Some fan fiction allows readers to place themselves in their favorite stories

Fanfic can provide fans with wish fulfillment

Rather than complaining about a writer's decisions, fan fiction is interactive, providing the fandom with the opportunity to tell the story in the way they see fit. That's especially evident in "shipping," a popular fan fiction trope that's focused on the romantic pairing of characters who are not romantically involved in the source material.

Fan fiction relies on tropes and subgenres

Fan fiction sites often appear to be littered with inscrutable codewords, with stories labeled as "AU," "drabble," or "PWP." These alert readers to elements of a fan fiction: "AU" is an alternative universe narrative; "drabble" is a very short story; "PWP" stands for "plot? What plot?"

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).

Fan fiction is an unauthorized reinterpretation of a copyrighted story

Writers have always reinterpreted and retold others' stories. (John Milton, for example, used characters from the Bible in "Paradise Lost.") Fan fiction, though, refers to unauthorized, creative retellings of copyrighted stories intended for other fans.

If a publisher wants to sell fan fiction, they encourage writers to change key details

Historically, companies that publish popular fan fiction have their authors change a few details—like character names, settings, or other details—to avoid potential copyright violations. Many believe the risk is worth the reward, though the legality remains murky. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Fanfiction proliferated on fan-made sites in the 1990s

As the internet became more accessible in the '90s, fanfiction writers created websites dedicated to publishing stories about their favorite characters. Still, the hobby was far from mainstream. As one writer from that time said, "Going to Star Trek/comic book conventions in the '80s and '90s was something nerds did. Telling people you read or wrote fan fiction put you in the super geek category."

Fan fiction has slowly become a part of mainstream publishing

In 2025, the SenLinYu fantasy novel "Alchemised," which began as "Harry Potter" fan fiction, became a bestseller after being traditionally published; its movie rights were sold for over $3M. The mainstreaming of the genre is due to a combination of factors, including publishing's interest in the hard metrics that fan fiction websites provide.

Fan fiction is now studied at universities, including Princeton and Harvard

Some professors approach the genre as a unique form of literature that expands the boundaries of art. Comparative literature courses read the source material as well as its fan fiction byproducts, asking students to analyze the conditions that might've produced such dramatic reinterpretations.

Jane Austen inspired stories that some now consider fan fiction

Sybil G. Brinton's 1913 novel "Old Friends and New Fancies" brought together characters from Austen's six major books. Other works of JAFF (Jane Austen Fan Fiction) followed in the same style. The books appealed to the budding group of Janeites, a term referring to Jane Austen superfans.

Fantasy has dozens of subgenres

“Fantasy” itself is a rather broad way of characterizing fiction. The genre encompasses many subgenres, including epic (like JRR Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings”), dark (like Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline”), or even superhero (like your favorite Marvel or DC comics).

The 21st-century novel is increasingly autofictional

Although autofiction, a literary genre blending autobiography and fiction, has been around for millennia, it has become a popular mode in the 21st century. This extensive study of the genre—which analyzes works by Megan Boyle, Tao Lin, and others—argues that the form has become more prevalent because it mirrors the defining technology of the times: social media.

Cosplay isn't just costumes—it's deeply personal, say early fandom scholars

Cosplay began as a form of "embodying" beloved characters rather than performing for an audience. Cosplay is a deeply personal form of identity—more about internal connection than public performance.

Studies show that reading fiction enhances empathy

It might sound like a cliché, but fiction really can make you a better person, objectively speaking. Numerous studies have proven that reading fiction, especially novels, can enhance empathy by exposing people to multiple perspectives and experiences.

Wrestlers maintain the illusion of a fictional narrative through 'kayfabe'

Outsiders are often confused by wrestling fans’ emotional investment in predetermined matches. After all, how can you be invested in a scripted sport? That question misses a key component of fans' love for pro wrestling. They suspend their disbelief in the same way that readers of novels do.

Fantasy sports have turned fans into 'second screen' consumers

The rise of smartphones made fantasy sports more accessible and contributed to a phenomenon called “second screen consumption,” where sports fans are not only watching a live broadcast but are simultaneously watching the statistics from that game play out in their fantasy matchup.

India has a century-old parallel form of science fiction

One of its earliest works was Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's 1905 feminist utopia "Sultana's Dream." This rich visual essay shows how the genre, while taking inspiration from its western counterpart, evolved from India's distinct cultural, social, and political realities.

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.

Listen to a Taylor Swift superfan podcast

One measure of Taylor Swift’s popularity is the scale of her online fan community, which manifests in everything from fan-created art and cover songs to podcasts hosted by her fans. Tay of the Day dives into Taylor Swift's world by demystifying everything from her music to her globe-spanning tours.

Find your next book by prompting this AI

Have a general idea of the sort of book you'd like to read next, but don't know how to find a specific one? Try this fun and impressive tool. Describe the type of book you're looking for. It will suggest five options which attempt to meet your prompt. Find your next page-turner with this very cool tool.

King sets many of his stories in Maine

In the process, he has created a few fictional towns. This extensive travelogue by a superfan explores the writer's favorite haunts, pinpointing specific details from and inspirations for King's fiction. Helpfully, it also provides plenty of photos, allowing you to venture through King's haunted version of the state without ever leaving the comfort of your home.

Gonzo Journalism places the author at the center of the events

Some may describe Gonzo as a more daring style of subjective reporting than New Journalism, as it prioritizes the personal experience and opinions of the writer. Gonzo pieces also tend to feature hyperbole, comedy and taboo subjects.

What is a whodunit?

The whodunit is a subgenre of the mystery genre that opens with a crime and invites readers (or, in the case of movies and television, viewers) to attempt to solve the mystery alongside the protagonist detective. This guide to the form breaks down its history, conventions, and contemporary impact. As a bonus, it also offers a reading list of some of the best whodunits in history.

An essay exploring how living day-to-day with a brain implant helps restore a sense of identity

Companies like Neuralink are experimenting with volunteers who have lost control over their bodies. Many of the program's participants claim the most significant benefit from the tool is the ability to perform simple, mundane tasks, such as playing video games or shaking hands, rather than more obvious milestones like walking or eating. This essay explores what it's like, day to day, to use a brain implant.

How memes create in-groups

Memes can hop offline, inspiring IRL events ranging from planking to shootings. By nature, memes contribute to the formation of in-groups, ones who are privy to meanings that escape content moderators who don't necessarily recognize what's hidden within layers of references.

An archive of anonymous messages people wrote but never sent

The site invites users to submit unsent letters to people, pets, or moments, which are then published anonymously for strangers to read. Every post is moderated, and the design of the site—no likes or replies, just words—feels polished and somber.

What is mixed reality?

Mixed reality is a technology that blends the physical and digital worlds, allowing virtual and real objects to coexist and interact in real-time. It combines elements of both virtual reality and augmented reality, enabling users to perceive and manipulate digital content as if it were part of their physical environment.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

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

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

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.

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

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Explore what it's like inside a patient isolation unit, used in situations such as treating a patient or suspected patient with Ebola.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people