The trouble with publishing books is, of course, that books are static, whereas the subject of books—the real world—keeps insisting on changing. When it comes to pop culture, and particularly when it comes to television, this presents a certain set of challenges. In particular: How do you create a book that feels as current and up-to-date as possible when the plot advances every week?

One answer is you wait for the inevitable hiatus to nail down the content, and hope not too much has changed by the time the book comes out a few months later. We timed our books on The Vampire Diaries and Glee so that the final essays wouldn’t be due until after the season finales and gave them pub dates of …

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First, let me say, thank you all for making this essay contest such a great experience. As I mentioned before, we received a ton of great entries, which made the choices hard in the very best way. I continue to be grateful I wasn’t the one to have to make them.

Or, in our judge Jane Espenson’s much more articulate words:

I just wanted to let you know that I found the entries in this contest to be extremely illuminating and heart-warming. I’m delighted that so many people were willing to devote so much time and effort to exploring the deeper aspects of the show. There were so many sharp insights that it was very hard picking out the best four. All of the

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» Continue Reading “Dollhouse Essay Contest Winners”