Fanworks Tagged with Fandom Culture

Tolkien fanfiction archives both preserve the "libraries of Middle-earth" in the form of keeping Tolkien's original words alive and promote conversations around heritage as community and fan identity that keeps those central texts relevant to diverse fans in a rapidly changing world.

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A reworking of the 2018 article for Long Live Feedback that includes data from the 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey, pointing to a lack of comments as related to skill, confidence, and community connection.

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Over thirty people contributed their thoughts on the experience of leaving and receiving feedback on fanworks. Emotions run high on all sides, but community and connections emerge as factors that promote feedback while easing its difficulties for readers and viewers.

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Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that authors view comments as driving their motivation to create fanfiction. However, perception of comments by authors is part of a larger shift in fandom around how and how often fans interact with each other.

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Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that while most authors self-identify as taking their craft seriously, a growing subset of authors may be pushing that norm.

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Data from the 2015 and 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Surveys shows to what extent Tolkien fanfiction writers push beyond the canon and toward or into the realm of originality, as well as whether trends exist in among the various ways authors venture beyond the borders of Middle-earth.

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From the appearance of the first Tolkien fanfics in 1960 to the latest appreciation months, Tolkien fanfiction has weathered changes great and small—and has persisted, changed, and grown.

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Tolkien fanfiction writers and readers are involved in fandom in ways other than fanfiction. What else do they do and what patterns can we find in their preferences, using Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data?

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A (rough!) comparison of the Tolkien Fanfiction and OTW 16th Anniversary Surveys, looking at time active in fandom, attendance at fan conventions, and platform use.

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Sixteen Tolkien fans contributed their definitions of and experiences with fanon or fan-generated theories about the legendarium.

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The Silmarillion Headcanon Survey is a sprawling project that seeks to document where fans fall on various fan theories. Lead researcher Scedasticity discusses its inspiration, what it shows of the fandom, and what lies ahead for the project.

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Fan-generated details and theories, also called fanon, are a conversation among fans about Tolkien's world. Although fanon has a fraught history in many corners of the fandom, it is growing in acceptance.

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Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data from 2015 and 2020 shows that Tolkien fans have diverse views on Tolkien's authority but suggests that adherence to his authority is decreasing over time.

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The two oldest known Tolkien-based fanfiction works illustrate the concepts of transformational and affirmational fandom and how both approaches are vital to Tolkien fanworks fandom.

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Fan responses show how complex is the understanding of the concept of "canon" within the Tolkien fandom. The first part analyzes responses around how fans navigate the complicated issue of Tolkien's canon. Update: Added responses from three additional fans.

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Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that, when considering who has the authority to define that ever-elusive concept of canon in the Tolkien fandom, fanfiction authors navigate this question in various ways.

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Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that femslash—the Tolkien fandom's youngest genre—has grown in popularity with readers, while authors may use it to share and reflect on experiences of marginalization.

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After discovering an interest in female characters and femslash, Elleth used her enthusiasm for these fanworks to run multiple events that helped the Tolkien fandom undergo its transformation from dismissal of women characters to accepting and even celebrating fanworks about them.

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Data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Surveys shows how time, demographics, and platform choice influence how fanfiction authors regard writing about women.

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Fans who joined the Tolkien fandom because of the films report that the films inspired them to read the books, encouraged them to join fandom communities, and often resulted in forming lifelong friendships.

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The Tolkien fandom existed long before Jackson's film trilogies were even thought about. Fans who were active in fandom before one or both film trilogies recall how the films changed (or didn't change) their fan communities and experiences.

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As a genre belonging almost exclusively to women, fanfiction creates a "room of their own," apart from mainstream publishing that is often hostile to women, for women authors to critically and creatively explore ideas in popular texts and, in the style of Tolkien, create new mythologies that appeal to them.

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An analysis of the fan fiction phenomenon of "Mary Sue" and readers' reactions to this controversial fanfic archetype.

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