All Jane Austen. All the time*.
*Or just for one weekend.
It’s time for Virtual Jane Con again! That means fun, fandom and flailing (but no fainting!). This year’s festivities will be different than 2020, and I hope you all approve of the more organized and open nature of this year’s con.
The Program
Are you ready? Here’s the basics:
Download the FULL program below. It has info on each program, including more timezones.
2021 Virtual Jane Con timeline
- February 6 – Call for programming opens
- April 17 – Call for programming closes
- April 21 – Program is released
- May 1 -2 – Virtual Jane Con takes place online
What is Virtual Jane Con?
It’s an Austen-filled weekend online. You can see some of last year’s programming here, but it ranged from Regency costuming to more academic discussions on Austen’s works and Regency history. It’s a fun, wide-ranging event that encapsulates the myriad interests and talents of the Jane Austen community, while remaining online and free to see, making it accessible to fans with access to social media platforms.
Last year I organized this virtual con for March 28 & 29, 2020, with very little lead time. While it was a fun weekend, it was clear there was a large audience for this, with many, many brilliant speakers who would like to participate in future. So this year is gonna be slightly different to allow for more people to submit and participate.
First change: All programming will be posted and hosted on YouTube.
Second change: The submission period will be more formalized and lead time will be built in.
This doesn’t mean you can’t share your content or discuss the con on non-YouTube channels, but it was a needed change to make everything more cohesive.
How can I submit to be included in programming?
The call for programming is here. PLEASE READ THE POST AND FORM COMPLETELY.
If you are looking for panelists or want to be on a panel, please join this FB Group to coordinate with other folks.
The call for programming will open up on Feb. 6, 2021. It will be posted here and on various social channels. This year the programming will be more formalized through a Google Form you will have to fill out fully.
This year is different because all programming will be on YouTube, a central social channel to make it easier to access and follow. If you submit you will need to make sure your video premieres or is public by the date and time you are signing up for in the Google Form.
What can I submit to Virtual Jane Con?
The con is, at its heart, about Jane Austen, but topics around the Regency era, Austen in pop culture and anything Austen-adjacent are fine. If you want to do a panel, workshop or performance, just ask if it makes sense for this con. This can and should be a creative lineup, but if you have content that doesn’t work for this, think about submitting elsewhere.
Some ideas for what to talk about:
- Jane Austen on film
- A panel on Regency romance
- Black authors of the Regency era.
- Dyes available in Regency London
- Pride and Prejudice covers through the years
- Why Wishbone is the very best Darcy
If you aren’t sure check out some of last year’s programming here or email with specific questions.
What I am NOT looking for is a talk that is rushed or taken from someone else’s work. You are welcome to research and cite authors and works, but you should not be putting together a talk the night before using just Wikipedia to inform your talk. (Yes, that happened last year. Don’t be that person.)
And since this year’s con will be completely on YouTube, you will be expected to make a video and have it posted during the slot you have indicated on the form. Obviously, if things change close to the event, you can email with changes, but once programming graphics and info has gone out (which will be going out at least two-three weeks ahead of the con weekend) it will be impossible to change what has already gone out.
I don’t want to present but I’d like to help.
I don’t want to present, how do I watch?
Just watch this space and follow Virtual Jane Con on YouTube, Twitter or Instagram fo programming info. You should also sign up for the Virtual Jane Con newsletter you can get the program right in your inbox and updates for upcoming events.
Mark your calendars for May 1 -2 and be ready for fun!
Virtual Jane Con Community Guidelines
Whether you are a moderator, panelist or participant, it is your job to be conscious of your behavior during Virtual Jane Con.
In the interests of maintaining a safe and healthy space for discussion at Virtual Jane Con, here are some community guidelines for the event. Speakers, panelists, commenters and participants will be expected to uphold these standards and work to educate themselves on why they are integral to this space.
Some of the guidelines may be new for people, and it will involve changes from the source text in some discussion, but you are asked to follow these best practices to support an anti-racist and inclusive environment for discourse and enjoyment of Jane Austen and related content.
Sessions, discussions and any Virtual Jane Con social media interactions will be free of hate speech including (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ability, religion, national origin, and socio-economic class or background.
The use of slurs and epithets during Virtual Jane Con will not be tolerated. Do NOT use the g-slur when discussing Emma. Instead intentionally use “Romani” or “Roma” when appropriate.
You should also know that this event will expect speakers and participants to adopt preferred language that addresses and acknowledges the racism of historical terms. [“This includes enslaved person/worker/mother/child rather than “slave”; enslaver vs. “master” or “mistress”; mixed-race person vs “mulatto,” “quadroon,” etc.” Learn more about why this is important from the Dickens Project.]
Please place a trigger warning in a visible place at the beginning of presentations and/or in the episode notes section. Here is more info on trigger warnings.
In terms of accessibility, make an effort to describe images in your talk and edit the auto-generated closed captioning when it is available to do so. (Here’s how.)
bookhoarding 
Thank you for this! And special thanks for having it on YouTube; as someone who no longer uses Facebook and isn’t on Instagram, that platform is simpler to use/view on. I’m marking my calendar! 🙂