JASNA has announced the winners of its 2008 essay contest, which used the broadcast of The Complete Jane Austen on Masterpiece Classic as its theme. The winning essays are posted on the website, and they are very clever indeed; do check them out. Congratulations to all the winners!

Two reviews this weekend for the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park production of Paul Gordon’s musical adaptation of Emma.

Cincinnati.com wasn’t enraptured:

Austen-philes are to be encouraged to bear in mind that this “Emma” is an adaptation by Paul Gordon, and enjoy it for what it is, a visit with a sherry-drinking, tea cake-eating, strawberry-picking pack of likeable if not particularly memorable characters.

Yikes! But City Beat liked it better:

If you’re clueless about Austen’s witty romances, you’ll likely be bewildered by the angst over matchmaking and gossip. The most serious drama is whether the heroine will realize she’s not a very good matchmaker. If you’ve read Emma, you’ll not only be in heaven — you’ll know what’s going to happen from start to finish.

The play runs through October 3, and tickets are available online.

Juliette McMaster, Austen scholar and editor of the Juvenilia Press, will be the guest of honor for JASNA’s New York Region’s fall meeting this weekend (PDF), and the Region has scheduled several activities related to Juliette’s visit.

On Friday, September 12, at 6 p.m., Juliette will speak and sign copies of her books at the Borders at Park Avenue and 57th Street.

On Saturday, September 13, at 12:30 p.m., an intimate luncheon will be held at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Juliette will be interviewed by Elsa Solender and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and chat with Juliette and their fellow guests.

At 2 p.m., Juliette will deliver an address, “Speaking Fictions: The Genres of Talk in Sense and Sensibility.”

Details are available at the JASNA-NY website. Please note the luncheon and talk are two separate events, and reservations are required.

Not only are they looking forward to a stage production of P&P (see below), but we heard from JASNA Louisville Regional Coordinator Bonny Wise that their first Jane Austen Festival was a smashing success!

I have attached a couple pictures from our first festival held July 12 & 13 at Historic Locust Grove, a circa 1790 National Historic Landmark in Louisville, KY. 676 attended and 257 had afternoon tea. [Holy Cow! --Ed.] Joan Ray was well received and had a large crowd to hear her speak about JANE AUSTEN FOR SMARTIES. The Regency Emporium and Style Show were also very popular.

Click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of the photos. Looks like a great time was had by all. Bonny also said that a Jane Austen Festival will be held at Locus Grove next year, possibly the third weekend in July 2009. Details to come as we receive them.

The Jane Austen Festival in Bath will take place this year on September 19-28. They have a great lineup of events, including a Regency Ball, a tour of 4 Sydney Place (where Jane lived in Bath), and a special production of Northanger Abbey. Tickets for all events are now available online. As always, send us a report if you go!

The Actors Theatre of Louisville will present a production of the Jon Jory adaptation of Pride and Prejudice from September 30 - November 2, 2008. Tickets are $25-60 and are available online. As always, send us a report if you go!