Ponderance

Distraction, an online journal dedicated to the study of fanfiction, seeks submissions for its pilot issue. Essays are welcome which thoughtfully examine any aspect of fan-produced literature from any and all fandoms, including literary, sociological, historical, cultural, psychological, political, statistical and other studies.

Topics include, but are by no means limited to:

Character Studies - Character definition or re-definition through fanfiction, standard fanfiction characterization (“fanon”), archetypes, pairings, heroes and anti-heroes.

Literary Criticism - Style, genre, plot, symbols, characterization, theme, allusions, and specific comparisons to genres and works of literature.

Genres & Plot Devices - Poetry, songfic/filk, drabble (100 words), novel-length stories, coming-of-age, original characters, “Mary Sue” stories (self-insertion), parodies and humor, hurt-comfort (incl. rape, abduction and sexual, physical and emotional abuse), angst (incl. depression and loneliness, eating disorders), costuming and disguise, body-switching, crossovers, challenges, works in progress, and “real person” fanfiction.

Alternate Universe Fanfiction - Examinations of a point at which fanfiction routinely diverges from its source; use of canon characters in original settings; use of canon setting with original characters.

Gender & Sexuality - Definitions of sexuality and gender, incl. the blurring or establishing of boundaries; male and female homosexuality; homo- and heterosexualization of a character who is hetero-/homosexual or sexually ambiguous in canon; male pregnancy (MPreg); body-switching.

Love & Sex - The language of love, sex and possession; control and power dynamics; positioning and action; male and female virginity; significant age differences; love triangles (and polygons).

Sexual “Deviance” - BDSM; statutory rape/”chan”; student/teacher; rape; abduction/Stockholm Syndrome; sexual abuse; incest; necrophilia; bestiality, incl. traditional bestiality as well as sexual relations with beasts, aliens, demons, monsters, ghosts and other non-human creatures.

The alien and supernatural - Extraterrestrials and supernatural creatures in fanfiction; literal and metaphorical vampirism; space, the future, alternative universes and other fantastical settings; time travel;
relationships between living humans and aliens, ghosts, demons, and other characters which cannot be defined as either human or animal.

General - Fanfiction taboo; use of illustrations/fan art; stories from obscure fandoms; fanfiction and pornography; fanfiction archives; demographic & statistical studies; fanfiction by published authors;
authors’/creators’ responses to fanfiction; fanfiction author/reader relationships; effect of film/television adaptations on fanfiction; novelizations and film, television and theater adaptations as fanfiction;
incomplete and ongoing source materials, incl. effect of the end of the series on fanfiction, effect of fanfiction on source material, attempt to achieve closure and/or back-story.

All topics may be addressed as they apply to fanfiction in general or to one or more specific fandoms. Please keep jargon to a minimum and explain potentially confusing terms in parentheses or notes.

Deadline for inclusion in the first issue is 1 April 2005; acceptance will be rolling for subsequent issues. Send 500-word abstracts or completed essays of no less than 3,000 words to cfp@fanfiction-studies.net with the subject line as follows: “CFP – [title of paper]” We ask that you also include a short bio. Distraction will be available at www.fanfiction-studies.net.