Thanks to all who came for a successful (and very packed!) first lecture in our series on Fantasy Literature at Pembroke.

A podcast version of the lecture is now available, for people to share with others, or listen to for the first time if you were unable to make it on Friday because of the snow storm!

• Kij Johnson Lecture (1 hour; Q+A section starts 40 minutes in)
• Introduction to the lecture series by William Badger (5 minutes)

Despite the heavy snowfall (see picture), the lecture will still be going ahead tonight at 6pm! The main roads in Oxford are currently clear, and most of the buses are still running, but please take extra care when travelling.

On Tolkien’s birthday, Pembroke announce a lecture series on fantasy literature in honour of the longtime Pembroke professorial fellow.

The Press Release can be downloaded here.

PEMBROKE LAUNCH FANTASY LITERATURE LECTURE SERIES

IN HONOUR OF JRR TOLKIEN

 (Oxford, December 28, 2012) Pembroke College have invited award-winning author Kij Johnson to deliver the inaugural Pembroke Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Honour of JRR Tolkien. The first annual lecture in the series designed to explore the history and current state of fantasy literature will take place on January 18^th at 6 pm, it was jointly announced today by Meghan Campbell, President of the Pembroke College Middle Common Room (MCR), Catherine Beckett, Deputy Development Director, Pembroke College, and Kendall Murphy, Representative of the Pembroke College Annual Fund. Professor Johnson will also offer a fiction masterclass at Pembroke on January 19^th from 10 am until noon.

The series is intended to memorialize Tolkien, who was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke for twenty years; he wrote The Hobbit and much of The Lord of the Rings during his time at the college. The lectures are sponsored through a grant from the Pembroke Annual Fund.

Both the lecture and the fiction masterclass are free and open to the public, but online registration is required to reserve a place on the fiction course. Follow this link.

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On Saturday, January 19th, from 10 am until noon, Kij Johnson will be teaching a fiction masterclass at Pembroke College. The event is free and open to the public, but online registration is required. Follow this link to reserve your place.