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, July 17, 2021
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Pacific time

Topic: Jane Austen and Telling Contemporary Tales

Featured speaker:
Author Sonali Dev

Registration Coming Soon!

Sonali Dev—author of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors and Recipe for Persuasion—will speak at our free Zoom event on July 17 at 11 a.m. Pacific time. The latest in Dev’s series of Austen-inspired stories centering on the Raje family—Incense and Sensibility —will be published in July.

Dev writes Bollywood-style love stories that explore universal issues. Her novels have been named Best Books of the Year by Library Journal, NPR, the Washington Post, and Kirkus. She has won numerous accolades, including the American Library Association’s award for best romance, the RT Reviewer Choice Award for best contemporary romance and multiple RT Seals of Excellence, has been a RITA finalist and has been listed for the Dublin Literary Award.

 

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.

Follow Us

Reading, Film and Game Groups

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

Costume Design Event Video Now Live

Costume Design Event Video Now Live

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If you missed the June 19 conversation between legendary costume designers Deborah Nadoolman Landis, PhD, and Ellen Mirojnick—or want to revisit the talk or share it with a friend—the video is now live on the JASNA Southwest YouTube channel. Landis, founding director...

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‘Treasures Afoot’ Video Available Now

‘Treasures Afoot’ Video Available Now

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If you missed Kimberly Alexander's wonderful April 24, 2021, talk on "18th Century Shoes and Their Secret Stories," or want to revisit the presentation or share it with a friend, the video is now live on the JASNA Southwest YouTube channel. The chat is also available....

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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