rian Maidment was a leading light in the study of Victorian visual culture and periodicals. His numerous books and articles delved into what he affectionately termed “down market mass circulation print culture”: popular prints, poetry by working-class or self-taught writers, graphic humor, caricature, and satire. He drew scholarly attention to traditionally overlooked forms and figures, from scraps and sketches to dustmen and jobbing illustrators. Brian’s scholarly generosity, humility, and kindness are legendary: he supported students and emergent scholars, shared his own print collection, taught hands-on print-identification and analysis skills, and led conference workshops and tours. We now invite the scholarly community that has so benefitted from Brian’s contributions to contribute in turn to a special issue of VPR in his honor.
This special issue will consist of two parts. 1) Invited contributions to a roundtable of short (250-500 word) articles on the theme of building with and on Brian’s work. We will invite scholars to summarize Brian’s key contribution(s) in a particular area and suggest where the next scholarly opportunity lies in this area—in other words, what questions should we be now asking about that field or topic? What opportunities has Brian’s research opened for future scholarship? 2) Five or six original (5500-7500 word) research articles on topics related to Brian’s research areas in Victorian periodical studies. For example, articles might explore the Victorian press in relation to:
- Comic illustration, graphic humor, caricature, satire;
- Vernacular forms, popular culture, commercial markets;
- Working-class writers, illustrators, artisans;
- Mass circulation and cheap illustration;
- Techniques and technologies of print;
- Radical print culture; and/or
- Prints and social history.
We welcome proposals that reach beyond this suggested list while maintaining a thematic link to Brian’s research areas.
Please submit proposals for research articles for consideration to mleighto@uvic.ca by 15 May 2025. Proposals must include title, abstract (300-500 words), and short (2-page) CV. You may include up to 10 illustrations per article.
Please note that 1) we will not include the same author in both sections; therefore, if you are invited to the roundtable, we will ask you to drop out of that section if we accept a research article proposal from you; and 2) because the roundtable contributions will summarize and celebrate Brian’s achievements, the original articles need not do so; they should, of course, cite his work as appropriate.
The timeline for this special issue’s research articles will proceed as follows:
- Guest editors select proposals and contact authors with acceptances by 1 June 2025
- Writers send full-length articles plus any images (up to ten per article) to guest editors by 1 November 2025
- Guest editors send writers suggestions for revision by 1 February 2026
- Writers send final versions to guest editors along with a 100-word abstract, publishing contract, image permissions, and a brief bio by 1 May 2026
- Publication in winter 2026 issue
Created 14 May 2025