Cultus Dispatches: Fandom Voices - Using Canon in Fanworks

The SWG is a group that was built for fanworks creators, so if you are reading this, you've probably had the experience of sitting down to work on a Tolkien-based fanwork and being confronted with the issue of canon. What even is canon, in a corpus that includes dozens of volumes, works in various states of completion, and uncounted contradictions? How do you choose which canon to use? How can canon be used (and defied) as a creative choice? When is it okay to leave canon aside?

Fandom Voices is a project that is part of the monthly fandom studies column Cultus Dispatches in which Tolkien fans get to share their experiences and perspectives on a topic related to the fandom and its history. For the past two months, we've considered the question of canon through the responses of fans who participated in our survey on defining and using canon. Last month's column considered how Tolkien fans define canon. This month's looks at the use of canon to make fanworks.

You can read the second part of "Fandom Voices: Defining Canon and Using Canon in Fanworks" here.

Also note that our Fandom Voices surveys never close. If you didn't get a chance to share your views and want to, it is not too late! We will continue to add new responses to the collection as they come in (including pulling from new responses for the second part of the article. You can respond to the "Defining Canon" survey here.

Finally, we are in the midst of a series of Cultus Dispatches articles focusing on canon in the Tolkien fandom. Cultus Dispatches is always open to contributions from all members of the fandom, so if you know of a creator or fanwork that takes an interesting approach to canon, or if you have another idea related to canon and fandom, contact our moderators and pitch your idea! Our reference editors will support new researchers and writers through the process, so don't let unfamiliarity with research writing dissuade you from sharing your ideas with us.

Posted on 27 May 2023 (updated 17 June 2023) by SWG Moderators