ECU English professor wins second international book award for “The Kiss of Death”

Dr. Andrea Kitta, associate professor of English at East Carolina University, is racking up awards for her most recent book, “The Kiss of Death: Contagion, Contamination and Folklore,” which sheds light on how information and misinformation spread during an outbreak like COVID-19.

Kitta is one of two recipients of the 2020 Chicago Folklore Prize. Earlier this year, she received the 2020 Brian McConnell Book Award, given by the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research.

First awarded in 1928, the Chicago Folklore Prize is the oldest international award recognizing excellence in folklore scholarship. The prize is offered jointly by the American Folklore Society and the University of Chicago.

“You are the most recent in a long line of fine folklorists who have been honored for their excellent prize-winning books for more than three-quarters of a century,” wrote Dr. Jessica Turner, executive director of the society.

Kitta and fellow prize recipient Dr. Simon J. Bronner, dean of the College of General Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, were recognized at the society’s annual meeting, held virtually on Oct. 13.

“I’m very honored to be one of the winners of the Chicago Folklore Prize. This is the highest book award in my discipline,” Kitta said. “The award is such a big deal that I never anticipated winning it at any point in my career. This is an overwhelming achievement that I’m having difficulty putting into words. I am so stunned and honored.

“Simon Bronner, the other winner, is a giant in our field with over 30 books in print. This is my second monograph,” Kitta added.

Kitta is a folklorist with a specialty in medicine, belief and the supernatural. Her interests include internet folklore, narrative and contemporary (urban) legend. Currently, she researches vaccines, pandemic illness, contagion and contamination, stigmatized diseases, disability, health information on the internet and Slender Man. She is co-editor for Contemporary Legend, a scholarly journal published annually by the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research. Her research on vaccines has won the Bernard Duval Prize at the Canadian Immunization Conference, and her previous book, “Vaccinations and Public Concern in History: Legend, Rumor and Risk Perception,” was honored with the Brian McConnell Book Award in 2012.

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