About Travels in Genre and Medievalism in 2019

𝔉ive years ago today saw the beginning of this blog, and at several points (here, here, and here), there have been comments offered about the state of the blog and of the Society for which it remains a mouthpiece. To follow up on them, then:

• Since the last status update, there have been 69 posts (including the present one) across 52 weeks, an average of 1.33 posts per week.
• In total, there have been 304 posts (including the present one) across 260 weeks, an average of 1.17 posts per week.

Numbers seem to be a bit mixed. Overall number of posts is up, clearly, which is good. The overall average number of posts per week is up, which is also good. The average number of posts per week since the last status report is slightly down, however, which is less good. On the whole, things seem better, but it seems there is more that could be done usefully.
The Society continues to benefit from reading series, some of which have ended (notably Geoffrey B. Elliott's Voltron: Legendary Defender re/watch and Shiloh Carroll's towering Game of Thrones re/watch). Others (Elliott's Galavant rewatch, for example) are ongoing, which helps attract and maintain attention for the Society and its work. The occasional guest piece, such as Chrissie Perella's "Marvels, Monsters, or (Wo)Men," adds to what the Society offers and reaffirms its place as a site for informed consideration of what current cultures do with the medieval.
The blog has more or less settled on a form. This is not to say that things will not change in the future; they always do. But for the present, the current pattern seems to be the one to prevail. No comments have indicated that the current paratext is hard to read or somehow unfit for the material, so the Society is, at least, not doing something wrong in its current presentation. All or nearly all of the reading series materials are aggregated, which aids in navigation. Membership information is current as of this writing, having been updated from proceedings at the 2019 International Congress on Medieval Studies. Paperwork is in process for the 2020 Congress, with CFPs to come pending acceptance.
As ever, there are some continuing concerns. The Society is always happy to accept new membership; email talesaftertolkien@gmail.com with the subject line "I'd Like to Join" to get on board. The Society is also happy to accept submissions of short-form scholarship, commentary, or re/watches from members; email talesaftertolkien@gmail.com with the subject line "Blog Submission" to send along your ideas or full pieces. Additionally, member news (email talesaftertolkien@gmail.com with subject line "Member News") and CFPs (email talesaftertolkien@gmail.com with subject line "I've a CFP") are welcome; in either case, send stuff along, and we'll see about getting it in front of people!
The Society looks forward to hearing from you and thanks you for your continued reading!