cfp.english.upenn.edu

Since the advent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, supernatural dramas aimed at a young adult market have become a staple of the television landscape. Shows like Angel, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Smallville, MTV’s recent remake of Teen Wolf, The Secret Circle, and even Heroes and (though perhaps to a lesser degree) HBO’s True Blood draw on the audience’s voracious appetite for vampires, werewolves, and other creatures of the night. And of course the Twilight book and film series have drawn in ever more readers and viewers.

This collection, to be published by Edwin Mellen Press, will examine these supernatural teen dramas—primarily in television and film, but also in the young adult books that are often adapted into these shows—and their depictions of and appeals to young adults and adolescence. Essays should discuss any element of identity and/or power in these works. Contributors might consider such elements as sexuality, desire, monstrosity, power, or transformation.

We are interested in discussions of any supernatural teen dramas beginning primarily with Buffy, but will consider earlier works, as well.

Please send 400-500 -word abstracts (or complete articles, if available) to supernaturalteendrama@gmail.com by June 1, 2013. Complete articles will be due by January 1, 2014.