Edition Autumn Lecture 2025: Helen Williams In brief Date - 10 October 2025Venue - Centre for Research CollectionsSpeaker - Dr Helen Williams (Northumbria University)Title - From Newcastle to the Middle East: The Work of Sarah Hodgson, Printer Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the eventAssociate Professor of English Literature at Northumbria University, Helen Williams, will give the Edition Autumn lecture, titled 'From Newcastle to the Middle East: The Work of Sarah Hodgson, Printer'. It will be held in the Collections Space, Centre for Research Collections (CRC), 6th Floor Main Library at 4pm to 5:30pm. You can find the details below.The Autumn lecture will be preceded from 2pm until 3pm by an optional workshop at the Centre for Research Collections. This workshop is titled 'Identifying Women’s Work in the Newcastle Book Trades', and will also be led by Dr Williams. It will explore women's work in the early nineteenth-century Newcastle book trades and engage with rare books in the CRC. The books will include a Bible in the Arabic language printed by Sarah Hodgson, which Dr Williams will discuss in her lecture later in the afternoon.Capacity for this workshop is limited, so please book separately for it and the Autumn lecture on the Eventbrite page.About the lectureThe Bible that Sarah Hodgson printed in the Arabic language in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1811 was the first to emerge in England since the seventeenth century. That it should be produced in the North East, rather than in one of the two university towns, seemed unthinkable, and for a time, was under question.This talk examines the Bible as a transnational commodity that provides insights into the challenges and ingenuity of a woman’s work in a global book trade during the early years of the nineteenth century.About the speakerDr Helen Williams is an Associate Professor of English Literature at Northumbria University. Her most recent books include 'Literary Heritage: Lessons from the Coronavirus Pandemic' (Routledge, 2025), 'The Cambridge Edition of the Correspondence of John Cleland' (CUP, 2024), and 'Laurence Sterne and the Eighteenth-Century Book' (CUP, 2021).She is currently completing a Cambridge Element on Cottonian bookbinding and a monograph on women in the book trades.About EditionEdition (formerly the Centre for the History of the Book) is a collaborative initiative at the University of Edinburgh supporting new research in all aspects of the history of the book, from traditional forms of bibliography, codicology and textual editing to the latest theoretical and digital innovations.Visit the Edition websiteHow to attendThis event is open to all, and free to attend. You can book your place for the Autumn lecture and the optional preceding workshop separately via Eventbrite.If you choose to attend the workshop, please remember to provide your name as you enter the Main Library so you can be admitted. You should arrive at the Main Library foyer around fifteen minutes before the event starts and give your name at the desk to the right of the main entrance doors. A member of staff will greet you and take you to the 6th floor, which is accessible via lifts.There are lockers at the Centre for Research Collections where you should deposit coats, bags, food and drink, and anything that might damage the rare books. Information about visiting the Centre and accessibility is available on the library's website.Visit the library's website Book your free ticket on Eventbrite Access and recordingPlease note that this lecture is a free, in-person event held on the University of Edinburgh campus. It will not be live streamed - tickets are for access to the venue. However, the lecture may be photographed and/or recorded and added to the University website afterwards. If you would prefer not to appear in any recordings, please contact us in advance or speak to us on the day. It's not a problem.Are you interested in studying English Literature at LLC?Based in the first UNESCO City of Literature, we are home to the oldest department of English Literature in the UK, one of the longest established in the world. Study with us and you'll explore the varying and vital roles that literary writing plays in our lives and societies.We offer a range of single and joint honours undergraduate degrees, taught postgraduate degrees, and research-led pathways, including MSc by Research degrees and PhDs. Find out more about studying English Literature at Edinburgh Tags English and Scottish Literature Oct 10 2025 14.00 - 17.30 Edition Autumn Lecture 2025: Helen Williams An in-person lecture (and optional preceding workshop) by Dr Helen Williams (Northumbria University) entitled 'From Newcastle to the Middle East: The Work of Sarah Hodgson, Printer'. Centre for Research Collections Sixth Floor of the Main Library George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Find the venue: Main Library Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
Edition Autumn Lecture 2025: Helen Williams In brief Date - 10 October 2025Venue - Centre for Research CollectionsSpeaker - Dr Helen Williams (Northumbria University)Title - From Newcastle to the Middle East: The Work of Sarah Hodgson, Printer Book your free ticket on Eventbrite About the eventAssociate Professor of English Literature at Northumbria University, Helen Williams, will give the Edition Autumn lecture, titled 'From Newcastle to the Middle East: The Work of Sarah Hodgson, Printer'. It will be held in the Collections Space, Centre for Research Collections (CRC), 6th Floor Main Library at 4pm to 5:30pm. You can find the details below.The Autumn lecture will be preceded from 2pm until 3pm by an optional workshop at the Centre for Research Collections. This workshop is titled 'Identifying Women’s Work in the Newcastle Book Trades', and will also be led by Dr Williams. It will explore women's work in the early nineteenth-century Newcastle book trades and engage with rare books in the CRC. The books will include a Bible in the Arabic language printed by Sarah Hodgson, which Dr Williams will discuss in her lecture later in the afternoon.Capacity for this workshop is limited, so please book separately for it and the Autumn lecture on the Eventbrite page.About the lectureThe Bible that Sarah Hodgson printed in the Arabic language in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1811 was the first to emerge in England since the seventeenth century. That it should be produced in the North East, rather than in one of the two university towns, seemed unthinkable, and for a time, was under question.This talk examines the Bible as a transnational commodity that provides insights into the challenges and ingenuity of a woman’s work in a global book trade during the early years of the nineteenth century.About the speakerDr Helen Williams is an Associate Professor of English Literature at Northumbria University. Her most recent books include 'Literary Heritage: Lessons from the Coronavirus Pandemic' (Routledge, 2025), 'The Cambridge Edition of the Correspondence of John Cleland' (CUP, 2024), and 'Laurence Sterne and the Eighteenth-Century Book' (CUP, 2021).She is currently completing a Cambridge Element on Cottonian bookbinding and a monograph on women in the book trades.About EditionEdition (formerly the Centre for the History of the Book) is a collaborative initiative at the University of Edinburgh supporting new research in all aspects of the history of the book, from traditional forms of bibliography, codicology and textual editing to the latest theoretical and digital innovations.Visit the Edition websiteHow to attendThis event is open to all, and free to attend. You can book your place for the Autumn lecture and the optional preceding workshop separately via Eventbrite.If you choose to attend the workshop, please remember to provide your name as you enter the Main Library so you can be admitted. You should arrive at the Main Library foyer around fifteen minutes before the event starts and give your name at the desk to the right of the main entrance doors. A member of staff will greet you and take you to the 6th floor, which is accessible via lifts.There are lockers at the Centre for Research Collections where you should deposit coats, bags, food and drink, and anything that might damage the rare books. Information about visiting the Centre and accessibility is available on the library's website.Visit the library's website Book your free ticket on Eventbrite Access and recordingPlease note that this lecture is a free, in-person event held on the University of Edinburgh campus. It will not be live streamed - tickets are for access to the venue. However, the lecture may be photographed and/or recorded and added to the University website afterwards. If you would prefer not to appear in any recordings, please contact us in advance or speak to us on the day. It's not a problem.Are you interested in studying English Literature at LLC?Based in the first UNESCO City of Literature, we are home to the oldest department of English Literature in the UK, one of the longest established in the world. Study with us and you'll explore the varying and vital roles that literary writing plays in our lives and societies.We offer a range of single and joint honours undergraduate degrees, taught postgraduate degrees, and research-led pathways, including MSc by Research degrees and PhDs. Find out more about studying English Literature at Edinburgh Tags English and Scottish Literature Oct 10 2025 14.00 - 17.30 Edition Autumn Lecture 2025: Helen Williams An in-person lecture (and optional preceding workshop) by Dr Helen Williams (Northumbria University) entitled 'From Newcastle to the Middle East: The Work of Sarah Hodgson, Printer'. Centre for Research Collections Sixth Floor of the Main Library George Square University of Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Find the venue: Main Library Book your free ticket on Eventbrite
Oct 10 2025 14.00 - 17.30 Edition Autumn Lecture 2025: Helen Williams An in-person lecture (and optional preceding workshop) by Dr Helen Williams (Northumbria University) entitled 'From Newcastle to the Middle East: The Work of Sarah Hodgson, Printer'.
