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Always Halloween and Never Thanksgiving

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The Secret History in May 2026 - Two Seats Left!

Now confirmed! I am so happy to report that in May 2026, I’ll be offering a standalone module with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University on Donna Tartt's The Secret History. May 2026: The Secret History by Donna Tartt: Unpacking the “Whydunit” Mystery The Secret History, the 1992 debut novel of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt, has its own secret history, including an origin story at an actual college campus and inspiration from a real-life missing person case. The celebrated novel opens with the murder of a Classics student by his eccentric and close-knit group of college friends. The tale then unfolds as an inverted mystery, a “whydunit” rather than a “whodunit,” a narrative that interrogates the nature of obsession, beauty, and education.

Featuring ingredients of the campus novel, the coming-of-age story, and the New England Gothic, The Secret History has long been hailed as a modern classic, and now it’s been rediscovered by a new generation of readers who consider it a foundational text of Dark Academia storytelling. Why does this mystery have such staying power? How does it serve as a turning point in genre history? And how do its haunting themes relate to us and our search for knowledge today? In this module we will explore the fictional Hampden College and peel back the literary layers of The Secret History.
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We’re going back to Panem!

Our Hunger Games series went so well the first time, we’re doing it again! And it’s perfect timing, too, given that the film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping will be coming this autumn. You’re invited to join me in SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University to talk about all five books in The Hunger Games series! The first module has been confirmed to run in June 2026. What lessons do the Capitol and Districts have to teach us? What warnings should we heed? What road leads from here to Panem? Over the course of five months, participants in these SPACE modules will read and discuss a modern classic of dystopian storytelling, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

In this hybrid series, each week will include one lecture and one live discussion. The lectures will examine the inspirations behind, allusions in, and questions posed by that month’s novel. In live discussions, participants will share their insights on, interpretations of, and reactions to the story. Together we will consider why this series has spoken to so many readers and explore how its messages remain relevant today. Here is more information.
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New Science Fiction Titles for Your TBR

On my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa podcast (Episode 774), I discuss four recent works about science fiction that are perfect for your 2026 “To Be Read” list. Listen here!
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Darmok!

The latest episode of the Strange New Worlds podcast features an interview with the brilliant Dr. Kristina Šekrst talking about the linguistics of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Darmok,” the subject of her amazing essay in our book Star Trek: Essays Exploring the Final Frontier! Episode 193: The Linguistics of “Darmok” Star Trek: Essays Exploring the Final Frontier
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Stranger Things-Related Call for Papers

Stranger Things-Related Call for Papers Call for Papers: Welcome to Hawkins: A Special Issue on Stranger Things Slayage plans a special issue on Stranger Things for publication in late June 2026. ALT Slayage is an international and interdisciplinary refereed scholarly journal concerned with the “fuzzy set” with Buffy the Vampire Slayer at its center, and Stranger Things, a multi-season television series with kick-ass heroines, the irruption of the supernatural into the mundane, high-stakes action, strong characterizations, snarky humor, and an emphasis on relationships and the complexities of queerness and race, fits our definition nicely. It’s even got a Hellmouth in a library! As an interdisciplinary journal primarily concerned with visual media, we will be interested in nearly any approach to Stranger Things: literary-critical, sociological, historical, musical, queer theory, pop science, etc. Read more about Slayage at http://www.buffystudies.org/slayage-the-international-journal-of-buffy.html and please see the Slayage Style Sheet at http://www.buffystudies.org/slayage-house-style-sheet.html for guidance on citation style, especially for television episodes.

Here are some ideas to consider:

• Mothers and mothering: good mothers, evil mothers, avenging mothers
• Strong women, beweaponed and weaponized girls, and the Ripley (Alien) trope
• Fathers and fathering, and masculinities in general
• Groupings of generations and cohorts, and how their different story arcs work together
• Nostalgia and audience engagement
• Mythic patterns in storytelling
• Music used in the show and its significance; music as weapon and lifeline
• Resonances with other texts: A Wrinkle in Time, The Lord of the Rings, the Indiana Jones movies, the Star Wars movies, Carrie, The Goonies, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Ghostbusters, the Whedonverse, and on and on and on. Not just a recap of inspirations, but digging into the how and why.
• The show’s use of Dungeons and Dragons, and the early D&D panic
• Queer characters, queer theory, queer history
• Race in the 1980s: what the show got right, what it got wrong
• US/Russia/world relations in the 1980s and what the show does with them
• Crazy science and conspiracy theories
• The stage play Stranger Things: The First Shadow and the canonicity of other supplemental texts
• The independent-kids-on-bikes motif in Stranger Things and its sources
• The midwestern setting and its callbacks to sources like Breaking Away
• The suburban shopping mall: its significance in 80s teen culture and its use in horror films like Dawn of the Dead

Editors for this special issue are:

Dr. Kristine Larsen is distinguished Connecticut State University Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at Central Connecticut State University, where she has taught since 1989. Her teaching and research focus on the intersections between science and society, including science in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Her latest books are Science, Technology and Magic in The Witcher: A Medievalist Spin on Modern Monsters (McFarland, 2023), and The Sun We Share: Our Star in Popular Media and Science (McFarland, 2024).

Janet Brennan Croft (ORCiD 0001-0001-2691-3586) recently retired from the University of Northern Iowa as Librarian Emerita.  She is the author of War in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien (recently reissued by Bloomsbury; 2005 Mythopoeic Society Award for Inklings Studies). She has also written on the Peter Jackson Middle-earth films, the Whedonverse, Orphan Black, Terry Pratchett, Lois McMaster Bujold, and other authors, TV shows, and movies, and is editor or co-editor of many collections of literary essays, the most recent being Loremasters and Libraries in Fantasy and Science Fiction, co-edited with Jason Fisher (Mythopoeic Press, 2021). She edits the refereed scholarly journal Mythlore, is archivist and associate editor of Slayage: The International Journal of Buffy+, and chairs the Tolkien in Popular Culture Area at SWPACA.

Send abstracts of 400 words plus selected preliminary references to Kris Larsen and Janet Brennan Croft at janet.croft@uni.edu and larsen@ccsu.edu by January 30, 2026. Decisions on abstracts will be made by February 4. Initial submissions are due by April 15, and final revisions completed by June 10 for publication at the end of June.
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Star Trek-Related Call for Papers

Star Trek-Related Call for Papers Call for Book Chapters: “Beyond the Next Star: The Importance of Failure in Star Trek"  ALT The editors of Second Star to the Right: Essays on Leadership in Star Trek (Vernon Press), Jason A. Kaufman and Aaron M. Peterson, invite book chapter proposals for a forthcoming edited volume tentatively titled Beyond the Next Star: The Importance of Failure in Star Trek. Star Trek provides an opportunity to explore the final frontier of leadership through six decades of series and films. With its basis in Enlightenment thinking (reason coupled to compassion) and its encouragement of diversity in its myriad threads, Star Trek offers guidance on how to improve the human condition that has application to any academic and professional field. Importantly, Star Trek also offers numerous examples of how individuals in roles of leadership large and small are able to navigate the emotional and practical challenges of failure. Failure is a part of life, an experience all too common to anyone who has achieved a modicum of success. While some people never learn from failure and others seek to avoid it altogether, Star Trek offers myriad examples large and small of how moments of failure can lead to personal development, professional success, and even galactic salvation. Of course, sometimes failure is just that, a cessation of progress. However, even in these moments, failure can still be a poignant teacher. This edited volume will explore the application of Star Trek to moving forward from failure across a diverse array of fields and perspectives. We seek chapters from leaders, scientists, educators, professionals, writers, and others, whether their expertise is drawn from boardroom, lab, classroom, field, or page. Our goal is to utilize the wealth of canon to inform business, law, politics, ethics, peace studies, conflict management, academic leadership, religious studies, literary and textual analysis, and beyond. By acknowledging the realities of failure, our goal is to make the world a better place. We seek chapter proposals focused not on a single character, but instead on a situation portrayed in a specific scene, episode, or film that depicts failure and how it was navigated positively or negatively. Chapter proposals should be academically rigorous yet accessible to an informed non-academic audience. We want you to write to inform practice in your field using Star Trek as the background of the discussion, not the focus. Similarly, please do not utilize your own failures as examples. Humor and honesty are always appreciated. Chapter proposal submission Please submit an abstract no longer than 300 words to volume editors Jason A. Kaufman (jason.kaufman@mnsu.edu) and Aaron M. Peterson (aaron.peterson@converse.edu) by February 27, 2026. The abstract should include a clear overview of the main focus of the chapter. In addition, please include a brief bio of 100 words or fewer for the author(s). Co-authored proposals are welcome, but please limit submissions to two per author. Finally, please begin your email heading with “NEXT STAR:” when you submit the proposal for review. Now…hit it! Deadlines Proposal submission deadline: February 27, 2026 Acceptance of proposal sent out: March 27, 2026 Chapter submission: September 8, 2026 (Star Trek Day)
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Rebellions are built on hope - in SPACE!

Here are the details of the new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) that I’ll be offering for Signum University in Spring 2026. Rebellions Are Built On Hope: A Star Wars Series Over nearly half a century of storytelling, Star Wars has challenged audiences to find their own agency and power in the face of injustice and tyranny. The Star Wars works Andor (2022, 2025), Rogue One (2016), and A New Hope (1977) fit together to provide a story of resistance, resilience, and rebellion built on a deep engagement with history, philosophy, and political thought. Join Dr. Amy H. Sturgis as we consider how Star Wars wrestles with big ideas, invites conversation and action, and inspires hope in unprecedented times.

This SPACE series consists of three hybrid modules: Module 1 (Feb. 2026 - Only 1 seat left!) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here); Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here).
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Dark Academia in SPACE!

Now confirmed! I am delighted to report that in Spring 2026, I’ll be offering two standalone (but related) modules with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University. Each focuses on an important novel related to the same real-life, true-crime unsolved case. March 2026: Last Seen Wearing by Hillary Waugh: Discovering a Turning Point in Crime Fiction May 2026: The Secret History by Donna Tartt: Unpacking the “Whydunit” Mystery
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Feminist Utopian Thought

On my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa podcast (Episode 772), I discuss early feminist science fictional utopias and focus on A Few Hours in a Far-Off Age (1883) by Henrietta Dugdale. Listen here!
ALTALT
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Star Wars and Resistance

My half-hour talk “Star Wars and Resistance” is now on YouTube as part of the SPACE Showcase. My talk kicks in around 11 minutes into the Showcase. This talk is a “sneak peek” into my new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) for Signum University in Spring 2026.
The Signum University Webathon 2025!: SPACE Showcase And here are the details of my Spring Star Wars modules. Rebellions Are Built On Hope: A Star Wars Series Over nearly half a century of storytelling, Star Wars has challenged audiences to find their own agency and power in the face of injustice and tyranny. The Star Wars works Andor (2022, 2025), Rogue One (2016), and A New Hope (1977) fit together to provide a story of resistance, resilience, and rebellion built on a deep engagement with history, philosophy, and political thought. Join Dr. Amy H. Sturgis as we consider how Star Wars wrestles with big ideas, invites conversation and action, and inspires hope in unprecedented times.

This SPACE series consists of three hybrid modules: Module 1 (Feb. 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here); Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here).
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Rebellions Are Built on Hope

I’m delighted to share that I will be teaching a new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) for Signum University in Spring 2026. Rebellions Are Built On Hope: A Star Wars Series Over nearly half a century of storytelling, Star Wars has challenged audiences to find their own agency and power in the face of injustice and tyranny. The Star Wars works Andor (2022, 2025), Rogue One (2016), and A New Hope (1977) fit together to provide a story of resistance, resilience, and rebellion built on a deep engagement with history, philosophy, and political thought. Join Dr. Amy H. Sturgis as we consider how Star Wars wrestles with big ideas, invites conversation and action, and inspires hope in unprecedented times.

This SPACE series consists of three hybrid modules: Module 1 (Feb. 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here); Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here).
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Headed to SPACE in Spring 2026!

I’m delighted to share that I will be teaching a new three-part online module for SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) for Signum University in Spring 2026. Rebellions Are Built On Hope: A Star Wars Series Over nearly half a century of storytelling, Star Wars has challenged audiences to find their own agency and power in the face of injustice and tyranny. The Star Wars works Andor (2022, 2025), Rogue One (2016), and A New Hope (1977) fit together to provide a story of resistance, resilience, and rebellion built on a deep engagement with history, philosophy, and political thought. Join Dr. Amy H. Sturgis as we consider how Star Wars wrestles with big ideas, invites conversation and action, and inspires hope in unprecedented times.

This SPACE series consists of three hybrid modules: Module 1 (Feb. 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 1 (more info here); Module 2 (March 2026) covers the series Andor, Season 2 (more info here); and Module 3 (April 2026) covers the films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (more info here). Get your votes in now if you’d like your availability to be considered while we schedule these modules. I hope to see you in that galaxy far, far away! ALT
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News!

I’m tickled to share that my paper “Star Trek’s Son of the Royal Navy: Malcolm Reed’s Subversive Voyage in Space, Then and Now” has been accepted for NavyCon 2025, a conference sponsored by the Center for International Maritime Security, King’s College, and the Naval War College. The theme is “The Influence of Navies on Science Fiction, NASA, and the Future of Space,” and the event will be held online on December 6. 🖖 In other news, Happy October! 🎃 On my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa podcast (Episode 766), I praise the Dracula “group read” experience. Here is the episode. ALT
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“The Liar” by Darcie Little Badger

I’m delighted to say that my narration of “The Liar” by the brilliant Darcie Little Badger is now available on Episode 651 of the Cast of Wonders podcast. ALT Cast of Wonders 651: The Liar | Cast of Wonders
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It’s almost time for The Hunger Games!

You’re invited to join me in SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University to talk about all five books in The Hunger Games series! The first module has been confirmed to run in September 2025. What lessons do the Capitol and Districts have to teach us? What warnings should we heed? What road leads from here to Panem? Over the course of five months, participants in these SPACE modules will read and discuss a modern classic of dystopian storytelling, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. In this hybrid series, each week will include one lecture and one live discussion. The lectures will examine the inspirations behind, allusions in, and questions posed by that month’s novel. In live discussions, participants will share their insights on, interpretations of, and reactions to the story. Together we will consider why this series has spoken to so many readers and explore how its messages remain relevant today. Here is more information.
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Timey-Wimey

On my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa podcast (Episode 762), I talk about Doctor Who, history, time travel, and the new Who novel Shirley Jackson and the Chaos Box by Kalynn Bayron. StarShipSofa 762 Gustavo Bondini
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“Exploring Star Trek” in Fall 2025

“Exploring Star Trek” in Fall 2025 I’m excited to say that in Fall 2025 I will be offering the 12-week online class “Exploring Star Trek” for M.A. students and non-degree-seeking auditors alike at Signum University. I’m delighted to be teaching this course once again! Exploring Star Trek - Signum University
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Join me in Panem starting in September 2025!

Signum University — Blackberry Join me in SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University! What lessons do the Capitol and Districts have to teach us? What warnings should we heed? What road leads from here to Panem? Over the course of five months, participants in these SPACE modules will read and discuss a modern classic of dystopian storytelling, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. In this hybrid series, each week will include one lecture and one live discussion. The lectures will examine the inspirations behind, allusions in, and questions posed by that month’s novel. In live discussions, participants will share their insights on, interpretations of, and reactions to the story. Together we will consider why this series has spoken to so many readers and explore how its messages remain relevant today.
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On Edge!

StarShipSofa 760 Libby Cudmore On my latest “Looking Back on Genre History” segment on the StarShipSofa (Episode 760), I discuss Ashley Lawson’s new book On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett.
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Help launch Hangsaman!

My “Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson: Exploring a Gothic Campus Mystery” one-month module with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University is currently “on the launchpad” for potential launch in the autumn of 2025. Here is the official description: “Shirley Jackson is rightly celebrated as a master of Gothic storytelling thanks to her most well-known novels such as The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962). In recent years, however, her earlier novel Hangsaman (1951) has received new attention and critical appreciation from fans and scholars alike.

"Far ahead of its time when it was published, Jackson’s deeply personal Hangsaman is many things: a psychological study of a young woman’s coming of age; a haunting Gothic mystery; a pointed critique of gender roles, family dynamics, and higher education; a meditation on trauma and mental illness; and an ancestor of today’s dark academia storytelling. Shirley Jackson drew inspiration from a variety of sources to craft this remarkable campus novel, from folk ballads and the Tarot, myth and ritual, to a real college campus and an unsolved New England cold case of a missing sophomore student.

"In this module, we will unpack this gem of a Gothic story, following freshman Natalie Waite as she searches for her “essential self” and discussing why Hangsaman feels freshly relevant and important to many readers today.” Here is more information on the Hangsaman module. To help launch this module, please go here, log in, and put this module on your launchpad short-list. Thanks!
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Will you join me in Panem?

My “The Hunger Games” module with SPACE (Signum Portals for Adult Continuing Education) online via Signum University is currently a candidate for September 2025. This is a proposed first module of five, one for each of the five Hunger Games novels by Suzanne Collins. Each week will include one recorded lecture and one live discussion section. Voting runs through August 1. I hope you will join us as we explore the lessons we may learn from Panem. May the odds be ever in our favor! More information is here.
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