The Fan Studies Network

Fan fiction is often compared to the literature of Greco-Roman antiquity. Both fan writers and classical authors use the techniques of allusion, appropriation, and transvaluation to expand on and/or to critique existing works. Both circulate works within small, intimate communities, constituted as audiences for transformative works by their detailed knowledge of a shared group of texts. Furthermore, practitioners and scholars of fan fiction and transmedia storytelling explicitly refer to the megatext of Greek mythology as the historical precursor and model of the vast narrative objects of contemporary popular culture.

Although the comparison is frequently made, it is rarely fleshed out, historicized, or theorized. This special issue addresses this. We invite papers treating classical literature/art as fan work; papers on contemporary fannish uses/transformations of ancient Greek and Roman literature, mythology, or history; papers investigating similarities and differences between contemporary transformative fan work and classical literature and art; and papers reflecting on what is at stake in making the comparison: what potential benefits and risks does it bring? Submissions should be aimed primarily at a fan studies audience, but should also be credible contributions to the study of classical literature and its reception.

We welcome submissions which compare fan fiction and classical literature in relation to any of the following, or on topics not listed:

* Narratology: prequels, sequels, and paraquels; vast narratives and megatexts

* Intertextuality: allusion, hypertext, palimpsest

* Community: production, distribution and reception mechanisms

* Mythology: myth fan fic, fan fic as myth

* Canonicity: the value and status of transformative works

* Transmedia: fan fiction, fan art, classical visual and material culture

Submit final papers directly to TWC by March 1, 2015. Please visit TWC’s Web site for complete submissions guidelines, or e-mail the editors at editor@transformativeworks.org. Contact guest editors with any questions or inquiries at classicalfanwork@gmail.com.

Theory: Peer review. Length, 5,000–8,000 words plus a 100–250-word abstract.

Praxis: Peer review. Length, 4,000–7,000 words plus a 100–250-word abstract.