The Vampire Diaries author L J Smith dies aged 66
28 March 2025, 16:11
The Vampire Diaries author L J Smith has died aged 66.
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Smith passed away "peacefully" on March 8 after "a long bout" of illness, a statement on her site said.
The 66-year-old was a New York Times bestselling author of young-adult fiction.
She was behind the hit supernatural book series The Vampire Diaries, which was later turned into a TV show starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder.
She also wrote the Night World book series and The Secret Circle.
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"Lisa was a kind and gentle soul, whose brilliance, creativity, resilience and empathy, illuminated the lives of her family, friends and fans alike," the statement said.
"She will be remembered for her imaginative spirit, her pioneering role in supernatural fiction, and her generosity, warmth and heart, both on and off the page."
Smith was born on September 4, 1958 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but grew up in the Southern California.
She released her first novel, The Night Of The Solstice, in 1987 and then went on to release Heart of Valour in 1990.
The author was then commissioned to write The Vampire Diaries series by a book packaging company and continued to do so between the 1990s and 2010s.
Despite selling millions of copies, Smith is understood to have stepped back from writing the series due to a dispute over plot lines and was instead replaced by a ghost writer.
She enjoyed a revival years later after releasing fan fiction which picked up where the novels left off.
Smith suffered from a debilitating autoimmune disease for the last 10 years of her life.
Despite being confined to hospital most of the time, she continued with her writing. She had just completed her first adult novel called Lullaby.
She is survived by her partner, Julie Divola.
