[Air-L] CFP Fanpires

[Christine Daviault]

Apologies if this has already been posted.

CFP: FANPIRES: Audience Consumption of the Modern Vampire
Editors: Gareth Schott & Kirstine Moffat (University of Waikato, New Zealand)
Publisher: New Academia Press (Washington, DC)

This edited collection will examine the cultural resurgence of the  
vampire. It aims to provide inter-disciplinary accounts of the  
reception and cultural impact of contemporary representations of the  
vampire evident across a broad range of mediums, including literature  
(e.g. Evernight, The Vampire Academy), film (e.g. Twilight saga),  
television (e.g. The Vampire Diaries, True Blood), graphic novels  
(e.g. Chibi Vampire) and games (e.g. Vampire Rain). The appeal of  
vampire mythology and its associated folklore for modern audiences  
will be examined in an age characterised by the transformative  
possibilities of the internet with both its low barriers to artistic  
expression and the erosion of the boundaries between author and  
audience.

 From evil villains to tragic heroes, modern appropriations and  
re-workings of the vampire genre, evident in popular manifestations  
such as the Twilight saga and the television adaptation of The  
Southern Vampire Mysteries (True Blood) are noted for their focus on  
the everyday. The ?new wave? vampire is commonly nested within  
communities, seeking to temper their urges and coexist with humans.  
Such contemporary treatments of the vampire fulfill the performative  
role traditionally associated with media fandom that has seen the  
creation of texts that ?enact, share in, and see scenes that the  
canonical author never created? (Lancaster, 2001, p. 131).

Within the context of reception and fandom, we aim to attract  
contributions that address (but are not limited to):
?	Fan Practices (art, fiction and films as well as discussions devoted  
to key vampire texts)
?	Anti-fans, negative reactions and responses
?	Impact and appeal of the vampire for different audiences (intended  
and unintended).
?	The scholar as fan. Distinctions between experience, interpretation  
and thinking as a fan and a scholar.
?	Author as fan (for example, homage/adaptation works such as Pride  
and Prejudice retellings Vampire Darcy?s Desire by Regina Jeffers or  
Mr Darcy Vampyre by Amanda Grange)
?	The journey of the fan. Where does fandom of a particular text lead  
audiences? A reference to the gothic appeal of Wuthering Heights in  
Twilight, led Publisher Harper Collins to reissue Bronte?s novel with  
the tagline ?Bella and Edward?s favorite book,? quadrupling its annual  
sales.
?	The role of merchandising within vampire fan culture.
?	Issues related to film, television, game adaptation/translation  
(e.g. Why are there very few original or franchise tie-in vampire  
videogames? What prohibits the translation of vampire narratives into  
interactive games?)
?	The relationship between modern representations of the vampire (e.g.  
TV?s Being Human or Blood Ties) and other contemporary media genres  
(e.g. reality tv, sitcom, murder mystery etc.)
?	The construction and appeal of the ?dark romance? genre
?	Analysis of the plight of the vampire and the burden of immortality.  
Inter-generational differences between vampires and humans and  
vampires from a different age. For example, True Blood?s Bill Compton,  
turned during the American Civil War, and his young progeny Jessica  
Hamby (who keeps her ?own? blog on http://babyvamp-jessica.com). How  
forgotten social conventions, mannerisms and standards are  
reintroduced into society through the presence of vampires. How  
vampires from a previous age negotiate the demands of a contemporary  
world.
?	The domestication of the vampire. The shift in contemporary texts  
from vampires as mythic creatures to quasi-human beings confronting  
everyday, human problems and relationships. For example: the vampire  
family (such as the Cullens in Twilight), the bond between creator and  
?child? or the challenges of bodily sustenance (such as the  
?vegetarian? Cullens in Twilight or the vampire blood banks in True  
Blood).
?	World media and cross-cultural comparisons (e.g. Sergei Lukyanemko?s  
Russian Vampire quartet currently adapted into two films Nightwatch  
and Daywatch).

KEY DATES:
Chapter Proposals (Abstract), 500-800 words + 6 keywords ? October 29th, 2010
Notification of Acceptance ? November 19th, 2010
Chapter Submission (5,000 words) ? February 29th, 2011
Final Submission for Revised Chapters ? 31st May, 2011

All submissions to g.schott at waikato.ac.nz or kirstine at waikato.ac.nz