Fan fiction as a contemporary form of publishing: An attempt to characterise the phenomenon from the point of view of network communication

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to present the issue of fan fiction as a form of online publishing by looking at the history of this genre and its transformation. The observation of fandoms on social media and on the platforms dedicated to publishing fanfics (like Wattpad) made it possible to study interactions between authors and recipients of fan fiction. Manifestations of fan interference in the texts of fanfics were also indicated, which was based mainly on discussions taking place in the comments section. This enabled to demonstrate the dynamism of fandoms in the case of the reception of authors’ texts, i.e. instant reactions in the form of producing and publishing fanfics. This genre is constantly being transformed, which is facilitated by the Internet environment. It enables establishing relationships between users and bringing communities together, as well as creating and sharing content. The interest of recipients — and, more and more often, of publishing houses — in fan fiction indicates the potential of this phenomenon and the possibility of using it in the publishing market. Therefore it can be concluded that fanfics introduce a new quality to online publishing at each stage of its functioning, starting with a collective imagination (as a reaction to a canonical text), through the production of texts (as quasi-publishing), to the readership that can be observed after the publication of stories on network platforms.