About us
WHAT IS JASNA?
The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) was founded in 1979 by Joan Austen-Leigh, Henry G. Burke, and J. David Grey. One hundred Janeites attended the society’s inaugural dinner on October 5, 1979, at the Gramercy Park Hotel in Manhattan. Since then, the society’s ranks have grown to more than 5,000 members, making JASNA the largest literary society devoted to Jane Austen. Members are of all ages and from diverse walks of life. Although most members live in the United States and Canada, Austen admirers from more than a dozen countries are also JASNA members.
OUR LEGACY
The North Texas Region was formed by Rosalie Sternberg in 1997. We hosted the 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ft. Worth, Texas, which celebrated the 200th publication anniversary of Sense & Sensibility. In addition to presenting renown British writer, Andrew Davies, as a plenary speaker, JASNA-NTX showed all the great hospitality that Texas is known for, while keeping Jane at the center of the celebration.
our REGIONAL BOARD
Vicki Petersen
Co-Regional Coordinator
National Treasurer
National President Incumbant
Rosalie Sternberg
Co-Regional Coordinator
Regional Founder
Crys Kelly
Marketing and Communications
Kara Huffman
Secretary
Erin Baltensperger
Membership
Chris Peirson
Member at Large
Susan Jelen
Member at Large
Cheryl Pace
Programs
Jane Austen's House Museum
Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, Hampshire, is the house where Jane Austen lived and wrote. It is the most treasured Austen site in the world. It was here that Jane’s genius flourished and where she wrote, revised and published all her major works: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Jane lived at what is now Jane Austen’s House Museum for the last eight years of her life. The Museum holds an important collection of objects associated with Jane Austen, including letters written by Jane and personal effects belonging to her and her family.
Chawton House
Discover the ‘Great House’ referred to in Jane Austen’s letters, now sensitively restored, relax in the peace and tranquility of the gardens, and find inspiration in the lives and works of our women writers. We foster research and understanding of early women writers, restoring them to their rightful place in the history of English literature and enabling them to speak directly to – and inspire – future generations. We have a unique collection of women’s writing which is accessible to anyone who wishes to use it. The House and Gardens are open to visitors, and the historic setting brings to life the context within which our women writers lived and worked.
