"Friction over Fan Fiction" on the LRC

"Friction over Fan Fiction," the Literary Review of Canada's latest "Online Original", is a knowledgeable article about fan fiction by Grace Westcott, a practicing copyright lawyer and Vice Chair of the Canadian Copyright Institute. If you're not familiar with fan fiction, browse around www.fanfiction.net and check out the phenomenon.

Westcott's article discusses the popularity of the genre and explains several of fan fiction's sub-genres, such as mpreg, deathfic, curtainfic and AU. The focus of the article is a lucid examination of the legal status of the genre.

From "Friction over Fan Fiction" by Grace Westcott:

Last October, J.K. Rowling startled the world with the revelation that Albus Dumbledore was gay. This was widely reported. Less reported was the remark she made following that revelation: “Oh my God, the fan fiction now, eh?”

Fan fiction? It’s no secret that J. K. Rowling has a tremendous following. Unknown to most people, however, is the burgeoning online community of Harry Potter fans who amuse themselves by writing their own stories set in Rowling’s fictional world. And the phenomenon is hardly confined to Hogwarts. Fascination with the imaginary worlds of television shows, films and books has prompted devotees – the vast majority of them women – to respond with their own amateur creations.

Continue reading "Friction over Fan Fiction" at the LRC online.