Season of success

Central Michigan University Professor of English Jeffrey Weinstock had a summer filled with professional and academic successes. Professor of such courses as Monsters and Their Meanings, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and others, Weinstock was recently recognized for his outstanding research and contributions to the academic field of American Gothic and Horror, earning both the Science Fiction Research Award and the Humanities Scholar of the Year award. The Science Fiction Research Award ceremony took place in Estonia over the summer and the Humanities Scholar of the Year ceremony will take place on September 22^nd at the Andersen Enrichment Center in Saginaw.

In addition to these awards, Weinstock published two books this summer: The Routledge Introduction to the American Ghost Story and Disney Gothic: Dark Shadows in the House of Mouse, both of which he collaborated with highly decorated international colleagues Dr. Scott Brewster of the University of Lincoln in the U.K. and Dr. Lorna Piatti-Farnell of New Zealand's Auckland University of Technology, respectively.

“Both books allowed me to collaborate with international colleagues, which I find very fulfilling!” said Jeffrey Weinstock.

The Routledge Introduction to the American Ghost Story is Weinstock’s 30^th book publication, which according to CLASS Dean Rothaus, makes Weinstock the most prolific scholar in the history of Central Michigan University.

Weinstock flew to Hollywood in July to be interviewed as an academic authority on a forthcoming documentary on The Rocky Horror Picture Show due to his extensive knowledge on the history, context, and reception of the show.

“It is very gratifying to have my research and service contributions acknowledged in these ways!” Weinstock says.

Professor Weinstock isn’t resting following all his recent achievements. Presently, he is settling into his role as General Editor of the newly established scholarly journal, American Gothic Studies. The journal is the official publication of the Society for the Study of the American Gothic, a scholarly organization that he founded in 2023 and that held its first international symposium in Salem this past March.

He is also at work on a textbook for Cambridge University Press titled The Cambridge Introduction to Speculative Fiction: Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror, and is assembling The Horror Theory Reader, an anthology of writings that consider the appeal of the horror genre, for the University of Minnesota Press. Lastly, he is developing an edited collection of scholarly essays for Edinburgh University Press with the title Capitalism & the Gothic.

His 32^nd book, Gothic Melville, will be out this fall.