EL James' 'Fifty Shades of Grey' was originally 'Twilight' fan fiction

The success of 'Fifty Shades' raised questions about fan fiction and copyright

James might've revised her "Twilight" fan fiction book "Master of the Universe" before it was republished as "Fifty Shades of Grey," but studies found that the two manuscripts were essentially the same text. Some wondered whether that meant Stephanie Meyer, author of "Twilight," was entitled to royalties, though Meyer never pursued legal action.

Several bestsellers began as fan fiction

Ali Hazlewood's "The Love Hypothesis" began as "Star Wars" fan fiction. Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" series was about "Harry Potter" characters Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley. Anna Todd's "After" series was an example of "real life fiction," or fan fiction that is about real people rather than fictional ones (the books were originally based on the boy band One Direction).

Lucasfilm discouraged fan fiction that sexualized its characters

The self-published fan fiction zines of the '60s, '70s, and '80s were obscure enough that they rarely attracted the attention of the copyright holders of their source material. But Lucasfilm, the production company behind the "Star Wars" films, threatened legal action against fans who published X-rated stories and "homosexual expressions of love" featuring its characters.

'Harry Potter’ transformed the young adult publishing industry

The series’ success reshaped the market for youth fiction. In 1997, about 3,000 young adult titles were published annually. By 2009, that number soared to 30,000 as publishers chased the next major phenomenon.

A novelization of 'Star Wars' preceded the movie–and was a massive success

The book "Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker" was released in November 1976, six months before the film it was based on hit theaters. By February, the novel had sold out of its initial print run of 125,000 copies and would quickly sell over 3.5 million copies.

The history of Samuel Richardson's 'Pamela,' which some consider the first romance novel

The 1740 novel will likely strike modern readers as odd, to say the least. Its titular character, a 15-year-old maidservant, is harassed by her boss, who finally changes his ways and asks for her hand in marriage, which is presented as a happy ending. As this analysis of the text makes clear, though, "Pamela" established a template for the romance genre, even if contemporary writers have been happy to break it.

James Frey's 'A Million Little Pieces' was marketed as memoir but revealed as fiction

The addiction book became a huge success after being added to Oprah Winfrey's book club. After it was revealed to be fiction in 2005, Oprah invited Frey on her show and criticized him for deceiving her and his readers.

Many critics panned Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights' when it was released

The 1847 novel, initially published under a pseudonym, was seen by some early readers as obscene and cruel. One particularly brutal review from Graham's Lady's Magazine read, "How a human being could have attempted such a book as the present without committing suicide before he had finished a dozen chapters, is a mystery."

Innovative novelist Don DeLillo wrote an erotic hockey novel under a pseudonym

The acclaimed writer—known for books like "White Noise" and "Underworld"—published "Amazons" in 1980 under the pen name Cleo Birdwell. The story claimed to be a memoir, written by a woman who secretly joined an NHL team. The ruse went beyond the text, too, with a female model posing as Birdwell for promotional events.

‘Frankenstein’ is a classic horror novel

Few novels have been as influential as Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” The 1818 novel is considered the first science fiction novel and a cornerstone of the horror genre. The text has also been widely adapted for the screen and is responsible for at least two major archetypes: the creature and the mad scientist.

How banning a book ensured its success

This article explore the controversial history of DH Lawrence's novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover." Learn about how it was banned in several countries and the six-day trial in the UK that lifted the ban. Soon after going on sale, the novel became a bestseller and a significant cultural touchstone.

The first ‘Harry Potter’ book was retitled for US readers

Scholastic changed "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" to "Sorcerer’s Stone" in 1998, fearing the original title sounded too academic and might confuse American readers unfamiliar with the word’s magical meaning.

In 1996, King had 6 books on the New York Times bestseller list

Stephen King has been wildly popular for decades, but he was never more visible than in the 1990s—especially for one week in 1996. All six volumes of the serialized novel "The Green Mile" appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Reading the article not only provides some context for King's ubiquity, but also hints at what would become a norm in publishing: a few big-name authors dominating the charts with their popular series. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The opening chapters of bestselling novels are thousands of words shorter than they were in the 1950s

Novels like "The Catcher in the Rye" and "Lord of the Flies" averaged opening chapters with about 4,500 words. Titles from the 2020s, on the other hand, including "Fourth Wing" and "Lessons in Chemistry," are closer to 2,500 words.

As ‘Game of Thrones’ grew more popular, its fans grew more critical

George RR Martin's “A Song of Ice and Fire” series began in 1996 as a series of fantasy novels and gained popularity in the 2010s through the TV series “Game of Thrones.” As the series gained more viewers, fans and critics grew more critical of the show, with particular vitriol reserved for the series finale.

Why Percival Everett decided to reimagine 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'

Percival Everett's novel "James"—a retelling of Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Jim, an escaped slave—was one of the most acclaimed books of 2024. In this interview, Everett explains why he decided to rework the classic American novel and why he felt it was necessary to infuse his own with a different voice.

The real James Bond wasn't a spy—he was a birdwatcher

Ian Fleming needed a name for his spy protagonist and found it in a book about birds he was reading written by ornithologist James Bond. As Fleming's book series grew in popularity, the birdwatching Bond began to receive strange phone calls from fans looking for the fictional agent. This interview with writer Jim Wright explores that strange history, shedding light on more than a few Easter eggs in the Bond series.

The origins and evolution of the movie sequel

Sequels have long leveraged the financial success of a first installment into a second, or third, part, as far back as the earliest novels in the 18th century, like Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels," which inspired countless spin-offs. The film...

Tens of thousands of Austen superfans celebrated the writer's 250th anniversary

The Jane Austen 250th celebration sold 15,000 tickets to the writer's most dedicated fans, who dressed in period-specific dress. Austen scholar Devoney Looser says that many readers are attracted to Austen's novels because they're entertaining and funny yet sophisticated works of social criticism.

JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis met at Oxford and bonded over Norse mythology

The “Lord of the Rings” mastermind and “The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe” author were colleagues at Oxford University and shared an appreciation for Norse mythology, which continues to inform the fantasy genre. They were also a part of the same informal literary group, the Inklings, where they’d discuss one another’s works-in-progress.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ in three days, then burned it

Stevenson woke from a dream and instantly got to writing the “fine bogey tale” he’d witnessed in his sleep. He finished a draft three days later and read it to his wife, who suggested it needed revising. Stevenson eventually agreed and threw the manuscript into the fireplace. He got back to work and emerged three more days later with another draft.

The word 'vampire' appeared in the English-speaking world in the 1730s

However, earlier mentions of creatures with similar characteristics existed throughout Medieval Europe. For example, people often spoke of revenants—restless dead creatures who tormented the living. Historians believe these stories grew in popularity in part because of influence from the Catholic Church, which was emphasizing the idea of purgatory. These older revenant stories eventually influenced modern vampire folklore.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Why the publishing industry is hot for romance

Romance books are currently trending in the publishing industry. That means romance authors are currently seeing greater commercial success than many writers in other genres. This podcast episode dives into what's behind the publishing industry trend from a business perspective. Listen to it here.

In 1974, 'Dungeons and Dragons' turned fantasy into a game

Inspired by the fantasy paperback explosion of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson published the original incarnation of the game, which immersed players in worlds similar to fantasy fiction. Since then, several newer editions have been released. In recent years, podcasts and livestreams featuring individuals playing the game have gained popularity.

The author of 'V for Vendetta' explains the Guy Fawkes mask

The "V for Vendetta" mask became famous after the film based on the comic book series was released in 2005. It has since been adopted by global protest movements. This piece, written by the author of the book, explains the logic of the rise of this...

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

Trace how the Bill of Rights, inspired by centuries of political theory, took shape between 1774 and 1789.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.