We are disappointed to announce that there will be no Fan Studies Network conference held in the UK in 2020. The annual FSN conference has become a fixture of many of our academic calendars since we began in 2013, yet unfortunately this year it has been difficult to find the capacity to deliver a conference that would be of a comparable standard to our previous events.
Principally our efforts to organise a 2020 event have been impacted by the UCU industrial action that began in November 2019, and will soon resume again. The FSN Board is proud to support this action and offers solidarity to all affected colleagues.
We do, however, see this break in our conference schedule as a blessing in disguise. Following conversations last year around whiteness in fan studies, and reflecting on the FSN Board’s own role in that, we are going to use the time afforded to us this summer as an opportunity to formalise FSN’s governance and practices, particularly focussing on ways to promote new voices within our field. While our presence may be less visible in 2020, we hope our members are confident that we will be continuing our efforts to make fan studies a welcoming place for all.
We will miss seeing old friends and meeting new ones this year, and thank you for your continued support.
See you in 2021,
The Fan Studies Network Board
The Fan Studies Network 