The Vampire Diaries is a series of seven Young Adult novels by L.J. Smith. The Original Series, first published in 1991-92 by HarperCollins, comprises four volumes: The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury, and Dark Reunion. The Return Trilogy, which begins with Nightfall (HarperTeen, February 2009), continues the story one week after the events of Dark Reunion. The final two books in the trilogy are Shadow Souls (due March 16, 2010) and Midnight (due 2010-11).

The Vampire Diaries is about love, blood ties, friendship, desire, power, revenge, and sacrifice. It’s the story of Elena Gilbert, the “golden girl” – beautiful, popular, and feeling increasingly alone amongst her family and circle of friends. It’s about Stefan Salvatore, the dark, enigmatic new arrival at school, with a haunted past that stretches back five centuries. It’s about Elena’s friends – Bonnie, Meredith, and Matt – and their fierce loyalty to her and each other even as events begin to spiral out of control. And it’s about Damon, Stefan’s older brother, whose motivations are purely his own.

The story is set in the small Virginia town of Fell’s Church, founded in the early 19th century and nearly destroyed during a devastating Civil War battle. The town’s history hangs heavy throughout The Vampire Diaries – decayed churches and neglected graveyards dot the landscape, reclaimed by the surrounding woods and ghosts.

Two reprintings and one follow-up trilogy later, The Vampire Diaries claims a passionate fan following amongst those who first read the original books in the early ’90s and a whole new generation of readers discovering L.J. Smith’s series for the first time.