Oxford Events, the new replacement for OxTalks, will launch on 16th March. The two-week OxTalks freeze period starts on Monday 2nd March. During this time, there will be no facility to publish or edit events. The existing OxTalks site will remain available to view during this period. Once Oxford Events launches, you will need a Halo login to submit events. Full details are available on the Staff Gateway.
Creating context around a book’s main character and arc can bring to readers an enlarged understanding of their story and its importance to their time. It can also lead the writer into the weeds, causing a reader to lose interest in your work. In this talk, Prof. Michael Meyer will discuss his approach and methods whilst writing about 1870s London and the many “B characters” in ‘A Dirty, Filthy Book,’ which recounts Annie Besant’s obscenity trial. Meyer has also written extensively about China, and will talk about about world-building for readers unfamiliar with a story’s setting, history, and language.