much Cassatt hated her portrait that was painted...
2021 Young Filmmakers Contest Officially Launched
We've officially launched the 2021 Young Filmmakers Contest. Please help spread the word to any teachers, professors or aspiring young filmmakers and fans of Jane Austen! Any amateur filmmakers under the age of 30 in North America are eligible to enter. Entry is free....
Watch Our 2020 Young Filmmakers Contest Winners
A lively Q&A session with the filmmakers and two of our esteemed judges followed the January 24, 2021, premiere screening of the 2020 Young Filmmakers Contest winning films. Judges Kenny Turan (retired longtime Los Angeles Times film critic) and...
Prof. Jason Solinger Event Video Now Online
If you missed our "Anti-Historical Austen" event with Prof. Jason Solinger on Jan. 16—or want to revisit the talk or share it with a friend—the video is now available on the JASNA Southwest YouTube channel. JASNA members and friends from all over North America, as...
Young Filmmakers Winners Announced!
JASNA Southwest has announced the winners of our fourth annual Young Filmmakers Contest in two age categories: Under 20 and Over 20. Selected from an unprecedented volume of entries, each of the winning entries explored the characters, books, mores and life of Jane...
Jane Boltz Regency Fashion Talk Now Online
JASNA Southwest board member Jane Boltz' presentation "Exploring Regency-Era Fashions for Women and Men by a Prejudiced and Amateur Seamstress" is now live on our YouTube channel, where you also catch up on past virtual events. In the illustrated talk, she models many...
Karen Joy Fowler Video Live
The video from the September 26 JASNA Southwest meeting featuring author Karen Joy Fowler (The Jane Austen Book Club and numerous other titles) is now live on the JASNA SW YouTube page. Her enlightening talk covered Emma and Austen's Hidden Gothics—the untold, highly...
Remastered Pride and Prejudice Streaming on BritBox
In honor of the 25th anniversary of BBC’s Pride and Prejudice starring Academy Award winner Colin Firth, enjoy the newly remastered edition exclusively on BritBox premiering on September 25. BritBox is a streaming service from BBC Studios & ITV offering the...
Immerse 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.
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