Deanna P. Koretsky

About

Deanna P. Koretsky is a literary and cultural critic, Associate Professor in the Department of Literature, Media, and Writing at Spelman College, and a 2026-27 fellow in residence at the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference at Emory University.

Her research explores how historical ideas about race, neurodivergence, gender, and sexuality shape contemporary culture and politics, with a particular interest in vampires as figures that reveal how the past lingers in the present. She is currently developing her second monograph, tentatively entitled Bad Blood and Monstrous Minds: The Racial Logics of the War on Autism, and editing a volume on AMC’s Interview with the Vampire / The Vampire Lestat.

Earlier publications include Death Rights: Romantic Suicide, Race, and the Bounds of Liberalism (2021), Mary Shelley’s Mathilda (2025), Demystifying Mystic Falls: Essays on Race in the Vampire Diaries Universe (2027), and over a dozen scholarly essays on topics ranging from eighteenth century literature to contemporary television. Beyond her solo work, Deanna is a founding member of the Bigger 6 Collective and occasionally pops into the Dear Vampire Diaries podcast. She also serves as Associate Editor for Reviews at The Journal of American Culture and coordinates Spelman’s partnership with the Georgia Film Academy.