31st Annual International Virginia Woolf Conference

We are seeking submissions for Issue 100 of the Virginia Woolf Miscellany that focus on the evolution of the journal itself. The Miscellany was founded in 1973 as a forum for readers of all sorts to come together in shared enthusiasm (and shared curiosity) for an intriguing, engrossing, but (then) underappreciated writer: Virginia Woolf. The Miscellany was able to bring Woolf into focus and attract her readers at a time when she was still a “minor” figure both in critical reception and in academia. In the pages of the Miscellany's first 99 issues, one can trace the rise of a complex and multifaceted readership, and we hope the 100^th issue of the Virginia Woolf Miscellany will offer an opportunity to reflect on the publication's 50-year history and influence.

We welcome contributions from “common readers,” graduate and undergraduate students (and high school students as well!), independent scholars, adjuncts and full professors and faculty who have retired, those who have just discovered the Miscellany for the first time and those who have contributed work to the Miscellany just recently or multiple times, those who have served as guest editors, those who are members of the International Virginia Woolf Society and have opted to receive print copies (a membership perk), those who access the print versions held in their university library’s collection, and those who read the Miscellany only online.

The three co-editors of this 100^th issue represent different three generations of engagement with the Miscellany, and each is eager to explore a distinct set of questions that delve into the categories listed below, including such topics as:  

• When and how (and why) did you initially encounter the Miscellany?  
• How, as a common reader or an independent scholar or an academic, has the Miscellany inspired you and affected your reading and thinking?  
• How has the Miscellany contributed to your research and publication if you are an independent scholar or an academic?  
• How has the Miscellany informed or inspired your learning experience as a student?   

Below we have clustered a range of more specific possible approaches for the contributions that emphasize the interests and perspectives of each editor. 

J. J. Wilson, Miscellany Co-Founder (Professor emeritus (emerita?), Sonoma State University), created the Miscellany and launched it in 1973. Consider the prompts below as possible inspirations.  

J. J. wonders if you would like to write a (love) letter to the Miscellany, or perhaps more to the point, describe some of the ways VWM over the years has contributed to your reading and teaching and scholarship on Virginia Woolf and her circle. Did it remind you of something which you already knew or tell you about something new? Maybe the Miscellany has inspired you or influenced you or created new friendships in a welcoming community or discuss how you perceive the Miscellany has survived, thrived, and changed, or give us some ways to make it better by suggesting new features. Or cover ALL of these topics (in 750 words or less by the due date mentioned above). Good luck with that! 

Vara Neverow, Current Miscellany Editor (Professor, Southern Connecticut State University), inherited the journal in spring 2003 when J. J. Wilson retired at Sonoma State University. In the transition, the format and focus of the Miscellany evolved in new ways, including the online publication and the focus on special topics. 

Vara suggests that you might want to discuss one of your favorite issues of the Miscellany or compare two of them. If you are an academic or independent scholar, you could consider how the Miscellany has shaped your understanding of Woolf studies and reception, influenced your scholarship, or contributed to your academic career through the building of a community. If you are a “common reader,” you could consider how the Miscellany informed your engagement with Woolf--and with Woolfians. Do you think the non-peer-review status of the Miscellany is valuable for those who wish to share their work? Are your experiences of accessing the online version of the Miscellany significantly different from reading the print version? Do you prefer one format over the other? What features of the Miscellany particularly appeal to you as a reader? For example, how does the content, focus, style, and appearance engage you? How do you think the Miscellany is likely to evolve in the digital age and in today’s literary landscape? How does the Miscellany align with the conversations on the VWoolf listserv, with various social media, or with the recent emergence of Zoom events (including those hosted by the International Virginia Woolf Society, the Woolf Salon co-conspirators, the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, and other Woolf societies)? 

Alec Pollak, PhD Candidate (Cornell University), is at work on a dissertation about literary estates, in which the Miscellany features prominently. 

Alec has had the luxury of taking Virginia Woolf for granted as a widely-read, well-regarded author worthy of publication and attention—as a cornerstone of modernist and feminist thought, of what we might call English literary “canon.” Alec quickly learned that this had not always been the case and that Woolf’s status was, in fact, hard-won. She wonders what role the Miscellany has played establishing Woolf’s merits, tracing changes in readerly tastes, and cultivating a literary landscape wherein young readers can take Woolf’s accessibility as a given.