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International Visitor Program


Each year our International Visitor Program (IVP) provides a JASNA member the opportunity to work on a creative or scholarly project in Jane Austen’s village of Chawton, England, for up to six weeks in July and August.

International Visitor Support

JASNA provides the International Visitor a fellowship of $3,250 (US dollars), which is to be used to defray the costs for round-trip airfare to England from the continental United States or Canada, housing, and miscellaneous travel and research expenses.  

Austen Project

The International Visitor Program requires a full-time commitment from the recipient for the duration of the visit. While much of the time in England will be spent working on a self-defined Austen project, the International Visitor will also work two days a week at Austen-related institutions in Chawton performing duties as assigned. The Visitor will also attend the U.K. Jane Austen Society’s Annual General Meeting in July and provide assistance as requested by the Society.

Chawton CottageJane Austen's House, Chawton (photo © Allan Soedring)

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • the importance of the project,
  • the applicant’s need for access to materials in Chawton or nearby,
  • the viability of the project (in terms of project parameters, time, and resources),
  • the useful skills that the applicant brings to JASNA’s Austen-related partners in Chawton.

glassesicon  Learn more about the Austen-related institutions below.

Eligibility

IVP candidates must be members of JASNA who live in the United States or Canada and have an Austen-related project that requires access to resources in England. It is not necessary to be a student or a career academic.

ChawtonHouse St.Nicholas

Chawton House and St. Nicholas Church (Photo © Allan Soedring)

How to Apply for 2025

The application deadline for the 2025 International Visitor fellowship is December 16, 2024. The IVP Committee will make every effort to announce its decision on or before February 15, 2025.

Download the Application Fact Sheet and the 2025 Application Form for more information and to apply.

CH Library

The Library at Chawton House houses a unique collection of women’s writing in English from 1600 to 1830. (Photo © Jane Austen Society of North America)

More about Austen Projects

The IVP Committee is particularly interested in applicants whose Austen-related projects and interests match the needs of one of our Chawton partners: Jane Austen’s House, Chawton House, and St. Nicholas Church. Find out more about each institution's needs and past IVP projects below.

Austen-Related Institutions | Show Details ↓Hide Details ↑

  • Jane Austen's House: Jane Austen's House holds one of the world's most significant collections of Austen-related material as well as an extensive library of secondary resources. Academic research presents opportunities to experience and understand the day-to-day operations of a writers' house museum. JAH is interested in projects with the collection and the lived experience in the House between 1809 and 1817 with the wider socio-economic context of the time, as well as those which explore the all-female household and its creative outputs. Alongside research opportunities, the House can also offer hands-on experience across the museum. IVP applicants are encouraged to review this summary of the available research resources at Jane Austen's House.)
  • Chawton House: In keeping with its unique collection, Chawton House is interested in projects that will promote knowledge of Austen, her era, or her lesser-known contemporaries and predecessors by making use of the library's resources. Applicants are encouraged to review the items in the general collection, the materials in the Knight collection, and to contact the Chawton House Curator. Among its projects for 2020, Chawton House welcomes assistance in researching and interpreting the collections for all audiences. This work will include assisting in the preparation for future exhibitions and will involve researching Chawton House's primary and secondary resources and other tasks.
  • St. Nicholas Church, Chawton: St. Nicholas was Jane Austen’s parish church. Although a fire destroyed much of the building that Austen knew, the chancel and family memorials survived. Applicants may refer to the church’s files for information about St. Nicholas and its contents. The Church has created a list of potential projects for an International Visitor.
  • Other Local Archives: An International Visitor may also make use of nearby archives, such as the Hampshire Record Office in Winchester or research institutions in London, a little over an hour from Chawton by train.

Past International Visitors | Show Details ↓Hide Details ↑

Articles written by past International Visitors about their experiences are linked below. 

Questions?

Please contact Susan Farnsworth at chawtonivp@jasna.org.

 

The International Visitor Program is supported by a generous donation from JASNA's New York Metropolitan Region in order to sustain the Society's strong bonds of friendship with Austen-related organizations in England.

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

Northanger Abbey