Category Archives: Reviews
Return of the vampire: Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun and YA vampire fiction
The Open Graves, Open Minds Project began in 2010, in part as a response to Stephenie Meyer’s hugely successful Twilight series; a Young Adult vampire romance series, the first of which was Twilight (2005). We launched the Project with an … Continue reading
Posted in Resources, Reviews
Tagged Gothic, Nineteenth century, Paranormal romance, Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, Vampires, YA Gothic, YA novels
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Review: CoronaGothic Conference, 30 June 2020, University of Macau Gothic
Dr Joan Passey has written an excellent review of the recent online CoronaGothic conference organised by the Gothic Research Network at the University of Macau in China. Sam’s earlier post with further details of the conference and the paper she … Continue reading
Posted in Conferences, Reviews
Tagged Amabie, conspiracy theories, COVID-19, eco-Gothic, globalisation, Gothic, mermaids, Nineteenth century, surveillance, Vampires, Yokai
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Betsy Cornwell: Steampunk Faerie at ‘Ill met by moonlight’ Conference
We are delighted to announce an addition to the guest speakers at our ‘Ill met by moonlight’ Gothic Faery conference. Betsy Cornwell, the esteemed author of YA fantasy, will be talking about her creative adaptation of fairy lore in her … Continue reading
Fairy News: Jeanette Ng, Holly Black, Carnival Row, Queen Mab, and Irish sidhe
the fae are the mythical creatures of the hour. Sometimes they’re portrayed as monstrous, sometimes as tricksters, sometimes as sensuous love interests So says Samantha Shannon, who is herself a superb fantasy novelist. So the next OGOM event, our conference … Continue reading
Posted in Critical thoughts, OGOM: Ill met by moonlight, Reviews
Tagged Brontës, Carnival Row, fairies, Fantasy, Gothic fairies, neo-Victorianism, Percy Shelley, Queen Mab, Romanticism, sidhe, steampunk, TV
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Review: Dracula (BBC, January 2020)
There has been much discussion of the BBC adaptation of Dracula by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, shown this January—and the debate has been highly polarised. The OGOM Project began with a conference on vampires in 2010, followed by our … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged adaptation, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, TV, Vampires
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Book Review: Elizabeth von Arnim, Vera
As you may know from previous posts, I have been tracing the genetic mutations from which the genre of paranormal romance arose by looking at an earlier manifestation, Gothic romance (or romantic suspense). This genre flourished from about the 1940s … Continue reading
Posted in OGOM Research, Reviews
Tagged Daphne du Maurier, Elizabeth von Arnim, Genre, Gothic romance, Paranormal romance, The Brontës, Wuthering Heights
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Why YA Gothic Fiction is Booming and Girl Monsters are on the Rise
I’m posting this article from The Conversation by Michelle Smith for this year’s Generation Dead: YA Fiction and the Gothic students, who will begin their study of the YA Gothic genre in September. Why YA Gothic Fiction is Booming and … Continue reading
Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets His Wings
I’ve written on Hans Andersen for my forthcoming book on shadow play and despite the discourse of suffering and redemption, the stories are full of imagination and sensibility, and are always heart-wrenchingly empathic. Many of the tales have a dark … Continue reading
Posted in OGOM Research, Reviews
Tagged Hans Christian Andersen, It's A Wonderful Life, Scrooge, The Little Match Girl
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Latest YA Fantasy Reading
We now and then like to supply reading lists that we have come across from various sources. These have all been placed in their own Reading Lists category so you can easily search through them. The Barnes & Noble Teen … Continue reading
Posted in Reading Lists, Reviews
Tagged adaptation, bisexuality, fairy tale, Fantasy, Paranormal romance, sexuality, YA Fiction, YA literature
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Reworking Myth and Fairytale in YA Literature–Again!
If you visit this site often, you’ll know that many of the Gothic and fantastic narratives that OGOM research involve reworkings and rewritings of fairy tales or myths. The transformations and interminglings of genre involved fascinate me on a formal … Continue reading
Posted in Reading Lists, Reviews
Tagged adaptation, Children's literature, fairy tale, Greek myth, Intertextuality, myth, Norse myth, poetry, YA Fiction
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