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, started the 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: Glamified version of the iconic portrait of Austen by her sister, Cassandra, circa 1810

Austen’s original writing desk, which was returned to the Jane Austen’s House in Chawton in 1957

Chawton Cottage, England 

 

See Our Upcoming Events

All events are open to JASNA-SW members as well as non-members.

COVID Restrictions will continue to be in effect for our in-person meetings through May 2023. Our board made the decision to follow the CDC guidelines once we reopened our in-person events beginning in May 2022. We require vaccination and updated booster shots for those in attendance to our events. Some people are more likely than others to get very sick if they get COVID-19. This includes people who are older, are immunocompromised, have certain disabilities, or have underlying health conditions. We have board members, speakers, and JASNA members who are included in the above list. We seek to promote good health to all who wish to gather with us in our shared admiration of Jane Austen.

  

JASNA COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
AND
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STATEMENT
 
Please read JASNA’s Community Guidelines https://jasna.org/about/jasna-community-guidelines/ as we expect attendees to comply with them.
 
JASNA’s Diversity and Inclusion Statement:
To fulfill JASNA’s mission of fostering among the widest number of readers the study, appreciation, and understanding of Jane Austen’s works, her life, and her genius, JASNA strives to ensure that all people are welcome and feel valued in its meetings, events, and community spaces. JASNA is committed to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Society. There is no place in JASNA for discrimination or exclusion, including on the basis of age, race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, ability, appearance or education.
 
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Registering for this event signifies acceptance of JASNA Southwest’s vaccination policy and Community Guidelines and acknowledgment that failure to comply will result in being barred from attendance without refund.

 

Follow Us

Reading, Film and Game Groups

For the upcoming schedule for each of our reading, film and game groups, visit the groups page.

Read

Immerse yourself in an Austen novel, participate in a reading or game group or catch up on the latest JASNA Southwest news.

Join

Explore the benefits of becoming a JASNA and JASNA Southwest member, or join or renew your membership now!

Attend

Discover our wide range of events or scroll through our archive for recaps, video and audio from past meetings.

Celebrate

Join other Jane Austen fans from around Southern California by attending one of our regional meetings.

Volunteer

Greet visitors at our Festival of Books booth, organize a new reading group or assist with events and more as a valued volunteer.

Give

Support JASNA’s Southwest region with a tax-deductible donation in any amount. Your gift truly makes a meaningful difference in all we do!

Learn

Discover a treasure trove of resources, including our comprehensive guide to film adaptations as well as books Austen herself admired.

Connect

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.
Sign Up Today

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” —Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.” —Jane Austen, Jane Austen’s Letters

“For my own part, if a book is well written, I always find it too short.” —Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

“It is not what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” —Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

“It is such a happiness when good people get together, and they always do.” —Jane Austen, Emma

“I am not a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“My idea of good company … is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation.” “That is not good company, that is the best.” —Jane Austen, Persuasion

“If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” —Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

“We all have our best guides within us, if only we would listen.” —Jane Austen, Mansfield Park