A stomping, cheering, jeering crowd may have awarded the debate otherwise, but the truth was evident; the Twilight saga is all but fading from popular culture.

Six members of the Melbourne literary community contested the value and relevance of the saga’s contribution to the liturgical world before a live audience attending the Fading Twilight session at the Melbourne Writer’s Festival Schools’ Program.

Emerging writer, freelance reviewer and bookseller Bec Kavanagh argued any person with a strong opinion on the bestselling series renders them absolutely important.

“Our opinions on the quality of the book does not matter,” she said.

“[Twilight] is not fading- it burns.”

The capacity of the series to provoke passionate discussion such as that which occurred this afternoon justified teammate Kate Forsyth’s view of the importance of the series for readers.

“The books are illuminating society in a way that it hasn’t been for a long time,” Forsyth said.

Her team cited the booming sales figures of classics Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice and Romeo & Juliette in response to the Twilight phenomenon.

Each of the books has been credited with inspiring the Twilight series.

“Good books allow a cathartic journey which changes your life at the end of them,” Forsyth said.

She shelved the argument about whether or not Twilight typifies ‘good’ writing in favor of the social impact of the series.

“The series is getting more than just teenage girls reading,” she said.

“Parents are talking to their kids about [Twilight]. What more could you ask for from a book?”

Editor of literary journal Overland and first affirmative speaker Jeff Sparrow encouraged the audience to distinguish between the books themselves and the phenomenon.

“It’s a strange endorsement of a book to say its value is that it’s made people read something else,” he said.

Sparrow described the ultra-conservative portrayals of femininity and sexuality evident in the series as ‘potentially problematic’.

“If this sort of thing is what floats your boat, that’s great,” he said.

“Ultimately, I want you to be able to make your own decisions [about the issues arising from the book].”

Participants on both sides of the debate were impassioned by the mention of female sexuality and feminism.

Teams were divided primarily according to gender, though closer inspection of the all-female negative team- Twilight is not fading- revealed all three to be authors of mostly fantasy fiction. The all-male affirmative team- Twilight is fading- was comprised of a mix of writers from the realms of fantasy fiction and literary analysis.

Author Van Badham vigorously defended the culture of abstinence Meyer portrays in her novels.

She described Edward and Bella’s relationship as challenging for men.

“The book is about female choices,” Badham said.

“Boys are quivering to the point of their icy poles,” she said.

She cited this as the reason the ‘honorable opposition’ had reverted to penis jokes.

Second affirmative speaker Chris Flynn earlier referred to Edward’s penis as an icy pole, given the freezing temperature of his skin.

Though Flynn did raise the flippant comment during his contribution to the debate, his argument was measured with a serving of analysis.

“Meyer equates loss of virginity with loss of life,” he said.

Edward repeatedly refuses Bella’s sexual entreaties for three quarters of the series for fear that unleashing his lust upon her will ultimately kill her.

Flynn also suggested Bella to be sexually objectified, as her Edwardian boyfriend overrules her urges in favor of an unhealthy attitude towards sex.

“[The portrayal of sex in the series] is outdated, out of touch and insulting to women,” he said.

Central to the affirmative team’s case was the dichotomy between the glorification of abstinence and the sexualisation of chastity in youths.

“It creates an impossible situation,” Sparrow said.

He suggested the Twilight series provides a magical solution for an otherwise impracticable dilemma.

Sparrow contextualized the release of the first installment in the Twilight series with a sexual education program based solely on abstinence, exorbitantly funded by the late Bush government.

According to Sparrow, the program deprived American youths exiting the program of knowledge about safe sex practices, thereby increasing the incidence of unprotected sex.

It was the contribution of the third affirmative speaker, however, which ignited heated debate within the audience.

Debut author Ben Chandler argued Twilight ought to fade away, as it was destroying the literary vampire.

His argument was punctuated by whoops from a delighted crowd.

“If you have a look at a creature like Edward,” he said, “he sparkles.”

Chandler added that, lest Bella and Edward’s child was demon spawn, Edward was not a true vampire.

“We need our demons,” he said.

And in this fashion, the Twilight debate rages on.