By Kelsey Liddell and Isabella Whiley
As September rolls in and another academic year begins, the publishing world finds itself once again at a unique crossroads. This is the time when academic publishers’ newly released textbooks and journals are stocked on the shelves of universities across the country. However, thanks to recent TikTok trends, it is also when readers gravitate toward novels of intellectual mystery. Dark academia, a literary subgenre, with its moody, atmospheric depictions of elite academic institutions, feels like the perfect counterpart to the traditional world of academic publishing. This article will explore the current challenges academic publishing faces while drawing connections to dark academia’s rise, and will ponder how both genres might evolve.
Academic publishing has long been one of the foundations of the publishing industry, producing the textbooks, research and educational materials that underpin our education system. However, the field has faced considerable challenges in recent years. One of the most pressing issues is the rise of open-access publishing. Traditionally, academic publishing has operated a paywall model, with universities and individuals paying expensive subscription fees to access journals and research. In contrast, open-access platforms offer academic papers for free, allowing research to be distributed more widely but cutting into the profit margins of traditional academic publishers. As a result, many publishers are now experimenting with hybrid models, offering content freely at first but charging for further resources.
Another challenge lies in the increasing demand for digital formats. While physical textbooks and academic journals remain essential in many areas of education, there is a growing shift toward digital resources, from e-textbooks to interactive learning platforms. Publishers are now tasked with the choice of producing high-quality print materials or accessible, affordable digital content. This call for development prompts a larger reflection: how do these shifts in the academic landscape impact not only the accessibility of knowledge but also our concept of what academia is?
Enter dark academia, a genre that captures the allure, mystique and often sinister undertones of academic life. Rooted in classic literature, but with a fresh surge in contemporary fiction, dark academia often centres on elite educational institutions, intellectual characters who teeter on the verge of obsession and themes of mystery, power and morality.
Specific books that have contributed to this rise and developing popularity deserve mention. The Secret History by Donna Tartt, for example, centres around the growing fascination with higher education and intellectual development. The book focuses on a group of Classics students at an elite New England college. This mystery/thriller includes all the essentials to establish the perfect dark academia aesthetic: corruption, betrayal and a captivating insight into human psychology.
Another excellent example of this genre is If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. Following a similar pattern, this novel analyses a group of Drama students at an elite college performing Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The book focuses on classic literature, taking readers back in time to a world of intrigue and mystery to solve a ten-year old murder. It has the perfect blend of tropes within the rising genre.
These books have become staples in this genre, blending gothic elements with their academic backdrop as their characters become entangled in dangerous pursuits of knowledge, whether through literary analysis, classical studies or complex philosophical debates. There is a sense of nostalgia and admiration for old-world academia, combined with a deeper critique of the elitism, exclusivity and, at times, moral ambiguity that can come with it.
The genre's popularity is staggering, with hundreds of thousands of posts under dark academia hashtags on both TikTok and Instagram, with some posts reaching over a million views. Aside from its development as a literary genre, with themes from classics such as The Picture of Dorian Gray being re-adapted into modern literature, it has become a lifestyle. The portrayal of this aesthetic has gone beyond the page and entered the worlds of fashion and interior design. The books are often set in higher education settings, and therefore certain aspects of study that are typically seen as boring, such as revision and research, are becoming romanticised as part of this aesthetic. Its popularity has highlighted how people are always eager to improve their intellectuality and mindsets, a common, human desire that can connect readers across generations.
The coming together of dark academia and academic publishing during the back-to-school season feels natural in many ways. Both involve a deep engagement with the idea of knowledge, whether by producing it or by dramatising it through fiction. However, while academic publishing often takes on a practical, real-world role, dark academia thrives on a more idealised – and often twisted – representation of intellectual life.
As the two intersect, it’s worth considering how these genres may influence one another moving forward. Dark academia’s continued popularity suggests a lingering romanticisation of the academic experience, even as the realities of academic publishing become increasingly complex. Will this romanticisation ever reflect the challenges of modern academic publishing? Will academic publishers one day look to capitalise on the aesthetic of the dark academia genre?
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