We’d like to share some key visual moments from the conference with you, so we’ve assembled slideshows of the welcome delegates faced when they arrived, the presentations of keynote speakers and delegates, and finally the conviviality of the conference dinner at Nonna Selena.
We had a fabulous (though stressful!) time and loved meeting everyone and engaging with so many brilliant papers. It seems the delegates enjoyed it too and we’ve had some lovely tributes.
A to Z of Mermaids
Sam has a thread on X/Twitter, the A to Z of Mermaids, inspired by the conference theme (click on the image to see the thread):
Press Release
And here’s the press release from the University of Hertfordshire, who sponsored the conference along with the International Gothic Association, the British Assciation for Romanticism Studies, and the British Association for Victorian Studies, to whom we are very grateful:
https://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/news-and-events/news/2025/herts-students-breathe-new-life-into-enchanting-sea-creatures-at-folklore-conference
Appreciation
‘Had a blast this weekend at #SeaChanges talking merpeople and #gothicglitter. Always love @OGOMProject conferences ✨🪸🧜🧜♀️🧜♂️🪸’ (Prof. Catherine Spooner, Professor of Literature and Culture, Lancaster University)
‘So grateful to @ogomproject.bsky.social for bringing us together for the dream mermaid conference. A brilliant three days thinking about submarine fantasies 💦🧜♀️🩵’ (Dr Katie Garner, Senior Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century Literature, University of St Andrews)
‘Sea Changes was really such a treat — I loved every part of it and feel so lucky to have been included, and in such a generous way. . . . it felt so seamless as an attendee so you clearly did a wonderful job’ (Betsy Cornwell, Author Tides, Mechanica, Ring of Salt)
‘Thank you very much for your guidance and for organising such an enriching and memorable conference’ (Shahrukh Khan, PhD Candidate, Dept. of English Literature, School of Literary Studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India)
‘Thank you for a wonderful conference! . . . I can only wish that we remain in close contact in the near future.’ (Dr Anna Casablancas-Cervantes, Associate Professor of Literature, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain)
‘I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the possibility of being a part of the Sea Changes Conference. It was truly a great experience: such interesting presentations, lovely people, and overall an amazing atmosphere. It was my first conference abroad, and I really had the best time.’ (Valentýna Žišková, PhD Student, Charles University/Sapienza Università di Roma, Czech Republic)
‘Congratulations on an excellent, stimulating conference! I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and have been inspired by the brilliant papers I was lucky enough to listen to.’ (Dr Amy Waterson, Postdoctoral Fellow, English Department, School of Humanities, Royal Holloway, University of London)
‘I just wanted to say a big thank you to the two of you and everyone else on the conference team for making “Sea Changes” such a wonderful event! I’ve enjoyed a fantastic few days in London, with a great array of talks (I’ve learnt so much!) and lots of lovely new acquaintances! I’ll certainly keep my eyes peeled for future OGOM conferences.’ (Stefanie Tegeler, PhD Candidate, Chair of British Studies, English Department, University of Münster, Germany)
‘Just wanted to say again, what a wonderful day it was today. I learned so much! . . . I know from both experience and chatting with Bill, what a huge job a conference like this is, and I am so impressed by all the hard work that went into making it, not only packed full but beautifully organized (and I mean beautiful–the visuals are second to none–I only wish I could’ve made it to the UK to get your “designer swag.”) I had no idea what a dynamic project OGOM is!’ (Judith Thompson, Professor Emerita/Inglis Professor, Dalhousie University/University of Kings College, General Secretary and Archivist, John Thelwall Society, Canada)
‘thank you for allowing me to present. It was wonderful, and the papers I have heard so far have been lovely.’ (Amanda Trainham, PhD Student , SUNY, USA)
‘I just wanted to thank you both for organising such a truly fantastic conference last week. It was an extraordinary event, and everyone I spoke to was amazed by the range and high level of the papers presented. My very first conference in the UK was your Company of Wolves conference back in 2015, and it was wonderful to be able to attend another of your events ten years after.’ (Dr Elena Sottilotta, Research Fellow at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge)
‘Thank you so much for all your work in organizing this fantastic conference. I’m glad I was able to be a part of this.’ (Dr Ryan Denson, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Literary Studies, University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland)
Scenes
Comment from Betsy Cornwell
And here’s another generous comment on Facebook from Betsy Cornwell on the presentations, particularly one of OGOM’s PhD students, Harley Tillotson, who presented on Betsy’s selkie novel Tides: