People are often aware of fandom and fanwork through the lens of fanfiction. Sometimes fanart makes its way into the public consciousness, but more often than not, these two expressions of fanwork are the most commonly recognized. Some other methods of fandom expression, such as podfic, fanvids, and cosplay, are also well known, but an […]
In the direct aftermath of Pride Month, seeing proud queer people and seeing people fight and protest and stand up to tyranny, I’m reminded again of the importance of Queer Fandom. Despite the queer content that proliferates in many parts of creator-forward fandom spaces, a majority of places where fandom congregates and occurs is still […]
Last month, in this very same column, we talked about speculative fiction generally, and science fiction particularly, in terms of their place on the literary fiction/genre fiction spectrum. I concluded that while it may be perfectly accurate to consider science fiction “genre fiction”, we are entering an era in which media does not have to […]
Fandom is not an isolation chamber. It is created and built in places like convention halls, online communities, mailing lists, social media groups, theaters, and bookshops. Fandom is created when people dress up for the Harry Potter book release, when fanartists create genderbent or racebent versions of their favorite characters, when fic writers post a […]
Fan-made zines have been made and distributed since some of the first inceptions of fandom culture. In a way, zine culture is fandom culture, and it’s almost impossible to separate zines like Spockanalia from Star Trek itself. Zines were the place where fans could show off and explore the parts of media they loved and […]
Fanfic is, at heart, a derivative retelling or restoration of a story that has already been published and distributed. It can be a personal experience, and fic can be private and unshared, relegated to static pieces on a desktop, or it can be posted in a space where the fandom at large can read and […]
(This is the second of a two-part series on fandom. Read the first part here.) Star Trek launched fandom into the public spotlight once again. Fan conventions, slash zines, articles, meta, analysis, and praise — all of this came into the collective lexicon of the fan in the late ’60s. The very first all-Star Trek […]
We’ve heard the word ‘fandom’ used often in modern media and until recently, many people were unaware of the term. If they were aware of its use, many would associate it with the science fiction fandom or, more specifically, the Star Trek fandom. So what is fandom? Fandom is defined in various places as a […]
A person’s youtube history say a lot about them. I organize my youtube life into personalized playlists based on different fandoms. I don’t officially consider myself a part of any fandom until I have amassed a collection of at least 10 AMVS (anime music videos), videos dedicated to that fandom, or songs that remind me […]
Where in the world have I been? Life has gotten in the way! First, I’m not a librarian right now, which is a scene I am thinking of leaving temporarily or permanently. I’m also hiding out from the fandom community. Comic Librarian, indeed. I’m not sure if I’m disillusioned with the profession as a whole, […]
