How can we make literary history effective so that it “changes literary history from being a closed book to an open process of inquiry”, in the words of Mario Valdés? This is just one of the questions that will be discussed at a workshop meeting about gender and biography between history and literature organised by Mónica Burguera in Madrid (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Humanidades, Madrid, 18-19 December 2014). Henriette Partzsch will participate with a paper about the history of literary culture and transnational interchanges.