Oxford has long been a centre of fantasy writing, home to authors such as William Morris, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Diana Wynne Jones, Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Philip Pullman, and R.F. Kuang. Bloomsbury Publishing has likewise championed the genre, bringing readers works by J.K. Rowling, Susanna Clarke, Alan Moore, Sarah J. Maas, and many others.
Over three days in September 2025 at Cohen Quad, Exeter College, The Oxford Fantasy Summer School continued and celebrated this distinguished tradition. Supported by a philanthropic gift from Bloomsbury Publishing, the programme brought together leading scholars, writers, texts and publishers to explore the past, present, and future of fantasy literature, including English Faculty Professor Stuart Lee, Professor Ros Ballaster and Emerita Professor Carolyne Larrington.
Participants came from both within and outside the University community, and joined in person and online from around the world. As well as meeting the speakers, they had the opportunity to pose questions to publishing experts in a Bloomsbury panel discussion session, and listen to talks with Bloomsbury authors and Oxford alumnae Samantha Shannon and Katherine Rundell.
Many of the sessions were recorded and are available to view here. There are also short interviews of selected speakers at the event available to view here.
The Summer School reaffirmed Oxford’s place at the heart of fantasy’s evolving story.
