Fan Fiction

It is a truth universally acknowledged that good writers borrow, and that great writers steal. But have a look at some of the fan fiction sites where classic literature and modern TV scripts are rewritten every day—and try to describe what’s going on. At Austen.com, for example, where the author of Pride and Prejudice is continuously revised in stories like this, called

Something in the Rain: In the wine country of California, Lizzy Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy come into conflict as she advocates for workers and he owns a large vineyard. Or this retake of Star Trek, The Original Series: in which Captain Kirk wants to know what it’s like to kiss and cuddle with Spock in Zero Gravity. Fan fiction is bigger than a cottage industry, approaching the breath and depth of a folk culture. On Open Source: The art, the fun, the sexual politics and the law of it all.

Naomi Novik

Fantasy writer and fan fiction writer. Did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University. Her livejournal: Naomi Novik.

[by ISDN in NYC]

Francesca Coppa

Associate professor of English at Muhlenberg College in PA with an interest in theater and sexuality; fan fiction writer.

[by ISDN in NYC]

Lee Goldberg

TV writer and producer, e.g. Monk; writes novels based on TV shows, e.g. Diagnosis Murder

blogger, A Writer’s Life

[by phone from Los Angeles, CA]

Rebecca Tushnet

Professor, Georgetown University School of Law

blogger, Rebecca Tushnet’s blog

[by phone from Washington, DC]