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

• Mardi Gras in New Orleans now has an open-source side. "Bar2D2, as the robot is called, is the mascot of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, which runs a ragtag operation dedicated to all things science fiction. In two years, the group, which started as a drunken joke in a bar, has become the quickest-growing krewe in the city, and a center of the amateur costume culture in New Orleans." Aside from giving people a chance to be creative, "Chewbacchus and krewes like it are a response to the exclusivity of the older groups. Chewbacchus does not have any waiting lists or recommendation requirements, and dues are only $42 (an arcane numerical reference to the novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”)." Rather than change old traditions, the krewe believes they are modernizing it. "“The old Mardi Gras krewes play off of Greek gods,” Mr. Powers said. “We believe sci-fi is the strongest mythology of our time.”"
• Star Wars fandom was also in focus at the Hollywood Theater in Pittsburgh. The Fandom Meant Us is "a romantic comedy about Star Wars fans’ love for Star Wars, and their love for each other" that was advertised as "an awesomely geeky Valentine’s Day date."
• Media scholar Henry Jenkins ran a three-part interview with authors Catherine Belcher and Becky Herr-Stephenson, authors of Teaching Harry Potter: The Power of Imagination in the Multicultural Classroom, which Jenkins recommended as "one of the most powerful and engaging books I've read about American education in a long time." In discussing student reluctance, the authors write "The first thing we question is the idea that the "whiteness" of the books negates their use in multicultural classrooms. The nature of the books themselves - their complexity and Rowling's willingness to take on difficult and contemporary issues such as racism, genocide, classism, and difference - make them uniquely valuable." They add "On another level, it is also important because so many white, middle to upper middle class kids DO have ample access to Potter and other popular series at home and at school. In many ways, building students' reading confidence, helping them discover that yes, they too can tackle a book of this length or "that style," whether they end up feeling it is ultimately for them or not, is the most valuable accomplishment."

If you are a Star Wars or Harry Potter fan, why not contribute to 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 stories on fannish technologies in the news that might be of interest to fans:

• The new site WorldCosplay is making an effort to connect cosplayers across the globe. "Though still in beta, the network already comes in an impressive 12 languages." WorldCosplay has some differences from existing sites. "There are already three big social network players in the cosplay community: the American based Cosplay.com, the Japanese Cure, and the general art site Deviant Art. Since the first two focus on their home countries and the third was never designed to be a cosplay community, Botea said WorldCosplay might have a chance to become the cosplayer’s social network of choice."
• Apple's recent effort to promote textbook publishing for the iPad prompted this discussion of the need to simplify epublishing. "Ebooks have blown open that world of exclusivity — but the ease of use still isn’t there. There’s a long list of tools that try to make ebook creation easier, from big names (Apple’s Pages, Adobe’s InDesign) to smaller ones (Scrivener) to open source alternatives like calibre. But it’s still a complicated enough business that there’s a healthy ecosystem of companies offering ebook conversion services." Indeed the growing simplicity of online posting and content hosting sites helped fan fiction's distribution grow enormously, but few sites replicate the print book experience. "But if publishing is dirt simple...how would publishers (book, news, and otherwise) respond to an even greater flood of competing content than the ebook world has already produced?"
• YouTube was also a milestone, not just in the distribution of video content, but in its revealing look at the diversity of fan-created visual works. However the site is moving away from the amateur creator. As YouTube increasingly promotes partnerships with professional producers "what will happen to the “little guy,” those who make content to share with people—not for profit?" Various critical reactions have sprung up. "“I don't want my TV to invade YouTube,” commented Porcelanesa on the promo video. “I came here because it was YOUtube, people talking to people and sharing their lives, videos of their kids, their pets, something exciting that happened during the day they wanted to share with someone else. Normal people, like you and me.”"

If you cosplay, write fan fiction, or create videos, why not contribute to 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 stories on fannish modification of canon that might be of interest to fans:

• Electricpig posted about the best gaming hacks created by fans, comparing them to "fan-fiction: painstakingly crafted alternate stories, features and transformations born out of sheer love for the source material. In some cases they breed entirely new games in themselves."
• While the gaming hacks are presented as something that create more fan interest in the original content, one journalist wonders if fansubs really do create a larger market for anime. "[M]any are arguing that it’s fans like me that are killing the industry. Just the fact that we watch— and therefore support— fansubs is enough." She then questions how both the entertainment industries and the journalism industry she is a part of are actually resisting marketplace demand rather than finding a way to satisfy it. "Things aren’t perfect in journalism. It’s significantly less profitable than it used to be, and it’s a lot harder to get work as a reporter...Maybe this means I should be more sympathetic to the anime industry. But from my standpoint, I don’t see a dying industry; I see a changing one."
• In the case of E.L. James' new novel it is fans who are questioning fan actions. "[A] number of readers commented that the series, Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, began as Twilight fan fiction. Some of the commenters went so far as to say there could be copyright infringement issues, because of the connection." James' publisher denied both claims of infringement and any real similarity to Twilight. "Twilight and Fifty Shades Trilogy are worlds apart, new readers are totally surprised it was ever a Twilight fan fiction story."

If you write or read fan fiction whether about Twilight, games, or anime, why not contribute your fandom experience to 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 stories on fandom nostalgia that might be of interest to fans:

• Writing about book fandom in the mid 1800s, Jennifer Brady recounts research done on fan letters to Susan Warner about her novel The Wide, Wide World. "Though The Wide, Wide World is probably not familiar to many people today, the concerns and claims of these fan letters, rather remarkably, may be." For many, the novel and character kept a hold of them for years, with mothers passing down the book to their children. "For other readers, writing to Warner was an exercise in nostalgia, an opportunity to remember old times: one reader wrote, "I well remember my first introduction to you, some ten years ago, as gathering round a bright fireside in our old ivy covered home, an elder sister read aloud to 'the children'—the 'Wide Wide World.' Those happy, happy hours!—""
• Of more recent vintage is Robert Burke Warren's reminiscence about R.E.M. on the occasion of their breakup. "And I’m glad they told us all about their breakup in autumn. Perhaps it is easier to accept loss as Nature is reclaiming the warmth, the green, and the light, all the while offering up bounties of that which grew in the summer sun. For me, that bounty includes standing next to Todd in the basement of the Biltmore Hotel as four scruffy guys opened up our hearts and minds to a whole new way of playing in a band; sitting on Todd’s bed in his teenager room, marveling at the lush sounds of Murmur, hearing our fluttering, inchoate desires and attitudes given melody and form, if not distinct words, our friendship galvanized by the music."
• Wired hosted the reminiscences of Ahrvid Engholm, a science fiction fan who knew author Stieg Larsson in his fannish days. "But very interesting is also that father (Erland) and brother (Joakim) Larsson were there. I spoke to them a bit and tried to sort of update them about all the activities Stieg had in science fiction and fandom. That was actually quite a lot, but most biographies around miss much of it. My impression is that the family Larsson didn’t have a full view of all that Stieg did. Father Erland said something like “We knew Stieg did something with science fiction, but not exactly what.” This is quite common. Science fiction hasn’t been seen as quite kosher and a person is apt to hide or downplay skiffy activities, and especially fandom activties [sic]".

If you are part of a book, music, or sci-fi fandom, why not contribute to 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.