Fanfiction is a broadly defined term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator(s). This track will feature a mix of panels with your favourite fanfic writers, writing workshops, reader discussions, and celebrations of our favourite transformative works. We'll look at rare fandoms, crossovers and alternate universes, fanon, and cross-fandom phenomena such as wing!fic and the omegaverse. We'll investigate the mainstreaming of fanfiction, and how fandom has been affected. We'll discuss the fandoms represented at Nine Worlds (among others), and look at slash fiction and femslash. We won't be afraid to discuss problematic areas of fanfic fandom, including fan politics, white privilege, the emphasis on gay males, and other diversity issues. We'll look at the ways we share our fanworks, and discuss the Organisation for Transformative Works. We'll also be talking about fanart and the vidding process, and looking at fan-made videos late into the night.
If you have any suggestions for programme items, or if you'd like to volunteer to be on programme or generally help out, please get in touch by emailing fanfic@nineworlds.co.uk. Join the conversation on our Twitter and Tumblr!
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Friday
Let's Do the Show Right Here: Setting up the fanfic room
Tanya Brown, Kate Keen and Tony Keen
Come and meet the fanfic team, and help us decorate the room. Bring any fanart you would like to display (please get permission from the artist if it's not your own work). Family-friendly art only please.
3:15pm to 4:30pm, Trident
Tea and Consequences: Welcome tea party and fandom moot
Tanya Brown and Kate Keen
Come and share tea and snacks, meet others in your fandoms, discuss the programme and plan which items you'll attend. Sign up to our fandom notice board to let people know you're here. Participation in a game of fanfic consequences is optional. We will also have a board to host your memories of any fans no longer with us.
5:00pm to 6:15pm, Trident
Fandom 101: Nine Myths About Fanfic
Tanya Brown, Pennypaperbrain, Berlynn Wohl, Emily (Writcraft), Tony Keen, Kate Keen, Hazel Robinson and Iona Sharma
"It's all about sex." "It's written by teenagers / middle-aged housewives / cats." "It's badly written." And more! Nine myths, nine fast-talking panellists, nine critical examinations.
6:45pm to 8:00pm, Trident
Fanvidding 101
Amy (such heights)
Come and learn about the history of fan-made videos, from VCR-made projects in the 1970s to the present day. From fanvids to AMVs to political remix videos, we'll look at some different schools of editing and show some stand-out examples from different genres. Hosted by one of the brains behind Vidukon, an all-vidding convention.
8:30pm to 9:45pm, Trident
Late Night Vidding
Amy (such heights)
Join us for a late night showing of our favourite fanvids.
10:15pm to 11:30pm, Trident
Saturday
Don't Keep it a Secret: Reccing and Reviewing Roundtable
Kate Keen and Emily (Writcraft)
A chance for the avid readers and reccers among us to discuss how to effectively communicate about our favourite fics, without spoilers. How do readers feel about recs lists? How do you decide who to trust?
9:00am to 9:30am, Trident
The Bel Canto Opera Project
Alessia Civita
Bel Canto is a Sherlock fanfic by Bendingsignpost, which features an opera composition. You can read it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/712295 The Bel Canto opera project is a fan group who are composing and recording the opera referred to in the fic. Hear all about it, including some of the music!
9:30am to 9:55am, Trident
What Happens Next? Fanfic workshop for pre-teens
Tanya Brown and Hazel Robinson
Are you a pre-teen, and enthusiastic about books, films and/or television? Or a parent of one? Find out how to release that creativity by coming along to this workshop on fanfic for children. All you need is a favourite character – we'll help you do the rest! We'll also discuss how children can safely engage with fanfic on the internet. Children must bring a responsible adult.
10:00am to 11:15am, Trident
A Very Peculiar Practice: Fanfic and Professional Writing
Pennypaperbrain, Roz Kaveney, Kari Sperring and Una McCormack
Some writers begin by writing fanfic, and go on to become professional authors. Do they still write, or want to write, fanfic? Is Neil Gaiman's comment about fanfic being 'training' accurate? Do all fanfic authors want to write professionally?
11:45am to 1:00pm, Somerset Room
Book signing: Kari Sperring, Roz Kaveney & Penny Armstrong
Pennypaperbrain, Roz Kaveney and Kari Sperring
Book signing for our fanfic-friendly authors. Continues in the bar if necessary.
1:00pm to 1:20pm, Somerset Room
It's Not Just Pretty White Boys: Problematic Issues in Fanfic
FayJay, Neth Dugan, Kate Keen, Sarah (HazyJayne) and Misha
Fanfic is not all about sparkly rainbows (or dancing boys). We have Issues, people, and we need to talk about them with a view to change. Come along to our roundtable discussing issues including race, language, culture and fetishising gay sex in fanfiction.
1:30pm to 2:45pm, Trident
Owning the Servers: OTW and AO3 in a post-'50 Shades' world
Lucy Pearson
The Organisation for Transformative Works (OTW) was launched in 2007 with a vision of a world in which the fans could "Own the goddamn servers." In the six years since, fandom has become ever more visible in the mainstream media, and the Archive of Our Own has grown to a site of over 156,000 members. How does the OTW negotiate the changing conversation about fandom? How has it coped with the challenges of running a rapidly growing, panfannish site? Lucy Pearson, who has volunteered with OTW since 2007, talks about how things have changed over the past five years.
3:15pm to 4:30pm, York Cinema
Mary/Sue: Writing female characters (original and canon)
Tanya Brown, FayJay, Neth Dugan and Emily (Writcraft)
Why are readers and writers so wary of female characters in M/M-centric fic? We discuss the role of authorial self-insertion and how to write (and read) female characters, original or canon, free from the shadow of the Sue.
5:00pm to 6:15pm, Trident
Queer All The Things!
Sarah Groenewegen, Neth Dugan, Ollie Starr and Emily (Writcraft)
Fandom offers fans from across the queer spectrum a way to reclaim popular narratives. Here we'll discuss the role of fanworks in representing marginalised sexualities and gender identities, and to what extent this contributes to the queering of mainstream pop culture.
6:45pm to 8:00pm, Trident
Anderson and the Dinosaurs? Fanon and Cross-Fandom Phenomena
Berlynn Wohl, Kate Keen, Sarah (HazyJayne), Hazel Robinson and Misha
Does Anderson really like dinosaurs? Is Q's cat really white, long-haired and unfriendly? We'll discuss our favourite fanon and try to establish where the heck it came from. And then there's Wingfic. And the Omegaverse. What's all that about then? Over-18s only
8:30pm to 9:45pm, Trident
The Joy of Writing Sex
Pennypaperbrain, Berlynn Wohl and Emily (Writcraft)
Panel with some of our favourite authors, about writing sex scenes in fanfiction. Over 18s only.
10:15pm to 11:30pm, Trident
Sunday
"Hush, I'm Reading a Great Fic." Fandom's Effect On Real Life
Kate Keen and Sarah (HazyJayne)
We've all been there. The cat wants feeding, you're feeling faint with hunger and dehydration, you definitely need a shower, and you should probably do some work at some point in your life. But this fic is just too good to put down. We'll share our best anecdotes and coping strategies. And maybe our hangovers too.
9:00am to 9:45am, Trident
The Detective, the Werewolf and the Superhero: Fanfic Crossovers
Marcus Rowland, FayJay, Misha and Sarah (HazyJayne)
Some fandoms go together like love and marriage. Others need wrangling before their characters can meet up in a meaningful way. What makes a successful crossover? Are AUs just crossovers in disguise? And what *did* Captain Peacock (Are you being served?) do in the war against the Mysterons?
10:00am to 11:15am, Trident
Putting The Fem in Slash: Queer Female Visibility In Fanfic
Amy (such heights), Roz Kaveney, Cleo and Iona Sharma
Queer women make up a large subset of fanfic readers and writers, but face difficulties finding representation in fandoms focused on cis males. How can we increase queer female visibility?
11:45am to 1:00pm, Britannia
Fanfic reading group
Tanya Brown and FayJay
We'll be discussing Neil Gaiman's story A Study in Emerald http://bit.ly/19ACZV), and The Case of the Unwelcome Owl by Fayjay http://bit.ly/gDRDcG).
1:30pm to 2:45pm, Trident
It's Not Fanfic, it's Literature
Tanya Brown, Lesley McIntee, FayJay, Tony Keen and Iona Sharma
So, fanfic's all about reusing other people's characters and settings. Like the Aeneid, and Bride and Prejudice, and Jack Maggs, and … Our panellists confront the issue of why it's okay to reuse old canon if you call it Literary Fiction.
3:15pm to 4:30pm, Trident
Sherlock: Infernal Meetup
Kate Keen
Sherlock fans meetup in the bar.
3:15pm to 4:30pm, Ren Bar
About That Bar... Fanfic workshop on Crossovers and AUs
Kate Keen and Misha
Bring your own fandoms, or ask for a challenge, and write a flashfic crossover or an AU (assuming there's a difference!) -- then share your experience and maybe your words.
5:00pm to 6:15pm, Trident
Alternate Media: Non-Text Fanworks
Tanya Brown, FayJay and Berlynn Wohl
Much of the fanwork we've discussed this weekend is text-based -- but there are other forms of fanwork, from art to earrings! Our panellists present executive summaries of their non-textual creations.
6:45pm to 8:00pm, Trident
Afterworld Party, or Shipping in GoT fandoms
Come and join us at the Nine Worlds Afterworld party. We'll be bringing our memory board to add to others, and raising a glass to those unable to be with us. Or join the Game of Thrones stream for a discussion on shipping in their fandom.
8:30pm to ???
Image by user blackbirdrose via DeviantArt, used with kind permission - many thanks! Original here.