Closing Plenary in the Library Auditorium
Lexi K. Nilson, Nicole Jacobsen, Devynn McLennan Dayton — 1060 HBLL (Alice Louise Reynolds Auditorium)
In 2018, a BYU student learning grant brought together three undergraduate Austenites to pursue a vision of producing a travel guide of Jane Austen sites. After months of planning and research, illustrator Lexi K. Nilson and writers Nicole Jacobsen and Devynn MacLennan Dayton spent two weeks in England retracing Austen's footsteps and carriage tracks, and exploring locations featured in her novels and wildly popular television and film adaptations. Upon their return, they set to creating the illustrations and text that were eventually published as Jane Was Here: An Illustrated Guide to Jane Austen’s England (now available in a new edition from Quadrille Publishing). As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth, the authors will reflect on the life-changing journey of creating their book, and on the lasting influence of Austen's beloved words, worlds, and stories.