Can you believe that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is celebrating its 20th anniversary? It has been two whole decades since the brainchild of Joss Whedon first aired on TV, who took the typical Hollywood concept of “the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie” and inverted it, creating one of the most iconic and strong female leads to ever grace our TV screens. Fast-forwarding ahead twenty years later, Entertainment Weekly has announced that a new book series based on the original television show is officially on its way!

The new book series, titled Slayer, is being written by New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White. American publishing company Simon & Schuster will be publishing the spin off series under their teen division, Simon Pulse. The series, which is set to be published in the Fall of 2018, follows a new Slayer whose powers were unlocked by Willow in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series finale. According to White, whose resume includes the And I Darken trilogy, she was more than a little excited when she received the offer to pen the off shoot.

I’ll be honest: when I got the offer to write Slayer, I totally screamed. It scared my children. I’m not sorry.”

The excitement is completely understandable. Like many other fans of the show, Kiersten watched the series while she was in high school, and admitted that the Buffy series has had a significant influence on her writing.

When my agent asked if I was interested, I basically said, ‘Every book I’ve ever written was an audition for this.’  It’s still stunning to me that I get to contribute to a world that has been part of my imagination for more than half my life. Dreaming up my own slayer is one of the most surreal experiences of my career so far.  I’m so excited to share her with die-hard Scoobies and new fans alike!”

If that statement alone doesn’t put any concerns fans may have with the new direction the franchise is taking at ease, I don’t know what will. For my part, I’m sure White will ‘Slay it’ with her new books. The series will be making a debut in Fall of 2018.

So, are you excited for the upcoming Slayer book series? Were you a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? What about the spin-off series, Angel?  Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to DFTG for all the latest news! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!