The IVNS celebrates its 20th anniversary in 1998. The Vladimir Nabokov Society is dedicated to the appreciation of the writings of Vladimir Nabokov, to the exchange of views and information concerning these writings, and to the fellowship of their readers. Establishment of the society and election of its officers took place at its first business meeting, following a special Nabokov session sponsored by the Modern Language Association. College Zoran Kuzmanovich, Editor Nabokov Studies Professor of English Davidson College Members join the Society by subscribing to The Nabokovian , so that there is no membership fee as such.
Higher rates apply to international members.
The International Nabokov Society became an allied organization of the Modern Language Association in time for the 1983 MLA Convention in New York City. The practice of encouraging close co-operation between Slavists and Americanists dates back to the first years of the Nabokov Society around 1980. When American Nabokov scholarship got its start in the later 1960s and the 1970s, the Russian side of Nabokov's career was frequently ignored. For the first time, Americanists and Slavicists who shared an interest in Nabokov found themselves at the same meetings, and young Nabokov scholars in American Literature could observe the still live connection between our author and Russian language and literature. As a result of this history, the Society alternates its presidency between scholars based in English and Russian departments and has taken a leading role in integrating American and Russian studies of Nabokov.