History of Books and Reading (HOBAR) research group

 The History of Books and Reading (HOBAR) Research Group brings together researchers interested in any area of the history of books and reading. This includes research in publishing, authorship, scholarly editing, manuscript studies, digital books, serialisation and bibliography.

Breaking news

'Literature Matters' online conference, 4-6 November 2024 - Call for Papers is now open. The deadline for proposals is 26 July 2024 and further details are here

HOBAR Membership

Director

Co-Director

Core Research Group Members

  • Dr Francesca Benatti, (Lecturer in Digital Humanities, The Open University)
  • Professor Richard Danson Brown (Professor in English, The Open University)
  • Dr Jonathan Gibson (Senior Lecturer in English, The Open University)
  • Professor Suman Gupta (Professor in Literature and Cultural Studies, The Open University)
  • Professor Sara Haslam (Professor in English, The Open University)
  • Professor David Johnson (Professor in English, The Open University)
  • Dr Richard Jones (Senior Lecturer in English, The Open University)
  • Professor Nicola J Watson (Professor in English, The Open University)

Visitng Fellows, Honorary Associates and Emerita

  • Dr Sally Blackburn-Daniels (Visiting Fellow in English, The Open University)
  • Dr Helen Chambers (Visiting Fellow in English, The Open University)
  • Professor Rosalind Crone (Professor in History, The Open University)
  • Dr Caroline Davis (Senior Lecturer in Publishing Studies, Oxford Brookes University)
  • Professor Simon Eliot (Professor Emeritus in the History of the Book, University of London)
  • Professor Robert Fraser (Professor Emeritus in English, The Open University)
  • Professor Katie Halsey (Professor in 18th Century Literature, University of Stirling)
  • Professor Mary Hammond (Professor Emeritus in English, University of Southampton)
  • Professor Peg Katritzky (Professor in Theatre Studies, The Open University)
  • Professor Bob Owens (Emeritus Professor in English, The Open University)
  • Dr Isabelle Parsons (Honorary Associate in English, The Open University)
  • Professor Alexis Weedon  (Professor Emeritus and former UNESCO Chair in New Media, University of Bedfordshire)
 

An ancient representation of reading: Virgil flanked by the muses Calliope and Polymnia, from a 3rd century AD Roman era mosaic found in the ‘House of Virgil’ in Sousse (Hadrumetum), Tunisia. On display in the Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia.

© Shafquat Towheed (2018)

Contact us

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
The Open University.

E-mail:
Shafquat Towheed
Edmund King