Discover the career path of Anne Rice, from the first major opportunity to industry-changing achievements.
Anne Rice was a celebrated American author known primarily for her gothic fiction, erotic literature, and biblical fiction. She gained widespread recognition for her series, The Vampire Chronicles, which explored themes of immortality, love, and existentialism within a gothic framework. Her novel, Interview with the Vampire, was adapted into a successful film, further solidifying her influence in popular culture. Rice's writing style is characterized by its lush prose, detailed world-building, and exploration of complex characters, making her a significant figure in contemporary horror and fantasy literature.
1973: Writing Interview with the Vampire
In 1973, Anne Rice turned a short story into her first novel, Interview with the Vampire.
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August 1974: Attending Squaw Valley Writer's Conference
In August 1974, Anne Rice attended the Squaw Valley Writer's Conference and met her future literary agent, Phyllis Seidel.
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October 1974: Sale of Interview with the Vampire
In October 1974, Phyllis Seidel sold the publishing rights to Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.
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May 1976: Publication of Interview with the Vampire
In May 1976, Interview with the Vampire was published.
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1976: Publication of Interview with the Vampire
In 1976, Anne Rice's professional writing career began with the publication of her novel, Interview with the Vampire.
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1976: Publication of Interview with the Vampire
In 1976, Interview with the Vampire received mixed reviews, causing Rice to retreat temporarily from the supernatural genre.
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1985: Publication of The Vampire Lestat
In 1985, The Vampire Lestat debuted, receiving more positive reception than Interview with the Vampire.
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1988: Stan Rice Retires
In 1988, Stan Rice retired from his position as chair of the creative writing department at San Francisco State.
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1988: Publication and Success of The Queen of the Damned
In 1988, The Queen of the Damned was published, becoming a main selection of the Literary Guild of America and reaching the No. 1 spot on The New York Times Best Seller list.
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1994: Interview with the Vampire Film Release
In 1994, Anne Rice's novel, Interview with the Vampire, was adapted into a commercially successful film of the same name.
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1994: Exit to Eden Film Release
In 1994, Exit to Eden, erotic fiction authored by Anne Rice under the pen name Anne Rampling, was adapted into a film.
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1994: Interview with the Vampire Film Adaptation
In 1994, Neil Jordan directed a motion picture adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, based on Anne Rice's own screenplay.
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1994: Release of Exit to Eden Film
The film Exit to Eden, based on Anne Rice's book published as Anne Rampling, was released in 1994, starring Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Aykroyd.
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1997: Publication of Violin
In 1997, Anne Rice published Violin, a tale of a ghostly haunting.
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1997: Television Pilot 'Rag and Bone'
In 1997, Anne Rice wrote the story for a television pilot entitled Rag and Bone, which aired on CBS.
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2000: Statement Against Fan Fiction
In 2000, Anne Rice released a statement that disallowed all fan fiction based on her works, particularly The Vampire Chronicles, citing copyright issues.
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2001: The Feast of All Saints TV Adaptation
In 2001, Anne Rice's book, The Feast of All Saints, was adapted for television.
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2001: The Feast of All Saints Miniseries
In 2001, The Feast of All Saints was made into a Showtime original miniseries, directed by Peter Medak.
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February 2002: Release of Queen of the Damned Film
In February 2002, the film adaptation Queen of the Damned was released, starring Stuart Townsend and Aaliyah.
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2002: Plans for Mayfair Witches Miniseries
In 2002, NBC had plans to adapt Anne Rice's Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy into a miniseries, but the project never entered production.
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October 2005: Announcement of Writing to Glorify God
In October 2005, while promoting her book Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, Anne Rice announced in Newsweek that she would use her writing talent to glorify her belief in God, without renouncing her earlier works.
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December 2005: Lestat Musical World Premiere in San Francisco
In December 2005, the musical Lestat, based on Rice's Vampire Chronicles books, had its world premiere and preview run at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, California.
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2005: Publication of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
In 2005, Anne Rice began a series called Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.
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April 25, 2006: Lestat Musical Opens on Broadway
On April 25, 2006, the musical Lestat, based on Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles books, opened at the Palace Theatre on Broadway.
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May 28, 2006: Lestat Musical Closes on Broadway
On May 28, 2006, Lestat closed on Broadway after just 33 previews and 39 regular performances.
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March 2008: Publication of Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
In March 2008, Anne Rice published Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana.
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November 2008: Working on Christ the Lord: Kingdom of Heaven
In November 2008, Anne Rice was working on the third volume of Christ the Lord series, Kingdom of Heaven.
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2011: Servant of the Bones Comic Book
In 2011, Anne Rice's novel, Servant of the Bones, formed the basis of a comic book miniseries.
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February 2012: Early Stages of Development for Christ the Lord Film Adaptation
In February 2012, a film adaptation of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt was reported to be in the early stages of development, with Chris Columbus producing and Cyrus Nowrasteh having completed the script.
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2012: Milder Stance on Fan Fiction
In 2012, Metro reported that Anne Rice developed a milder stance on fan fiction, stating it's been easy to avoid reading any.
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March 9, 2014: Announcement of Prince Lestat
On March 9, 2014, Anne Rice announced the completion of another book in the Vampire Chronicles, titled Prince Lestat.
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August 2014: Universal Acquires Rights to Vampire Chronicles
In August 2014, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.
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November 8, 2014: Filming Completed for The Young Messiah
On November 8, 2014, Anne Rice revealed that filming had finished on the movie The Young Messiah, based on Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, and was going into post-production.
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2015: Release of Beauty's Kingdom
In 2015, a sequel to the Sleeping Beauty trilogy, Beauty's Kingdom, was released.
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November 2016: Rights Reversion and TV Series Development
In November 2016, Anne Rice announced on Facebook that the rights to her novels had reverted to her, and she and her son, Christopher Rice, would be developing a potential television series based on the novels.
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November 2016: Rights Revert to Rice; Television Series Planned
In November 2016, the film and television rights to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles reverted to her after Universal Pictures did not renew the contract; Rice began developing a television series based on the novels with her son, Christopher.
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2016: Release of The Young Messiah
In 2016, the film The Young Messiah, based on Rice's novel, was released.
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April 2017: Teaming up with Paramount and Anonymous Content
In April 2017, Anne and Christopher Rice teamed up with Paramount Television and Anonymous Content to develop a television series.
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July 17, 2018: Series in Development at Hulu
On July 17, 2018, it was announced that a series based on Anne Rice's novels was in development at streaming service Hulu.
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December 2019: Hulu's Rights Expire
As of December 2019, Hulu's rights to Anne Rice's series had expired, and Rice was shopping a package including all film and TV rights to the series.
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May 2020: AMC Acquires Rights
In May 2020, it was announced that AMC had acquired the rights to The Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches for developing film and television projects, with Anne and Christopher Rice as executive producers.
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2022: Launch of The Immortal Universe
In 2022, The Immortal Universe, a media franchise and shared universe based on the works of Anne Rice, began.
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