Newspapers and Periodicals

Proposals for papers are invited on the theme of ‘Newspapers and Periodicals’ for the seventeenth St Andrews / USTC Book History Conference, which will take place on Thursday 19 – Saturday 21 June 2025 at the University of St Andrews. 

While the basic technological underpinnings of print were unaltered from the days of Johannes Gutenberg to the invention of the steam press in the nineteenth century, one type of early modern publishing, pioneered in the early seventeenth century, would alter the printscape decisively. The rise of newspapers and other types of periodical publishing was beset by many failures and missteps, but by 1700, the genre had taken Europe by storm.

In the eighteenth century, newspapers would be at the heart of the expansion of printing presses in provincial Europe and its colonies overseas. At the same time, the range of periodical publishing on offer in Europe’s major cities would expand into every realm of printed information.

While periodicals have long been the poor relation of short title catalogues and bibliographical investigations, this conference will seek to place periodical publishing where it belongs, at the heart of early modern print culture.

This conference will engage with the full diversity of periodical literature that appeared in the early modern period, from newspapers and monthly digests of current affairs to periodicals covering science, the book trade, literature, arts, husbandry, philosophy and more. We welcome proposals for papers on research methodologies and the reconstruction of periodical ventures, key categories of periodical genres, individual titles or prominent publishers, and other subjects. 

Proposals, with a title, an abstract of up to 300 words, and a short biography of up to 150 words, should be addressed to the organisers, Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen and Zachary Brookman by 13 December 2024.

The organisers can be reached at admp@st-andrews.ac.uk, adw7@st-andrews.ac.uk and zb28@st-andrews.ac.uk.