Things We Saw Today: It’s International Fanworks Day!

Today is the day to celebrate the wonderful fanworks that people make and share with fellow fans around the world. Fanworks may not get much press, but many of us wouldn’t know what to do without this constant stream of free media about the things we love most.

Fanworks mothership Organization for Transformative Works has been alerting readers visiting Archive of Our Own to International Fanworks Day all week, and today’s the day. The OTW is hosting a variety of online events and celebrations, including a feedback fest and challenges to create new fanworks that can lead to some lovely literary prizes:

What does your favorite character—or your favorite pairing—get fannish over? For example:

• What if Lena takes Kara to see a Josie and the Pussycats show?
• Is Jessica Jones teaching Iron Fist how to knit porgs?
• Do the Boku No Hero Academia characters get really competitive over Animal Crossing Pocket Camp?

Post your haiku, drabble, drawble, short vid, audio work or other format no later than February 16th and tag it #IFDShare on Tumblr, Facebook, Dreamwidth, or wherever you fan. And if you post it on Archive of Our Own, tag it with the International Fanworks Day 2018 tag.

We will also be offering one of these graphic novels to 4 random participants who meet the terms of the challenge. Thank you to First Second Books for the prizes! They are:

• In Real Life, by Jen Wang
• Shattered Warrior, by Sharon Shinn and Molly Ostertag
• Little Robot, by Ben Hatke
• Cici’s Journal, by Joris Chamblain and Aurelie Neyret

You’re also encouraged to share your own fandom stories across social media platforms using the hashtag  #WhatFanworksMeantoMe (check out the most recent from Twitter).

Fanworks don’t receive nearly as much attention considering the amount of time, effort, and artistry that goes into their creation. Here’s to everyone who produces fanworks, and to everyone who reads, recs, reblogs, retweets, likes, and comments. You are all important and appreciated, and you never know when you might just make someone’s day with what you’ve made or praised.

(via The Organization for Transformative Works/Archive of Our Own, image: Twitter)

• Sex workers feel that they are being left out of the #MeToo movement. (via Time)
• Is Doctor Who traveling back to the Civil Rights movement? (via io9)
• All we can think about right now is BLACK PANTHER. Here is Chadwick Boseman talking about BLACK PANTHER. (via Collider)

WHO IS READY?

(image: Marvel)

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Kaila Hale-Stern

Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.

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