READ: Research in English At Durham

Our colleague Dr Emily Rohrbach has a highly anticipated new book this September, on Codex Poetics and the Politics of Romantic Reading. Here's an interview which gives some background to the project and a preview of her monograph:

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Five Questions: Emily Wing Rohrbach on Codex Poetics – BARS Blog Five Questions: Emily Wing Rohrbach on Codex Poetics Matthew Sangster    August 16, 2026 August 16, 2026    No Comments on Five Questions: Emily Wing Rohrbach on Codex Poetics Emily Wing Rohrbach is Associate Professor of English, 1660-1832, at Durham University and the author of Modernity’s M...

Congratulations to everyone receiving A-Level and other results today!

We hope you achieved an outcome of which you're proud.

If you're joining us this October we're excited to welcome you. More about your next steps:

👉 https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/offer/

There are still a few days left for early-career researchers to submit articles for the next issue of our international Postgraduate English journal. Issue 48 will be themed around AI, social media, and the future of literature.

More information at:

👉 https://postgradenglishjournal.awh.durham.ac.uk/ojs/index.php/pgenglish/announcement/view/14

Congratulations to the new Dr Joy Brindle who has now completed her viva and submitted her final thesis. 🎉

Read more about Dr Brindle’s work at:

👉 https://etheses.durham.ac.uk/id/eprint/16723/

Joy’s PhD was supervised by Dr Simon Grimble and Dr Martin Dubois.

📚 North East book events this July 📚

See our newsletter for everything:

👉 https://readdurhamenglish.wordpress.com/events/english-literature-events-in-durham-newcastle-and-the-north-east/

Here are some of the highlights:

📍Book launches and author talks at Forum Books, The Bound, Collected and more.

📍The science and narrative of mind-wandering at Institute for Medical Humanities
📅 2nd July

📍Summer reading events at Newcastle Library
📅 9th and 16th July

📍The Medieval and Early Modern / IMEMS Durham conference
📅13th to 14th July

What’s On: North East Literature and Book Events in June 2026 Our monthly what’s on guide captures the literature and book chat, lectures, readings and other events in Durham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Teesside, and the North East UK.

Congratulations to the new Dr Wanjie Feng who has now completed her viva and submitted her final thesis. 🎉

Read more about Dr Feng’s work at: 👉 https://etheses.durham.ac.uk/id/eprint/16509/

Wanjie’s PhD was supervised by Dr Elizabeth Swann and Professor Mandy Green.

Dr Alistair Brown's new paper 'The English Literature Essay Question in the Age of AI: Unlocking the Black Box of AI Responses' is now published by University Press at:
👉 https://academic.oup.com/english/advance-article/doi/10.1093/english/efag003/8681540?login=false

Find out more about Alistair’s research at:
👉https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/alistair-brown/

🪙 Fantastic achievement! 🪙 Durham University rises to 85th in the QS Top Universities World Rankings. We're also proud to be 26th for English in the separate QS World University Rankings by subject.

If you want to study at a world-class institution, there's still time to apply for our MAs in Literary Studies or Creative Writing starting October 2026; or mark us for undergraduate study in future:

https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/english-studies/

We have been ranked 85th in the QS World University Rankings 2027, up nine places from last year, and in the world top 50 for Employer Reputation🎉

Professor Karen O’Brien, our Vice-Chancellor and Warden, said: “To rise nine places to 85th in the QS World University Rankings is a tremendous achievement, in an outstanding year for Durham University.

“That employers rank us among the world’s top 50 universities is particularly important for our students and graduates, indicating the exceptional value that a Durham degree holds in equipping students for work and preparing them for career success.”

The QS World University Rankings are widely acknowledged as the most influential university rankings globally.

Read more: www.durham.ac.uk/discover/qs-world-university-rankings/

📖 Call for Papers: Postgraduate English Journal 📖
The Postgraduate English Journal, one of the longest-running online postgraduate journals in the world, is open for paper submissions for its 48th Issue on 'Artificial Intelligence, Social Media and the Future of Literature'.

Providing a space for postgraduate students and early-career researchers to showcase their work and receive academic feedback, this journal is a unique opportunity to present fresh insight in literary studies.

More information here:
👉https://postgradenglishjournal.awh.durham.ac.uk/ojs/public/journals/1/48th%20Issue%20CFP%20Postgraduate%20English%20Journal%201.pdf