Anne Rice is apparently writing a werewolf book - The Wolf Gift.

This post explores some of the frustrations I have had when working with pupils who are sitting a particular A-Level English Literature exam, which contains a module entitled ‘Elements of the Gothic’. It is intended to provoke discussion, but I apologise if it veers towards polemic. I should also note that it is a criticism of a syllabus – not of teaching practice and method.

A trailer for John Cusack's Edgar Allan Poe film was shown at Comic-Con yesterday. The film is described as  Seven meets From Hell. Director James McTeigue says 'The serial killer in Seven used the seven deadly sins, ours uses the works of Edgar Allen Poe'. Here's the official synopsis: "In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who's using Poe's own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered

Faber Finds, a special imprint that brings neglected books back into print, is about to reissue two novels by Emma Tennant.

In my previous post on this blog, I credited Stephenie Meyer with helping to create a new sub-genre of speculative fiction: YA paranormal romance. Today, I would like to consider one of her other, somewhat more controversial, creations: the sparkly vampire. When Twilight’s Edward Cullen walks in the sunshine, his skin glitters as though covered in precious gemstones. Little about the Twilight novels evokes such a vehement response – from both readers and non-readers alike – as the vampire that sparkles. But what is it that is making vampire fans so angry?

Here's a few books forthcoming in the next year to look forward to. All descriptions from Amazon.uk. Offers of reviews from suitably qualified postgraduates very welcome.

Since the 2005 release of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, the genre of young adult paranormal romance has, to put it mildly, flourished. Meyer's work is credited by some as creating (or at least cementing the creation of) a new genre – the YA dark romance. As many reviewers and critics have commented (grumbled?), vampires have become ubiquitous.

The programme for this year's IGA conference at Heidelberg is now available on the conference website.

Patrick McGrath was born in London in 1950 but has lived primarily in New York since 1981. As the son of the medical superintendent of Broadmoor Hospital for the criminal insane, it is perhaps unsurprising that McGrath has grown to be one of the most perceptive detailers of human psychology in contemporary fiction.

Considering his status in the contemporary Gothic, Patrick McGrath’s fiction has garnered remarkably little scholarly criticism. His was the final entry in Chris Baldick’s 1992 collection of Gothic tales, suggesting that McGrath may well be the future of the genre. In the intervening years...