Louise Nelstrop is the Director of Studies at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, which she joined in 2019. She specializes in the English mystics and has recently completed a monograph, Deification and Sacred Eloquence: Richard Rolle and Julian of Norwich (Routledge, 2020). In addition to several articles on English mysticism, most recently ‘Eros and Nuptial Imagery’ for the Oxford Handbook of Mystical Theology (2020), she co-authored Christian Mysticism: An Introduction to Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives (2009) with Kevin Magill and Bradley B. Onishi, and has also co-edited a number of volumes for the Routledge Series,’Contemporary Theological Explorations in Mysticism’. She is currently editing the Routledge Handbook on Comparative Mysticism (2022) with Saeko Yazaki (Glasgow University).
She is founder and co-convener (with John Arblaster (Antwerp), Simon D. Podmore (Liverpool) and Lydia Shahan (Harvard)) of the Mystical Theology Network, which organises annual conferences around the world on mysticism.
She also recently co-directed an award-winning short film on mysticism and love, ‘Complete Surrender’, which followed five internationally-renowned artists in their engagements with Marguerite Porete and Hadewijch. As well winning best documentary at The Love Story Film Festival (2020), the film won best foreign documentary and the Durgapur International Short Film Festival (2020), received an award of excellent at ‘Docs Beyond Borders’ (2020) and is Officially Selected for the Dreamers of Dreams Festival, London (2020).