Essays are invited for an edited volume exploring the role that race and racism play in the narrative worlds of The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies, as well as the real world that consumes them. This volume explores how race intersects with other identity categories (gender, sexuality, disability, class, etc.) in the television and book series; how it structures power and agency in the storyworlds and behind the scenes; how it permeates the fan cultures associated with the franchise; and how ongoing fascination with the franchise reflects the tumultuous years of the Obama and Trump presidencies, the coronavirus pandemic, the racial uprisings of 2020, and beyond.

Topics of particular interest include (but are certainly not limited to):

• The book series by L.J. Smith (as compared with the television series or on its own)

• Fan cultures specific to TVD – e.g., the emergence of franchise-inspired conventions in the small Southern towns where the shows were shot; international TVD fandoms

• TVD in relation to other vampire narratives: e.g., Twilight, True Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or post-TVD properties like First Kill, AMC’s Interview with the Vampire, etc.

• The handling of race in rewatch podcasts dedicated to TVD and related media

Please submit a 300-word abstract and 50-word author biography with current affiliation and email address to dkoretsk@spelman.edu. This is a second call and deadlines are negotiable. If you’d like to contribute, please send an abstract and projected timeline and we can discuss from there. Final essays should be between 6000 and 8000 words and follow the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style (notes and bibliography).  

Projected schedule (flexible):

Abstract/Bio: rolling

Draft: October 1, 2024

Final: December 1, 2024