Event: The Short Story in the Transnational Press (XIX-XXI Centuries), Bilingual Study Day

The Journal of the Short Story in English (JSSE) and the Transfopress Research Network are hosting a bilingual study day / journée d’étude in Paris, France (venue to be announced) on Friday, 2 April 2027, focusing on “The Short Story in the Transnational Press (XIX-XXI Centuries).” For over forty years the JSSE has been publishing research on the short story; and for over a decade, the Transfopress Research Network has been studying the emergence and expansion of transnational newspapers, magazines, and other media communicated in languages other than the official languages of the countries where they are produced. The recent publication of The Transnational British Press in Non-Anglophone Countries, 1800–1914 [google.com] (University of Edinburgh Press, edited by Diana Cooper-Richet, Isabelle Richet, Jennifer Hayward, and Michelle Prain-Brice ) has uncovered the rich history of the transnational English-language press over the long nineteenth century. It is therefore an opportune time to take a closer look at the role of the short story within this press as well as expanding the geographical and historical scope of study. We plan to have a half day focusing on the short story in the transnational press in English and a half day focusing on the transnational press in other languages, from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. The following are some suggestions for questions that might be explored:

• Which short-fiction writers are being published in this press?
• Which genres of short stories are being published in this press?
• Are the stories original publications, reprints, piracies, translations, or the first seeds of later stories or larger works?
• Are there overlooked or forgotten stories to be uncovered in this press?
• What role is there for the amateur author and the short story competition in this press?
• How might these stories be serving the communities these publications support?

Papers can be delivered in English or in French. Please submit a 250-word abstract of your paper and short 50-word biography by 16 November 2026 to colette.colligan@univ-angers.fr, gerald.preher@univ-artois.fr, and diana.cooper-richet@uvsq.fr. We will respond within a couple of weeks to announce which papers have been selected for the study day. This event is organised in partnership with the ‘Nouvelles et formes brèves’ research group, which is part of the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur les patrimoines en langues et en littératures (CIRPaLL) at the University of Angers.