Is fanfiction mainstream now?

If you are anywhere near fan spaces online, you’ve probably seen people talking about fanfiction. And it's also behind some of the biggest books of the last decade – some of the publishing industry's greatest hits are fanfic adaptations. But even as fanfic seeps into the mainstream, there’s a battle inside fanfic communities over whether it should be kept private – and a larger culture war brewing over what gets published and who’s reading it.

Brittany gets into the gendered, economic, and cultural forces pushing fanfiction to the fore with Ashley Reese, writer, cultural commentator and fanfic veteran, and Eli Cugini, culture writer, Ph.D. student and author of a Defector article called “Fanfiction’s Total Cultural Victory.”

Want to hear more about the state of literacy? Check out these episodes:
Have we lost the art of reading?
Yes, romance & fantasy novels are political.
Books vs. Brain Rot: why it's so hard to read

Support Public Media. Join NPR Plus.

Follow Brittany on Instagram: @bmluse

For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy