Return to Wilkie Collins Appreciation Page
This page is maintained by David R Grigg (). Last modified on 07 Jan 2000.
Tamar Heller and Lillian Nayder are pleased to announce the formation of a new society devoted to the study and discussion of Wilkie Collins. This newly formed society welcomes all those interested in Collins and his works, whether they consider themselves enthusiasts or scholars; we hope it will provide a forum and a network for its members in a number of ways:
1) By providing a list which includes the particular interests and/or works in progress of its members, in the hopes of identifying and bringing together those engaged in archival research on Collins and in constructing electronic resources, and in order to foster collaborative undertakings;
2) By providing a newsletter, which will (hopefully) evolve into a journal devoted to Collins scholarship and reviews;
3) By organizing a conference on sensation fiction, to be held on or before the year 2000.
While we would like the society to be recognized by the Modern Language Association, and organize an annual Collins panel for the December convention (as opposed to "special sessions," so often rejected on single authors), we understand that the MLA is wary of granting "official" status to new societies, and are rather skeptical of success in that regard.
We would like those interested in joining a Collins society to provide us with the following information:
1) Your name, address (mail and email), and academic or professional affiliation;
2) A description of your particular interests in Collins;
3) A list of publications and/or works in progress on Collins (for a bibliography).
Depending, of course, on membership figures, we believe that annual dues of $20.00 will cover the costs of publishing and mailing a newsletter and compiling membership information, but we are not accepting dues at this time. We would prefer that the Collins Society newsletter appear both electronically and in published (printed) form, but we solicit your opinions in this regard.
We look forward to hearing from interested parties. Please respond (privately) to either or both of us:
Lillian Nayder
Department of English
Bates College
Lewiston, Maine 04240
lnayder@abacus.bates.edu
Tamar Heller
Department of English
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky 40292
wthell01@ulkyvm.edu