"Planning Your AGM" Recording Now Available

Get ready for AGM registration on June 19 with our latest planning tool.  AGM Coordinator Jennifer Jones, Registrar Debbie Duncan, and VP for Conferences Jane Boltz have answered common questions and shared helpful tips for registering and preparing for the AGM in a special interview recorded with the help of JASNA’s podcast host, Breckyn Wood.  

Listen to "Planning Your AGM: Insights from the Organizers" or read the transcript before registration opens.

Closed captioning in English can be turned on and off with the CC icon in the control panel.

Transcript

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and legibility.

Breckyn Wood: Hello, Janeites. Today we're talking about JASNA's biggest yearly event, the AGM. Here to explain the ins and outs of this amazing gathering of Austen enthusiasts are three members of this year's AGM Team. First up, we have Jane Boltz, who is the Vice President for Conferences.  Hi, Jane.

Jane Boltz:  Hi. Great to be here.

Breckyn: Okay, so let's start at the very beginning. What is the JASNA AGM?

Jane: That is the Annual General Meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America. It's been held every year since 1979, so this is the 46th Annual General Meeting.

Breckyn:  Awesome. And how long does it last? Are there different themes?

Jane: The conference is held over four days. This year it will be October 9th through 12th. And it's centered on a particular theme; this year it is "Austen at 250: No Check to My Genius from Beginning to End." There are lots of additional activities, tours, craft workshops, dance workshops, a banquet, and a ball.

Breckyn: It's so fun. I've only been one time; I went in Cleveland last year, and I'm sure I'll keep bringing that up because that's my only personal experience that I've had. But it really is unlike anything you've ever been to. It is so much fun. So, tell me, for people who haven't been, is it for scholars? Is it for fans? Is it for both? What is it like, and what should people expect?

Jane: It's both a conference with top academics and experts and an opportunity to meet and socialize with other Janeites, with Jane Austen as the common ground. It's for everyone, whether you've just discovered her six months ago or 50 years ago. About 20% of the attendees are first timers, but some people come every year. We've had grandmothers, mothers and daughters, sisters. In my region, we have a father, a daughter, and a son-in-law. And this year, I'll be bringing my two daughters. We've also had winners of our student essay contest who have grown up and become speakers. So it's fun, it's light-hearted, and you learn a lot.

Breckyn: Something fun that I didn't know until I showed up at the conference—everybody has lanyards with their names on them, and then there are these ribbons. If you are a board member, you get a ribbon for that. And if you are a volunteer, you get a ribbon for that. And they have first-time attendee ribbons, which was really nice for me because then you can immediately see, "Oh, everybody with a light blue ribbon—they haven't been here before." Because sometimes it can feel like, "Oh, everybody knows what they're doing except me." But like you said, there are a lot of people who come for the very first time, every time.

Jane: And people are very welcoming. That's one thing, Janeites are very welcoming.

Breckyn: It's such a fun community. Okay, we won't dwell on this for too long, but you sometimes create special outfits, Jane, don't you?

Jane: Yeah, I often copy fashion plates. And for the ball, I have fun making an outfit that riffs on the theme and/or the location.

Breckyn: So for example, we were in Cleveland last year—again, the only AGM I've ever been to—and it's the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And it was the same weekend as the induction. And so Jane came as a Rock and Roll Regency lady. It was so funny. Didn't you have an inflatable pink guitar?

Jane: No, that was actually a reticule. I made that. And it was a guitar; I put a yardstick in there to make it; it was a copy of a Stratocaster. But I made it as a reticule so I could carry my wallet and my phone.

Breckyn: It was so awesome. And she's got an outfit where she—you look like Lord Byron, where he wears that turban and everything like that. It's amazing. But that is not required to come to the AGM, right? You can show up in your jeans. I definitely did several days in a row. So, everyone is welcome.

Jane: Everyone is welcome.

Breckyn: Wear whatever you're comfortable in. So, what is different about this year or special about this year?

Jane: This year is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth. And so it's extra special. There are many speakers and activities, and you're going to hear about them from Jenn Jones, the AGM Coordinator. The fees will be a bit higher this year because the cost of putting on the conference has gone up. But we're in a great low-cost location in Baltimore—a beautiful hotel on the waterfront with beautiful views, and we have a great room rate—very reasonable room rate. I would advise you to stay at the hotel—not at another hotel, at the conference hotel—because the schedule is so packed.

Breckyn: It sounds like it's going to be so much fun. I'm really excited about it. What if people can't make it, though?

Jane: If you can't make it to Baltimore, we have a livestream virtual conference package, including all the main content from all four days. So you can still participate.

Breckyn: What is your top tip about the AGM, Jane?

Jane: You have to come to the AGM. This is the 250th anniversary. Reading a book is something we all do alone. But participating in an AGM is to celebrate all the books, all together, with people who are all excited. Austen is a global phenomenon, and you really get to appreciate that at the AGM—at a conference.

Breckyn: I would say that it's the people that you meet, and it's the relationships that you form. It's unlike anything else.

Jane: Yes. I met so many people, made so many friends, and it's just amazing. And when I first got involved, I knew no one. And just talking to everyone, you have instant friends. I can't tell you how many friends across the nation I have now.

Breckyn: Well, and when you have cool outfits, or when someone else is wearing a cool outfit, it's a very easy icebreaker. "Oh, I see that you have a hot-pink guitar reticule." It makes it pretty easy to talk to people. Well, thank you so much, Jane.

Next we're going to hear from Debbie Duncan, who serves as the AGM registrar. Hi, Debbie. I'm excited to hear about this. So, for people who have never attended the AGM, how should they prepare?

Debbie Duncan: Well, first, we are posting pages on the JASNA website. Go to Conferences and Annual General Meetings, and you'll see a link to the 2025 AGM website, which has details about all the different programs and activities. It's really important to read the descriptions of all of the options—breakouts, ticketed activities, meal selections, and so on—before registration opens. Decide in advance what it is you'd like to sign up for. Then, on registration day, you can go through the process and very quickly click the boxes for each of your selections, and that will get you through the process much more quickly. If you stay too long, you could get timed out and have to start over, and nobody wants to do that. You'll lose a lot of time if you spend time reading, because there are four or five separate pages full of questions.

Breckyn: Yeah, you have to be ready. You don't want to be making the decision while you have the stress of registering. You have to do your research beforehand.

Debbie: Right. And in addition to that [visiting the AGM website], we also post a registration guide, and we do a video walkthrough of the process where you can see what the actual pages will look like on the screen in advance. A lot of people found that to be really helpful in knowing exactly what they're looking for. And again, all this stuff will be on the AGM website.

Breckyn: When does registration open, Debbie?

Debbie: It opens on June 19th, and typically it opens at noon. I haven't heard the final time, but it almost always opens at noon Eastern Time. So, that's something to mark on your calendar. One little tip here: the bulk of the registrations comes in right after registration opens. Everybody jumps on so they can get in, get themselves registered, and get all the activities that they want. So, there will be a big rush; people start logging in right at noon.

One other thing, though—don't try to do it early. Because we have found that people who try to log on before the magic hour get locked out, and then they find it difficult to get back in. We're not sure why that happens, but the bottom line is you should wait until you're really sure that the time has come. So, you won't be locked out if you try at 12:02 instead of 12:00 on the dot.

Breckyn: Okay. And what about registering for hotels? Does that happen at the same time or a different time?

Debbie: Registration for hotels is a few days later. That'll be on June 23rd. And the information—just a link and a phone number to the hotel for making the reservation—is going to be available on the AGM Hotel webpage, not the Registration webpage.

Breckyn: Okay. Do you expect this AGM to sell out? What do you think? 

Debbie: You know, it's really hard to tell because some years it has sold out in 15 minutes. And recently, we've seen—you know we probably have more capacity than we did at one point. But recently we've had some spaces available at various points during the summer. So, you could take the risk and register later, and some people do. There are always people who, year after year, register four days later. But if it does sell out, you risk being put on a waitlist. Also, some of the ticketed activities have capacity limits. If there's something there you really want—that you think is going to be popular—you probably want to jump on and try to get that right away.

Breckyn: Yeah. Those spots for the tours and the embroidery workshops and things like that—those are a lot more limited.

Debbie: Yeah. There's not much space in some of those rooms at the hotel.

Breckyn: So, what do you do if you don't get in—if registration fills up?

Debbie: We have a waitlist. So, something will come up and tell you that it's full, and you can add your name to the waitlist. And the same is true for any one of the ticketed activities. If it shows it's full, you can put your name on the waitlist. If you do get on a waitlist—lots of people get off the waitlist, it's not some hopeless thing. You know, people's plans change, they get sick, and so dozens of people get off the waitlist. One year at least 100 people get off the waitlist. So, if you're next on the waitlist and a space opens up, we will send you a notification email. It's very important to keep an eye on the email address you use to register, because that's how you'll be notified. We give people two days—and this is the same whether you're on a waitlist to register for the AGM or an activity. You get two days after we email you to register or not. And after two days, we move on to the next person. So, don't use an account that you only check once a month.

Breckyn: Keep your eye on your email. Okay. So, how do you actually register?

Debbie: We have an online registration system, and there's a link to that on the Registration webpage. You click on that link, and it will take you right into the registration system. I can't remember what the first screen does, but it very quickly asks for your name and your basic information. And you're in and you get going.

Breckyn: What if you want to register for the livestream virtual option that Jane talked about?

Debbie: The registration process is the same. I think it's on the very first page—you will be asked what kind of registration you want, whether you want to be an Attendee, a Companion, or a Livestream participant. Now, the livestream option isn't going to be visible until we actually open registration it, which I think is on the 23rd.

Breckyn: Okay. So that's a little bit later.

Debbie: It's a little bit later.

Breckyn: If you do register for the in-person conference, and then you later find out you can't go, you can switch, right?

Debbie: You can switch, yes. I think we have it set up so that we have to do the switch for you, because the system does weird things otherwise. But, if you have any questions, you email jasnaagm@gmail.com, and you'll get me, and I will respond.

Breckyn: Okay. How does the virtual experience compare to the in-person conference?

Debbie: You know, you'll get the core parts of the conference. You'll get to see the same number of breakouts. You'll get to see all the plenaries. And there are other special sessions that will be available on the livestream. So you'll get to see basically as much content as the people who are there in person. Also, you do not have to watch it live. I think we're extending the period during which the recordings are going to be available after the conference, so the experience should be even better this year than it has been before.

Breckyn: Okay. And if you don't care that much about dressing up, if you do the virtual option you can watch in your pajamas, which is always a nice option.

Debbie: That's true.

Breckyn: From the comfort of your own couch. So, what is your top tip, Debbie?

Debbie: Check your emails regularly. During the summer, we send out three or four updates to let people know about changes to the schedule, special opportunities, and the like. Take a look at them so you don't miss anything important. And if you find you're not receiving emails, there are two things you can do. One is to go to the AGM Update Center on the JASNA website. And the second thing you can do is email me.

Breckyn: Great. Well, Debbie is your friend, everyone. If you want to go to the AGM, she's here to help.  Thank you so much, Debbie.

Debbie: You're welcome.

Breckyn: Okay, last but certainly not least, we have Jenn Jones, who is the coordinator for this year's AGM in Baltimore—an enormous responsibility. Hi, Jenn.

Jenn Jones: Hi, Breckyn, how are you doing?

Breckyn: I'm doing great.  I'm curious to know if you're stressed out of your mind or if it's going totally fine.

Jenn: It has moments. There are days that go by when there's nothing happening. And then all of a sudden 16 things have to happen all at one time, so right now—

Breckyn: The hotel and the food and the—oh, my gosh, the list of things that you need to do.

Jenn: I know. Right now we're in a serious crunch just trying to get everything set up for June 19th for the opening of registration.

Breckyn: What is it like planning an AGM? A JASNA AGM?

Jenn: It is so exciting. Our region has been working on this for years. We're doing fundraisers; we're planning tours; we've been identifying speakers. We had huge brainstorming sessions and generated all these different ideas. And then it was like, "Okay, now we have to stop and bring it down to what this actually is, versus everything under the sun."

Breckyn: Well, how special do you feel that you get the 250th?

Jenn: It's a good starting point because you already have that, and it's a big party. Now we just have to try to figure out how to make that party a reality. So, yeah, it is very special. I think it does maybe add a little pressure to make sure that it's THE party of the year. I think we're planning one of the largest literary conferences in the world. There are a lot of celebrations that are going on, but this, I think, is going to be the largest literary party.

Breckyn: Well, tell us about a few of the speakers and what they're going to talk about. Just give us a little preview.

Jenn: Oh, we have so much stuff. We have more than 40 speakers spread over four days. We're welcoming one of the most well-known biographers in the world, Paula Byrne, to give us our keynote address. And literary critic John Mullan will close out our conference. One of the plenary sessions is a panel, where writers and scholars are going to talk about where they see the evidence of Jane Austen's genius.

We'll have a focus on the places she lived, including a talk by an Austen family descendant and an archeologist who led the dig at Austen's birthplace. Several speakers will talk about Austen's legacy—how it's endured over time and influenced modern storytelling. We'll hear about key figures in preserving Austen's legacy from Juliette Wells, our North American Scholar honoree. Vanessa Riley, an author of historical fiction and consultant for Hallmark's movie adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, will talk about Austen's influence. And one of our special guests will be Susannah Harker, who portrayed Jane Bennet in the BBC's 1995 Pride and Prejudice.

Other speakers will consider Austen's genius from various angles. We'll have five sessions of breakout speakers so that you can choose which topics interest you most. And there's so much more that's all listed on the AGM website.

Breckyn: One of the things I appreciate about going to the AGM in person is that you get to meet the speakers and talk with them. And sometimes there'll be a line of people waiting because they want to dive more into this specialist's topic.

Jenn: And that is such an important thing, Breckyn, about being there in person—it's the vibe that you get. Not only are you there with all of your closest Janeite friends, but you get a chance to meet these speakers. They're so approachable. They interact with the attendees. You get to engage with them during their talks as well as afterwards. And then you never know who you could end up dancing with at the ball or walking past on the way to the ball.

Breckyn: Or just meeting in the elevator. That's always fun.

Jenn: Absolutely. There are always great stories about meeting people in the elevators. There are also all these speakers who have written books. So, there will be a book signing on Sunday morning, and you'll get a chance to, again, talk to these speakers. You've listened to all of their talks and what they are bringing to the scholarship of Jane Austen. And then you get to meet them and talk to them about what it means to you. And it's just—it's such an incredible experience.

Breckyn: And I am always surprised at how down-to-earth these scholars are. John Mullan—I got to interview him for the podcast, and he's such a friendly guy. In addition to blowing my mind with all of these insights about Jane Austen, he was just really easy to talk to and was really willing to just chat, which is lovely. It's such a great community.

Jenn: They really are just so down-to-earth, and they just want to talk about Jane.

Breckyn: We all do.

Jenn: We all do want to talk about Jane. Yes.

Breckyn: Well, you mentioned the ball. Can you talk a little bit about the various experiences that people can take part in?

Jenn: Of course. We have the ball, which is so much fun, but there are also dance classes. If you've never been to a ball, you can try your hand—or your feet—at some dancing. And a lot of people also enjoy dressing up. Some people dress up just for the banquet and the ball, but then some people are in their costumes and regency attire for the entire time. It's totally up to you. I think I heard you talking with Jane earlier about the fact that some people are in jeans. It's whatever makes you comfortable—that's the part of this that's so much fun. You're there to make the experience.

Breckyn: But there's also an emporium, right, where they sell gorgeous dresses, and fans, and gloves, and—

Jenn: All kinds of things you can accessorize with. Yes.

Breckyn: That's awesome.

Jenn: We also have workshops and tours. Some of the workshops are going to be on how to sing Regency songs and make different little Regency items, like Regency calling cards. There are a variety of different workshops you can choose from to learn Regency handicrafts. We have optional tours going to some of Baltimore's top sites. And something that is just so near and dear to my heart is we're going a pop-up museum where curators and collectors are going to show off their treasures within the hotel. So you'll get a chance to see some things that are connected with Jane Austen's time right there in the hotel, and you'll get to hear from the curators about what these items mean to them. There will also be an Austen-themed play and a concert on Sunday afternoon. And then there's just some fun stuff, like a Northanger Abbey escape room.

Breckyn: What?

Jenn: Yes!

Breckyn: That sounds so fun.

Jenn: Will General Tilney come after you or just send you in the coach? We don't know. You'll have to find out.

Breckyn: Okay. That sounds really fun. That is awesome. So, what is your top tip for this AGM, Jenn? 

Jenn: I have two. One, I do want to say that I really love the Attendee Plus Add-On Option, because there's so much in these AGM programs that you can't get to it all, or you want to see something again. There's always that one thing that you're like, "Oh, I just want to listen to them again because they were so inspiring and so cool, or they said something in a different way." So, in-person attendees will have the option of adding the Attendee Plus option to your registration, so you'll be able to see all that recorded content of the core conference for 90 days after the AGM. That is a great little bonus when sometimes, you know, you just need to watch it again.

My other tip is that the AGM is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, even if you go every year. It's still a totally different thing every year. And you're among friends. You are among Janeite friends. Even if you know no one when you get there, you will have something in common with every single person there.

And being there in the conference hotel, staying on site, you are at the center of everything that's happening. The whole time you are surrounded; you're talking Jane; you're talking about all of these things. And it is just such a wonderful experience to spend that time with people who all have this passion and this excitement for Jane Austen and what she has done for our lives.

Breckyn: We're not doing a video, so you guys can't see, but Jenn is currently wearing Jane Austen silhouette earrings. And it's just that kind of thing. You could be like, "Oh, look, you have Jane Austen tights," or, "Hey, look, amazing handbag that's made from the peacock Pride and Prejudice cover. It's just— 

Jenn: And we all know the ins. We know those little tips. Yeah.

Breckyn: Exactly. And it's, "Oh, people are wearing the turquoise ring or the topaz crosses." It's all these little signs and signals of this secret society that's not secret at all because we're all shouting it from the rooftops that we just love Jane Austen so much. So, I hope that people will be inspired to go. If you've been hemming and hawing like, "Oh, one of these years I need to make it to the AGM"—it's the 250th! Go. Go to Baltimore. It's going to be amazing. You're going to have a great time.

Jenn: Yeah, and Baltimore is such a great setting for this. You're going to be right there on the water, enjoying being there with all of your Janeite friends.

Breckyn: Yeah, it's going to be awesome. Well, thanks so much, Jenn.

Jenn: Thank you, Breckyn.