New book analyses vampire fan fiction

Press release -

New book analyses vampire fan fiction

In the newly released book titled "Fanged Fan Fiction – Variations on TWILIGHT, TRUE BLOOD and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES", Umeå University associate professors of literature Maria Lindgren Leavenworth and Malin Isaksson examine the major phenomenon of vampire-themed fan fiction.

The book, which was published this summer, is a result of a research project that began in 2011 titled: Fan Fiction and the Vampire Trope, funded by the Swedish Research Council.

Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorised by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher. In addition, they are seldom professionally published.

Excerpt from the book publisher McFarland:
Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries have sparked off intense fan activity and generated a large quantity of fan fiction: stories which test the limits of an already existing fictional work and explore gaps and discrepancies within it. Working from the idea that texts constitute archives, expanded and altered by each addition, close readings of a selection of fanfics illustrate particular transformative practices in the online environment.

The central figure of the vampire is read through the lens of fanfic authors’ contributions to the archives, particularly regarding how figuratively or literally refanged versions of the trope are used to subvert norms established in the source texts concerning depictions of sexuality, sexual practices, and monstrosity. Complex relationships between authorial power and subversion, between mainstream messages and individual interpretations, are examined through fanfic analyses, the findings contributing to discussions about contemporary literary creativity.

Contact information:
Maria Lindgren Leavenworth, Senior Lecturer
Department of Language Studies
Phone: +46 90 786 52 41
E-mail: maria.lindgren@engelska.umu.se

Malin Isaksson, Senior Lecturer
Department of Language Studies
Phone: +46 90 786 52 42
E-mail: malin.isaksson@franska.umu.se


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Umeå University is one of Sweden's largest universities with over 37,000 students and 4,300 employees. The university is home to a wide range of education programmes and world-class research in a number of fields. Umeå University was also where the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 was discovered – a revolution in gene-technology that was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

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