The Novella Project
May 28-30, 2026
Notre Dame Rome
Is the novella part of novel history and novel theory? Does it provide an alternative history — perhaps even a counter-history — of modern fiction? How stable and distinct is the novella in terms of its size/scale, generic variants, social referents, and narrative logic? Is it analogous to other aesthetic forms in the way it manages readerly attention? Is the contemporary novella rooted in a specific (nineteenth-century) lineage? This symposium on short form will continue a discussion of those questions with an eye toward the fact that several recent critics have cited the novella as a newly significant object. The novella is a site of converging interest for writers, scholars, and students alike. Through critical and craft conversations, this event will create a forum to explore the long history and current vitality of the novella near the place of its Boccaccian origins.
Featuring:
- Susan Choi, Johns Hopkins University
- Jed Esty, University of Pennsylvania
- Jennifer Fleissner, University of Chicago
- Morgan Day Frank, University of Oxford
- Florian Fuchs, Princeton University
- Michael Gorra, Smith College
- Zoë Henry, Columbia University
- David Kurnick, Rutgers University
- Kate Marshall, University of Notre Dame
- Alec Pollak, Le Moyne College
- Brandon Rushton, University of Notre Dame
- Avni Sejpal, University of Pennsylvania
- Justin Torres, University of California, Los Angeles
- Roberta Zanoni, Università di Verona
Sponsors
Thomas J. and Robert T. Rolfs Collegiate Chair
University of Notre Dame, Department of English