Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat Fan Club

Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat Fan Club was founded in 1988 as a popular response to the very successful vampire novels of Anne Rice. It originated at an autograph party held October 18, 1988 at de Ville Books & Prints in New Orleans. Sue Quiroz suggested the idea of starting a club to two of her friends-Susan Miller and Theresa Simmons. The three immediately began to gather the names of potential members among those at the store. They sought and received Rice's approval. She suggested the addition of a reference to Lestat de Lioncourt to the name of the club since most of the public response was to him. The original three founders of the club were joined by Melanie Scott, and the club was soon launched.

The first quarterly newsletter was issued in March 1989. The group sponsored its initial major event, the "Coven Party", a costume gala, in October 1989. The party has become an annual event complete with guest celebrities and a theme drawn from the Lestat books. At the time of the first party, the club had some 400 members. It grew slowly over the next few years until the release of the first issue of The Vampire Companion, an irregular publication of the Innovation Corporation. The Companion was intended to compliment the comic book version of Rice's books that Innovation was releasing. The Companion carried an article about the club and a membership form. Membership rose quickly from some 500 members to several thousand.

The Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat Fan Club may be contacted at PO Box 58277, New Orleans, LA 70158-8277. It publishes a newsletter.

The Vampire Companion. Nos. 1-3. Wheeling, WV: Innovation Corporation, 1991-92.