ESPRit online seminar with Susann Liebich and Felix Larkin
ESPRit online seminars, Autumn 2021: ‘Crossover influences and local identities of the popular illustrated periodicals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries’
Autumn series 2021, Session 2 - November 19, 3PM CET:
1) Susann Liebich (Heidelberg University), A New Zealand ‘quality magazine’: The Monocle, 1937-1939
In May 1937, a new magazine appeared in the New Zealand print market place: The Monocle, using the sub-title ‘New Zealand’s quality magazine’ was the country’s first dedicated men’s magazine; and a sign of maturity and confidence of its publishing scene. As is true for periodicals published in New Zealand in the first half of the twentieth century more generally, there has been little scholarly attention paid to The Monocle. This paper considers the publication of this magazine as an attempt to articulate a local version of transnational magazine culture on the edges, or outside of, the cosmopolitan and global centres of the English-speaking publishing world. Modelled clearly on overseas counterparts, the magazine offered a New Zealand specific version of middle-brow and middle-class modernity, first explicitly directed at men, then, soon after, addressing a mixed gender readership. The magazine was a relatively short-lived venture, folding after two years. Nevertheless, as a publishing experiment, The Monocle was a trailblazer in a print market still largely dominated by imported publications. This paper introduces The Monocle, reflects on possible reasons for its demise, and considers its role and legacy within a transnationally shaped New Zealand magazine market.
2) Felix Larkin, Periodicals and Journalism in Twentieth-Century Ireland
My paper will survey the Irish periodical press over the course of the twentieth century with a particular focus on its contribution to the development of journalism in Ireland. The research that has been done to date on Irish periodicals has tended to concentrate on the journal as literary miscellany rather than as a vehicle for news and commentary.
From the early 1900s onwards journals advocating an Irish-Ireland, a republican Ireland, a workers’ republic, a Catholic Ireland, as well as journals promoting the Irish language, the co-operative movement and the rights of women began to appear. After independence, a new breed of journal critiquing the kind of society that was emerging in the new state began to flourish. Some journals were unambiguously organs of dissent; others were organs of important minority communities that would not otherwise have had a voice in Irish media – for example, women, the young, the gay community, religious interests and the Irish-Ireland movement.
In the latter forty years of the century, the most prominent journals were those that concentrated on current affairs, promoted investigative journalism and exposed the often opaque intercourse between the worlds of business and politics. These journals helped shape the thinking that led to a more open Irish society from the late-1960s onwards.
By reference to the periodical landscape, the paper will draw on themes of continuity and discontinuity in Irish society in the twentieth century, the notion of what a free press actually meant at different times, the relationship between periodicals and the public sphere, and the political economy of periodical publishing. It will also raise the pertinent question of the future for periodicals in the digital age.
ESPRit online seminar with Evanghelia Stead
ESPRit online seminars, Autumn 2021: ‘Crossover influences and local identities of the popular illustrated periodicals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries’
In order to build our online ESPRit community, we are organising a series of one-hour online seminars in collaboration with the ETMIET/KENI team from Panteion University (Athens). The first series was held in the Spring of 2021. Recordings are available on our website. You are now invited to opening session of the second series:
November 5, 3PM CET: Keynote lecture by Evanghelia Stead (Institut Universitaire de France / Université de Versailles), 'Exploring Periodicals through Images and Networks'
Supported by individual investigation and collaborative work, the presentation offers a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to periodicals. It broaches the beneficial effects of collective exchange, and flags up some of the counter-productive effects and burdens. It embraces not so much strict methodologies as tactics and ploys to variously approach such a varied and complex field. The talk first discusses visual studies and interdisciplinarity. There follows an overview of group work on periodical networks, stressing the importance of relational dynamics. It further shows the preconceptions and limitations behind such expressions as “little magazine” and the recurrent split separating big mags from small reviews. Its conclusion reasons why periodicals are so fascinating and invites further discussion.
Welcome to ESPRit
Welcome to the European Society for Periodical Research. Since its inception in 2009, ESPRit has proven its value as an international network for periodical researchers. We are proud of our inspiring annual conferences which bring together scholars from inside and outside of Europe and of the peer-reviewed Open Access Journal of European Periodical Studies (JEPS) which has entered its tenth year.
Until recently, ESPRit membership has been informal, consisting mainly of a subscription to our mailing list. In July 2019, a paid membership system was put into place. Periodical scholars who wish to support the Society, participate in its annual meetings, and benefit from discounts at future events, are kindly invited to register their membership by clicking on the button below.
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LATEST NEWS
Final Programme Now Available
We are pleased to announce that the final programme for the 13th Annual ESPRit Conference, Periodicals as Cultural Assemblages (Málaga, 3–5 September 2025), is now available.
👉 Click here to download the programme
Book of Abstracts Now Available
The Book of Abstracts for the 13th Annual ESPRit Conference, Periodicals as Cultural Assemblages (Málaga, 3–5 September 2025), is now available for consultation.
👉Click here to download the Book of Abstracts
Meet the Keynote Speakers for ESPRit 2025
We are pleased to introduce the keynote speakers for the 13th Annual ESPRit Conference, Periodicals as Cultural Assemblages (Málaga, 3–5 September 2025).
Their talks will explore the boundaries of periodical form, discourse, and digital communication, offering vital perspectives on the cultural role of periodicals.
👉 Click here to view the keynote speakers and lecture titles
Extended Registration – ESPRit 2025 Conference in Málaga
The registration for the 13th Annual ESPRit Conference, Periodicals as Cultural Assemblages (Málaga, 3–5 September 2025) has been extended to 31st July.
We warmly invite all scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students working on periodicals to join us for what promises to be a rich and engaging programme. We look forward to welcoming you to Málaga!
New JEPS Issue: Periodicals & Belonging (Vol. 10.1)
The latest issue of the Journal of European Periodical Studies explores how periodicals construct, maintain, and challenge ideas of community and belonging—an especially timely theme in today’s fragmented world. This issue is accompanied by a new episode of the JEPS in Conversation podcast
🎧 Listen to the podcast on SoundCloud
📖 Read the full issue online
New Seminar Series: JEPS in Conversation
JEPS in Conversation is a new online series from the Journal of European Periodical Studies, spotlighting fresh research and dialogue in the field of periodical studies.
Each session is followed by a podcast, freely available for listening.
👉 Click here for full details and to listen to the podcast series
Call for Submissions – JEPS 11.2 (Open Issue)
The Journal of European Periodical Studies invites submissions for its upcoming Open Issue (Winter 2026). We welcome research on all aspects of the European periodical press, from the seventeenth century to the present.
📅 Submission deadline: 1 December 2025
👉 Click here to read the full call
New Website Section for the ESPRit 2025 Conference Now Live
We are pleased to announce that a dedicated section of the ESPRit website is now available for the upcoming 13th ESPRit Conference, which will take place at the University of Málaga from 3 to 5 September 2025. This new section includes detailed information about the venue, travel and accommodation options, the conference dinner, and other practical details to support participants in preparing their visit.
👉 Click here to explore the conference section
ESPRit online seminars
In order to build our online ESPRit community, we regularly organise one-hour online seminars. For an overview of past seminars and to watch the recordings, please click here. Proposals for future seminars can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Migration from Listserv tot Google Groups
In December 2022, the European Society for Periodical Research has moved its news and mailing list service to Google Groups. The Listserv mailing list is no longer active. Please join our Google Group if you wish to receive information about our annual conferences, new issues of the Journal for European Periodical Studies and other news concerning ESPRit. Subscribers can also use the Google Group service to exchange information, ask questions, or share new publications with the periodical research community. More information.
JEPS 6.1 (2021): Women editors in Europe
Special issue of the Journal of European Periodical Studies Vol 6 No 1 (2021): Women editors in Europe
Table of Contents
SPECIAL ISSUE
Marianne Van Remoortel, Julie M. Birkholz, Maria Alesina, Christina Bezari, Charlotte D'Eer, Eloise Forestier, Women Editors in Europe
Fionnuala Dillane, What is a Periodical Editor? Types, Models, Characters, and Women
Andrea Penso, Elisabetta Caminer Turra’s Editorial Strategies for Introducing English Novels in Italy through her Periodicals
Joanne Shattock, Mary Howitt and Howitt's Journal (1847–48)
Aisha Bazlamit, Aline Valette’s L’Harmonie sociale (1892–93): From Social Theory to Editorial Practice
Judit Acsády, Hungarian Feminist Periodicals as Alternative Public Spaces, 1907–18: Values, Networks, and Dissemination Strategies
Amelia Sanz-Cabrerizo, Lola Alvarez-Morales, Editorial Identities, Business Models, and Social Strategies: Spanish Women Editors in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
Marie Nedregotten Sørbø, Fourfold Female: Birgithe Kühle’s Pioneer Norwegian Journal Provincial-Lecture (1794) and Her European Book Collection
Zsuzsa Török, Mother of Three and Widow of the Nation: The Hungarian Mrs Vachott (1828–96) as Protégé-Editor
Petra Bozsoki, Editorial Strategies of Hungarian Women Editors in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century
Zsolt Mészáros, The Magyar Bazár (1866–1904) and the Literary Salon Hosted by the Wohl Sisters in Budapest
Alicja Walczyna, Paulina Kuczalska-Reinschmit and Ster (1895–97, 1907–14): Editing at the Service of Polish Women’s Rights
ARTICLES
Johanne Slettvoll Kristiansen, Newspaper Debates in Late Eighteenth-Century England: ‘Letters to the Editor’ versus the Political Pamphlet
Liam Young, ‘A Fact in the History of the World’: The Vegetarian Advocate (1848‒50) and the Serialization of Life
REVIEWS
Leanne Rae Darnbrough, Review of Andrea Chiurato, ed., The Last Avant- Garde: Alternative and Anti-Establishment Reviews (1970–1979) (2019)
Bartholomew Brinkman, Review of Victoria Bazin, Modernism Edited: Marianne Moore and the Dial Magazine (2019)
Anna Gielas, Review of Hester Blum, The News at the Ends of the Earth: The Print Culture of Polar Exploration (2019)
Peter W. Sinnema, Review of Thomas Smits, The European Illustrated Press and the Emergence of a Transnational Visual Culture of the News, 1842–1870 (2020)
JEPS 5.2 (2020): Independent Magazines Today
Special issue of the Journal of European Periodical Studies Vol 5 No 2 (2020): Independent Magazines Today
Guest-edited by Natasha Anderson, Sabina Fazli, and Oliver Scheiding.
Table of Contents
SPECIAL ISSUE
Sabina Fazli, Oliver Scheiding, Natasha Anderson. ‘Independent Magazines Today’, p. 1–11 PDF
Sabina Fazli, ‘Micro-Archives and the Survival of Print in Momma Tried and Sabat’, p. 12–30 PDF
Natasha Anderson, ‘Strolling the Streets to Discover the Cities: Cosmopolitan Collage in the Independent Magazine Flaneur’, p. 31–45 PDF
Oliver Scheiding, ‘Indie Magazines as Brands: Aesthetic Communication and Designing the Kinfolk Experience’, p. 26–59 PDF
ARTICLES
Despoina Gkogkou, ‘The Greek Middlebrow Magazine Μπουκέτο (1924‒46) and its Supplements’, p. 60–79 PDF
Eleanor Reed, ‘Romance in Woman’s Weekly and Woman’s Weekly as Romance, 1918–39’, p. 80-94 PDF
REVIEWS
Charlotte D’Eer, ‘Review of Volker Mergenthaler, Garderobenwechsel: ‘Das Fräulein von Scuderi’ in Taschenbuch, Lieferungswerk und Journal (1819–1871) (2018)’, p. 95–97 PDF
Alicia Montoya, ‘Review of Suzanne Dumouchel, Le Journal littéraire en France au dix-huitième siècle. Émergence d’une culture virtuelle (2016)’, p. 98-101 PDF