As part of this work, I am interviewing artists, writers, academics, and public figures who are actively working with and through the work of Austen. I am particularly interested in speaking with individuals who have successfully deployed Austen to engage diverse audiences.

Jane Austen, by Richard Bentley, after Cassandra Austen, stipple engraving 1870 (used by permission, National Portrait Gallery)

Completed Interviews

• Patricia A. Matthew, Director, The Race and Regency Lab, Associate Professor, Montclair State University
• Robert Newman, outgoing President, National Humanities Center
• Robert B. Townsend, Program Director for Humanities, Arts, and Culture, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
• Heather Hewett, former program officer, American Council of Learned Societies
• Stephanie Shonekan, Dean, College of Arts & Humanities, University of Maryland
• Lyndon Dominique, Associate Professor, Lehigh University
• Claudia L. Johnson, Murray Professor of Literature, Princeton University
• Uzma Jalaluddin, author of Austen adaptations Ayesha at Last (2018) and Much Ado About Nada (2023)
• Nikki Payne, author of Austen adaptations Pride and Protest (2022) and Sex, Lies, and Sensibility (2024)
• Dr. Jennifer Kloester, author of Jane Austen’s Ghost (2019)

Upcoming Interviews

• Dr. Meenakshi Bharat, Professor, Department of English, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi
• Mahesh Rao, author of Polite Society (2019), an adaptation of Emma set in Delhi
• Dr. Usha Mudiganti, Professor, Ambedkar University, Delhi
• Dr. Mandakini Dubey, Ashoka University
• Dr. Meenakshi Bharat, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi
• Dr. Saikat Majumdar, Ashoka University
• Dr. Sambudha Sen, Shiv Nadar University
• Dr. Vivek Sachdeva, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
• Laaleen Sukhera, editor of Austenistan (2017), a collection of seven stories inspired by Austen set in contemporary Pakistan
• Maan Jalal, author and journalist at The National
• Jan Merriman, author of Jane Austen’s Remarkable Aunt, Philadelphia Hancock: A Girl of Genius and Feeling (2024)
• Ruth Wilson, author of The Jane Austen Remedy (2022)
• Penny Gay, author of Jane Austen and the Theatre (2002)
• Susannah Fullerton, president of the Jane Austen Society of Australia
• Joanne Wilkes, professor Emerita, University of Auckland and author Unfinished Austen (2024)
• Jason Solinger, Associate Professor, University of Mississippi
• Penny Ashton, actor and performer of Promise and Promiscuity
• Soniah Kamal, author of Unmarriageable
• Sonali Dev, author of multiple Austen adaptations
• Sam Brooks, Auckland-based journalist and playwright, writer of Em
• Georgie Castilla, Duniath Comics
• Deborah Yaffe, author of Among the Janeites
• Dr. Javaria Farooqui, University of Islamabad, Lahore Campus
• KC MacMillan, playwright and dramatist, co-author, The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged
• Sarah Rose Kearns, playwright and dramatist, author of The Austens and Manydown
• Dave Morris, improv artist who produces Austen-based improv shows in Victoria, British Columbia
• Megan Poff and Laura Klein, professional musicians and contributors to the The Jane Austen Playlist
• Francine Matthews, author of Jane Austen mystery series, written under name of Stephanie Barron
• Lucy Marin, Toronto-based author of Austen adaptations and continuations, including Being Mrs. Darcy (2020) and The Recovery of Fitzwilliam Darcy (2021)
• Mary Mintz, President, Jane Austen Society of North America
• Mirta Ines Trupp, author of Austenesque fiction that draws on Jewish culture and history