Here's a roundup of stories about the new face of fandom that might be of interest to fans:

• Haddayr Copley-Woods summarizes the classic experiences of fandom with "Many people called me a nerd back in seventh grade, when I played Dungeons and Dragons and got picked last in gym. Now the word feels like an embrace." She encourages others to discover their tribe at a fan convention. "Sometimes, during a deeply intellectual panel on the work of Lloyd Alexander, you might have to raise your voice to compete with the sounds of a boisterous Klingon ritual going on in the courtyard below. But if you're a misfit, it will be worth it. You'll finally be home." The longstanding tradition of face-to-face meets is being seen today as a way to connect with a new generation, as in the case of Amarillo, Texas's comic book con organized by their local library.
• Some fans have found themselves excluded from in-person gatherings in the past, though this too is changing. The L.A. Times noticed that Comic-Con "is seeing more gay-themed panels, parties, signings and off-site events than ever before," with one writer connecting canon acceptance to fandom presence. “Queer fandom is absolutely galvanized by seeing more accurate representations of ourselves." Another con-goer added that this new energy is present "[e]ven among non-queer fans. My super-straight guy friend is totally into this comic about queer bears.” Comments to the article however, showed we still have a long road to walk.
• The road may be a lot shorter among fanfic writers who were called out in a video by Teen Wolf's most popular slash couple. They gave the writers and readers something to think about while encouraging them to vote for an award. Such fans were probably also on the minds of app developers at Movellas who created "an iPhone app just for fan fiction about boy-band One Direction." The reporting journalist's "sheer disbelief" is the only quaint thing about the story, which otherwise proves that fans will take their fandom connections with them wherever they go.

Do you have a "future of fandom" story to tell? Why not contribute it to Fanlore? Contributions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of musical fandom stories in the news that might be of interest to fans:

• Wired magazine wrote about the attention brought to a One Direction cartoon created by Mark Parsons, beginning "Normally, fan fiction about U.K. boy band One Direction is not anything new on the internet. But when that fanfic comes in the form of a video created by the lead animator of raunchy spy cartoon Archer...and gets more than a million YouTube views in less than two days — it’s worth noting." They also suggest that the video, unlike regular fanfic "has rather creative layers that tie together pop culture tropes" and "if this means that fan fiction is moving from Fifty Shades of Grey into viral video territory, that’s totally OK." The widely duplicated press coverage was viral in its own way, leading to stories that the band members might contribute to future work.
• In possibly the ultimate baitlink, one site managed to combine discussion of One Direction, Fifty Shades of Grey and mentions of slash all into one story. "Harry Styles and the rest of One Direction have tons of raunchy fan fiction written about them, so it was only a matter of time before someone decided to combine 1D and the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. However, it seemed more likely that the fanfic writer would be a cougar with a crush on Hazza or a Directioner that found her mom's copy of Fifty Shades, not a male Associated Editor of NOW Magazine." The author went on to note "Plenty of erotic novel writers will probably try to replicate the success of Fifty Shades by focusing on stories about sadomasochism, but they'll likely fail since readers are always looking for something new. The older woman and younger man angle really might be a smart way to go since it's also a bit taboo." Another piece of good advice? "If Gavin Reeve-Daniels is hoping to sell his Fifty Shades of One Direction story to actual Directioners, he's got it all wrong - what they'd like to read would be a Larry Stylinson (Harry and Louis Tomlinson) or Narry (Harry and Niall Horan) love story."
• What many fans aren't enjoying reading is Tumblr's Storyboard project "a weeklong feature titled "Special Report: Inside the Crazy World of 1D Fandom." Tumblr's Storyboard effort and its partnership with other online media sites appears to be a way to both deliver its young demographic to news sites eager to get readers who did not grow up with a news reading habit, as well as an effort to find a sustainable business model. This is both because they want to encourage people to spend more time at the site and also to highlight particular brands in a more editorial way after more direct marketing was abandoned last year. However the editorial cross promotion makes it as likely that Tumblr users will be served up as content to other sites as that they will have content served to them. This means that the lack of control over their representation currently being experienced by One Direction fans will likely not be an isolated incident.

If you're a One Direction fan, why not write about the fandom in Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of views of fandom stories that might be of interest to fans:

• Discussions that surround fandom in the media tend to take on some familiar themes, such as in the recent study of Bieber Fever that concludes fandom is a disease (spread, no doubt, by fans of Rudolph Valentino or Frank Sinatra in the last century), but there are also often discussions of religion. LiveScience discussed how Twilight may be a religious substitute for some teens. "In Denmark, where religion is not a large part of daily life, teens seem to use media — often, American media — to explore questions of good and evil, life after death and destiny, Line Nybro Petersen of the University of Copenhagen's film and media studies department has found. The communal experiences of hardcore fans of the series can even echo religious communities." Persephone Magazine begins their own discussion by quoting Joss Whedon "'I guess the thing that I want to say about fandom is that it’s the closest thing to religion there is that isn’t actually religion.'" The article focuses on sacred texts, rituals, and communities of faith.
• Many companies, however, are less interested in the temple than the marketplace. Diverse strategies to commercialize fans through new services continue to make the news. Fans in commerce for themselves are not new however, although long-term success is always a challenge.
• Isaac Butler recently wrote about the significance of fandom in an article which compared his reaction to an uncle's death to that of Community's showrunner being fired. Meanwhile cartoonist Nicolas Mahler spoofed superhero comics and their fandom. "With Mahler's interest in the culture surrounding superhero comics, the cartoonist also has a bit of fun with Angelman's 'fans,' who are a thoroughly miserable lot, complaining about every issue (except the ultra-violent one). 'I have seen a lot of those fanboys at comic festivals over the years, and the funny thing is that they are completely the same everywhere,' Mahler told CBR News. 'I think behind any collector, there lurks a sad, unfulfilled person.'"
• Sports blogger Hayden Kane would disagree however. "Having been fortunate enough to attend three Rockies games this week, I was reminded of something: nobody actually knows what the fan thinks, because the idea that there is some embodiment of what every single fan believes is a fiction. We can speak from the perspective of a fan, not the fan." In describing different motivations and activities while attending games Kane resolves "We should all quit trying to lump these groups together. We should quit trying to speak for all fans. There are plenty of other ways to enjoy being a fan and to have interesting discussions about the team’s future..[events] will resonate differently with different fans. That’s a good thing." The Atlantic takes that view too, declaring presidential candidates Obama and Romney to both be serious Star Trek fans.

Fanlore was created as a place to record fannish history from diverse points of view so that all fans could share their perspectives. If you're a fan, why not contribute to your own stories?

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.

Here's a roundup of stories about pros playing inside the fandom sandbox that might be of interest to fans:

• Dubbed the "world's very first (and only) Science Fiction Football Musical Comedy!" Packer Fans From Outer Space recently ran in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Geared to a hometown audience with its "songs about love, Wisconsin traditions and our historic football rivalry, including 'You Gotta Hate the Bears' and 'Winning is the Only Thing,'" it still provided insiderish/crossover/genre-hopping fannishness that lots of non-Wisconsinites could recognize.
• Not far away, Canadian Charles Ross performed a one-man show in Adrian, Michigan that was insiderish only to people who had never seen Star Wars (is there anyone left?) “It’s basically me onstage — with no costumes, sets, props or real talent — me, onstage, retelling the original, bad hair, 1970s-1980s ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, basically using my own body and my own impressions,” Ross said. His obsession with the saga came from a source many fan creators can relate to -- wanting to know what comes next. As a child he saw a double feature of the first two Star Wars films made. “But [my father] didn’t tell me that it wasn’t the end of the story. I was convinced that the sort-of lame tone left over at the end of ‘Empire Strikes Back’ was the way the story actually ended. And I was like, ‘What a bummer of a story!’"
• Sony Music decided to employ fan fiction to promote the band One Direction. They partnered with a Wattpad writer who created a five-chapter eBook about the band members "designed to coordinate with the video for the band’s single, 'What Makes You Beautiful.'" Fans then spread links to the books and video. The marketing effort is among the finalists for the GennY Award which "recognizes best practices of those who have applied new and innovative techniques to connect and communicate with youth." The winner will be announced at a conference focusing on youth marketing.
• Then there are some creators who are writing their own fanfic. One that was widely circulated was a story about Lost co-producer Damen Lindelof writing Mad Men fan fiction as fictional sci-fi writer Ken Cosgrove. Another frequently republished story was about romance novelist Diane Story writing Britney Spears RPF, made all the more notable given that she is the aunt of Britney's former husband, Kevin Federline. Story also "created a contest on her website where the winner can win an actual wedding invitation from Spears and Federline's 2004 wedding." And finally, Booktrib hosted an article on fan fiction that discussed Vampire Diaries actor Matt Davis writing fanfic on Twitter: "His crazy, sometimes smutty interpretation of the show he resides on is without a doubt the talk of the community. If the actors can write an alternate universe based on original content, why shouldn’t the fans?"

If you are a fan of Vampire Diaries, Britney Spears, Mad Men or One Direction, why not write about it on Fanlore? Additions are welcome from all fans.

We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, event, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent Links Roundup — on transformativeworks.org, LJ, or DW — or give @OTW_News a shoutout on Twitter. Links are welcome in all languages!

Submitting a link doesn't guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn't mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.