Dr. Jess Venner is an ancient historian, writer, and presenter.
Her debut non-fiction book, The Lost Voices of Pompeii, spotlighted as a top anticipated release at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair, is set to be published in Spring 2026.
Dr. Jess Venner is a renowned ancient historian and award-winning scholar at the University of Oxford (Leverhulme Early Career Fellow) known for her groundbreaking work on Pompeii.
In 2018, she was awarded a prestigious scholarship to pursue her PhD in Classics, Ancient History, and Archaeology at the University of Birmingham, and in 2025 she was awarded both the Rome Award at the British School at Rome and the highly competitive Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship for postdoctoral research.
Her research has been featured in leading academic journals, and her insights have reached audiences worldwide through international lectures, spanning London to San Francisco.
Her expertise and dynamic presentation style earned her a nomination for the Canon Best Original Content bCreator of the Year at the ITV bCreator Awards 2025 (vote here) and for the Future Presenter Award at the New Voice Awards 2024. She also earned her place among the National Gallery's 200 Creators for its bicentenary celebration. She is an elected Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in recognition of her contributions to the field of History. She is also a Trustee of the Herculaneum Society.
Beyond academia, Jess reaches millions of viewers on TikTok, YouTube, Substack and Instagram through her popular channels, Life in the Past Lane, bringing ancient history to life in accessible and relatable ways.