transformativeworksandcultures:

TWC has three upcoming special issues that are still taking Symposium submissions. And while we are always desperate for good Symps, we are especially eager to have more fan voices. It’s 1500-2500 words editorially reviewed, so there is a review process, but it’s nothing like for the full double blind peer review.

So here is my impassioned plea to y’all: consider writing for us. Academics I try to sell this by saying “It’s a CV line for a blog entry.” That’s not quite true in both cases, because it isn’t quite on par with a full essay (but certainly with a book review!) and it will be edited and professionally published. But it may be the best professional buck for your fannish work 🙂

Everyone else, who’s a passionate fan and into meta: it may not get seen by as many people as a Tumblr post in the wild and there’s no direct conversation, but it lasts. It has a permanence that’s sorely lacking these days. And it’s citable!!! (And will be cited and will be taught. Symp pieces are eminently teachable.)

OK, so while we always wants Symps (heck, if you submitted one tomorrow, we’d try to get it into the September 15 issue!), here are the three special issues for 2019:

All three are in need of more essays, and TWC is in need of more fannish voices. So if you always wanted to talk about m/m slash and romance or the fan community in romance fiction, if you want to talk about being a FOC in fandom and how things have changed over the years, if you want to revisit RaceFail or celebrate that not every COC is automatically “dead bro walking,” if you’ve always wanted to do a close reading of this amazing Jonathan/David fic…here’s your chance.

Below is a (not quite random) selection of Symposium essays over the years. And if you look at them, some are clearly academic and cited frequently (Scott, Lothian, Farley, Turk, Stanfill) whereas others are deeply personal (Phi, Sasha_feather, Wilson, Jones, Lavin, Rosenblatt). And some are just interesting and quirky: Biena’s essay, for example, is told from the perspective of a LARP sword! Seriously. Wilson’s essay could be meditative poem on life, the universe, and Pete Wentz 🙂

  1. Cupitt, Cathy. 2008. “Nothing but Net: When cultures collide.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2008.0055.

  2. Phi, Thien-bao Thuc. 2009. Game over: Asian Americans and video game representation. Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 2. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2009.0084.

  3. TWC Editor. 2009. Pattern recognition: A dialogue on racism in fan communities. Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2009.0172.

  4. Scott, Suzanne. 2009. Repackaging fan culture: The regifting economy of ancillary content models. Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 3. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2009.0150.

  5. Freund, Katharina. 2010. “‘I’m glad we got burned, think of all the things we learned’: Fandom conflict and context in Counteragent’s ‘Still Alive.’” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 4. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2010.0187.

  6. Sasha_feather. 2010. From the edges to the center: Disability, Battlestar Galactica, and fan fiction. Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 5. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2010.0227.

  7. Keller, Vera. 2011. “The ‘Lover’ and Early Modern Fandom.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2011.0351.

  8. Lothian, Alexis. 2011. “An Archive of One’s Own: Subcultural Creativity and the Politics of Conservation.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2011.0267.

  9. Gray, Jonathan. 2012. “Of Snowspeeders and Imperial Walkers: Fannish Play at the Wisconsin Protests.” In “Transformative Works and Fan Activism,” edited by Henry Jenkins and Sangita Shresthova, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2012.0353.

  10. Wilson, D. 2012. “Queer Bandom: A Research Journey in Eight Parts.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 11. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2012.0426.

  11. McWilliams, Ora C. 2013. “Who Is Afraid of a Black Spider(-Man)?” In “Appropriating, Interpreting, and Transforming Comic Books,” edited by Matthew J. Costello, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 13. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2013.0455.

  12. Farley, Shannon K. 2013. “Translation, Interpretation, Fan Fiction: A Continuum of Meaning Production.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 14. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2013.0517.

  13. Turk, Tisha. 2014. “Fan Work: Labor, Worth, and Participation in Fandom’s Gift Economy.” In “Fandom and/as Labor,” edited by Mel Stanfill and Megan Condis, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 15. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2014.0518.

  14. Jones, Bethan. 2014. “Written on the Body: Experiencing Affect and Identity in My Fannish Tattoos.” In “Material Fan Culture,” edited by Bob Rehak, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 16. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2014.0527.

  15. Barenblat, Rachel. 2014. “Fan Fiction and Midrash: Making Meaning.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 17. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2014.0596.

  16. Bienia, Rafael. 2015. “Exploring Nonhuman Perspectives in Live-Action Role-Play.” In “Performance and Performativity in Fandom,” edited by Lucy Bennett and Paul J. Booth, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 18. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2015.0631.

  17. Lavin, Maud. 2015. “Patti Smith: Aging, Fandom, and Libido.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 20. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2015.0658.

  18. Keen, Tony. 2016. “Are Fan Fiction and Mythology Really the Same?” In “The Classical Canon and/as Transformative Work,” edited by Ika Willis, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2015.0689.

  19. Rosenblatt, Julia Carlson. 2017. “From Outside to Inside.” In “Sherlock Holmes Fandom, Sherlockiana, and the Great Game,” edited by Betsy Rosenblatt and Roberta Pearson, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 23. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2017.0920.

  20. Stanfill, Mel. 2017. “Where the Femslashers Are: Media on the Lesbian Continuum.” In “Queer Female Fandom,” edited by Julie Levin Russo and Eve Ng, special issue, Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 24. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2017.959.

  21. Ball, Kevin D. 2017. “Fan Labor, Speculative Fiction, and Video Game Lore in the Bloodborne Community.” Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 25. http://dx.doi.org/10.3983/twc.2017.1156.

Any questions, suggestions, people you might think I should contact, are more than welcome! Thanks!!! (kbusse2 [at] gmail.com)

Call for Symposium Essays
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