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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 1d

Congratulations!! 😍😍😍

(Meghan was a Fansplaining SDCC 2025 panelist—and she’s the author of our October piece! She’ll be diving into her experience writing Mary Sue in an essay with excerpted images, though don’t wait til that’s out to get yourself a copy!)

Meghan Fitzmartin @megfitz89.bsky.social · 1d

💗 Happy Mary Sue Day 🧛🏻‍♀️

This is a love letter to fandom, to those who stay up late reading fic, who still argue for your favorite ship, who found themselves in stories.

Art: @lisasterle.bsky.social
Colors: @dearbhlala.bsky.social + @angienessyo.bsky.social
Letters: @longtalljodie.com

The Mary Sue issue 1 covers next to a large, well deserved beer.

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Spookshop (Aja Romano) @bookshop.bsky.social · 13d

Yes! I recorded the article too which was a lot of fun (in between my cat trying to sabotage the project)

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 13d

Your weekend read! 💓 @bookshop.bsky.social digs into the complicated intersections between the skyrocketing Kpop Demon Hunters fandom vs the (real) K-pop industry & fans.

As always, if you prefer listening, we've got a full audio version along with the text! www.fansplaining.com/articles/kpo...

Image of the Huntr/x trio from Kpop Demon Hunters at a fan event holding up pens, a stack of books for signing in front of them.

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 13d

Your weekend read! 💓 @bookshop.bsky.social digs into the complicated intersections between the skyrocketing Kpop Demon Hunters fandom vs the (real) K-pop industry & fans.

As always, if you prefer listening, we've got a full audio version along with the text! www.fansplaining.com/articles/kpo...

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Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 14d

It's been FOREVER since I've been to New York Comic-Con, so I was very pleased when I was asked to be on a panel this year! If you'll be there, please put this one on your calendar. 🥰

Black, green, and red graphic for a NYCC panel flier. Date in green: October 12, 2025. Time and room in white: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM | Room 409. Title in big white letters: THE FANDOM EFFECT: How Fans Shape Pop Culture. Logos of NYCC, Wattpad, and Webtoon at the bottom.

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 14d

"If no one expected KPDH to take over the latter half of 2025, does that mean it’s a game-changer for K-pop as a whole, or a fluke that has nothing to do with the broader K-pop fandom?"

In our latest, @bookshop.bsky.social explores the wild success of Kpop Demon Hunters—and what it means for K-pop:

K-Pop’s Demons, Real and Fictional — Fansplaining

Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters has seen massive mainstream success in the U.S. What does that mean for real K-pop artists and their fans?

www.fansplaining.com

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Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · 15d

Why yes, I did respond to @bookshop.bsky.social's news about no longer being at Vox with a) a great deal of sympathy and support b) a very loud WOULD YOU WRITE FOR ME. 😅 I'm thrilled to publish such sharp reporting on these complicated fandom intersections—all editors should do the same!

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 15d

Our September piece is live! 💞 @bookshop.bsky.social digs into the smash success of Kpop Demon Hunters, the complicated state of the K-pop industry, and why, despite media narratives, the fictional and real streams of K-pop might not actually be crossing.

Read or listen to a full audio version:

K-Pop’s Demons, Real and Fictional — Fansplaining

Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters has seen massive mainstream success in the U.S. What does that mean for real K-pop artists and their fans?

www.fansplaining.com

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Spookshop (Aja Romano) @bookshop.bsky.social · 15d

it was so nice to write about K-pop and about fandom again! 🩷

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 15d

Our September piece is live! 💞 @bookshop.bsky.social digs into the smash success of Kpop Demon Hunters, the complicated state of the K-pop industry, and why, despite media narratives, the fictional and real streams of K-pop might not actually be crossing.

Read or listen to a full audio version:

K-Pop’s Demons, Real and Fictional — Fansplaining

Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters has seen massive mainstream success in the U.S. What does that mean for real K-pop artists and their fans?

www.fansplaining.com

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 15d

Our September piece is live! 💞 @bookshop.bsky.social digs into the smash success of Kpop Demon Hunters, the complicated state of the K-pop industry, and why, despite media narratives, the fictional and real streams of K-pop might not actually be crossing.

Read or listen to a full audio version:

K-Pop’s Demons, Real and Fictional — Fansplaining

Netflix's KPop Demon Hunters has seen massive mainstream success in the U.S. What does that mean for real K-pop artists and their fans?

www.fansplaining.com

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Reposted by Fansplaining

Jenny Hamilton @readingtheend.bsky.social · 16d

everyone should read Tessa's @fansplaining.bsky.social essay! It's so so so so good and gets deeply into the nitty-gritty of writing original fiction and IP fiction and fanfiction. You will love it.

Tessa Gratton @tessagratton.bsky.social · 16d

Since quotes are going around from @readingtheend.bsky.social's excellent @reactorsff.bsky.social piece today, here's the full essay I wrote last month on fandom, trad publishing, IP, and navigating it all from a more personal perspective:

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 29

"Power doesn’t care about joy. Ultimately, it only cares about value, which means money. Trad publishing loves fanfic right now because it sees dollar signs instead of kudos."

In our new piece, @tessagratton.bsky.social tackles the messy intersections between pro entertainment and fans right now:

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Tessa Gratton @tessagratton.bsky.social · 16d

Since quotes are going around from @readingtheend.bsky.social's excellent @reactorsff.bsky.social piece today, here's the full essay I wrote last month on fandom, trad publishing, IP, and navigating it all from a more personal perspective:

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 29

"Power doesn’t care about joy. Ultimately, it only cares about value, which means money. Trad publishing loves fanfic right now because it sees dollar signs instead of kudos."

In our new piece, @tessagratton.bsky.social tackles the messy intersections between pro entertainment and fans right now:

The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between — Fansplaining

Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape.

www.fansplaining.com

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Spookshop (Aja Romano) @bookshop.bsky.social · 16d

Yaaaay! (Free agent sounds so sexy lol) (hire me)

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 16d

We're putting the finishing touches on our September piece, which is out tomorrow from (now free agent!!! hire them!!!) @bookshop.bsky.social on....you guessed it: K-Pop Demon Hunters!* And its intersections (or lack thereof) with K-pop fandom itself.

Image of mythical creatures Derpy and Sussie (blue tiger and hat-wearing bird) from K-pop Demon Hunters.

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 16d

*All right, fine, there's no mention of these two in the piece, but FAN FAVORITES amirite??

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · 16d

We're putting the finishing touches on our September piece, which is out tomorrow from (now free agent!!! hire them!!!) @bookshop.bsky.social on....you guessed it: K-Pop Demon Hunters!* And its intersections (or lack thereof) with K-pop fandom itself.

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Jenny Hamilton @readingtheend.bsky.social · Aug 29

"In the case of several recent and forthcoming trad published books openly connected to the Dramione fandom, it reasserts the value of canon created by a heinous TERF, directly funding an anti-trans agenda that gets real kids killed."

PREACH

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 29

"Power doesn’t care about joy. Ultimately, it only cares about value, which means money. Trad publishing loves fanfic right now because it sees dollar signs instead of kudos."

In our new piece, @tessagratton.bsky.social tackles the messy intersections between pro entertainment and fans right now:

The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between — Fansplaining

Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape.

www.fansplaining.com

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 29

"Power doesn’t care about joy. Ultimately, it only cares about value, which means money. Trad publishing loves fanfic right now because it sees dollar signs instead of kudos."

In our new piece, @tessagratton.bsky.social tackles the messy intersections between pro entertainment and fans right now:

The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between — Fansplaining

Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape.

www.fansplaining.com

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Tessa Gratton @tessagratton.bsky.social · Aug 28

ICYMI here's my essay on navigating the queered spaces of fandom, pro writing, and complicity with power

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 27

Our August piece is live! 🚀 Novelist (and Fansplaining SDCC 2025 panelist!) @tessagratton.bsky.social on about the complicated intersections within their own fannish identity: writing for Star Wars, writing original queer fiction, and writing fic.

Read the piece or listen to a full audio version:

The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between — Fansplaining

Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape.

www.fansplaining.com

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Destina @destina.bsky.social · Aug 28

This essay by Tessa Gratton is a journey! It's about being queer, being a fan, being a pro writer, being a fanfic writer, and the ways those things ping off each other, and more, and it is amazing and relatable in all the best ways. ❤️

Tessa Gratton @tessagratton.bsky.social · Aug 27

🫣

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 27

Our August piece is live! 🚀 Novelist (and Fansplaining SDCC 2025 panelist!) @tessagratton.bsky.social on about the complicated intersections within their own fannish identity: writing for Star Wars, writing original queer fiction, and writing fic.

Read the piece or listen to a full audio version:

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Elizabeth Minkel @elizabethminkel.bsky.social · Aug 27

This is such a beautiful, thoughtful essay, and I'm so pleased @tessagratton.bsky.social wrote it for me!! On the societal power structures (aka money) that bestow cultural capital, publishers' changing attitudes about both queer fiction and fanfiction, protecting fannish joy, and much, much more.

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 27

Our August piece is live! 🚀 Novelist (and Fansplaining SDCC 2025 panelist!) @tessagratton.bsky.social on about the complicated intersections within their own fannish identity: writing for Star Wars, writing original queer fiction, and writing fic.

Read the piece or listen to a full audio version:

The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between — Fansplaining

Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape.

www.fansplaining.com

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Tessa Gratton @tessagratton.bsky.social · Aug 27

🫣

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 27

Our August piece is live! 🚀 Novelist (and Fansplaining SDCC 2025 panelist!) @tessagratton.bsky.social on about the complicated intersections within their own fannish identity: writing for Star Wars, writing original queer fiction, and writing fic.

Read the piece or listen to a full audio version:

The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between — Fansplaining

Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape.

www.fansplaining.com

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 27

Our August piece is live! 🚀 Novelist (and Fansplaining SDCC 2025 panelist!) @tessagratton.bsky.social on about the complicated intersections within their own fannish identity: writing for Star Wars, writing original queer fiction, and writing fic.

Read the piece or listen to a full audio version:

The Fan, the Pro, and the Spaces In Between — Fansplaining

Writing for Star Wars challenges me to interrogate fandom power dynamics—and figure out where I fall in a rapidly shifting landscape.

www.fansplaining.com

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Tessa Gratton @tessagratton.bsky.social · Aug 26

My Wicket era!

Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 26

Just putting the finishing touches on our August piece, which will be out tomorrow: a beautiful essay from @tessagratton.bsky.social about the complicated ways they've navigated the fan-pro divide. Here's a sneak preview:

Photograph of a young Tessa dressed as Wicket the Ewok

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 26

heh I feel like we'd suck the fun out of this question immediately—too many instances of seeing the "fandom elder" status weaponized/invoked as a resistance to critique. Some of the replies suggest this is someone who is too tired to discourse but.......that is clearly not all fandom elders lol.

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 26

Just putting the finishing touches on our August piece, which will be out tomorrow: a beautiful essay from @tessagratton.bsky.social about the complicated ways they've navigated the fan-pro divide. Here's a sneak preview:

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 11

On our SDCC panel, @daphneolive.bsky.social—who went from fandom podcasting to working on TV—talked about the balance the Percy Jackson writers have to strike adapting books that have been so fundamental to younger readers. ✨

Watch or read a full transcript: www.fansplaining.com/articles/sdc...

Screenshot of text reading:

I think it is partly maybe because I’m the person who is most recently from a fandom background, but also, maybe it’s because it’s children’s books, not that just children read [Percy Jackson]...it’s a story that’s so essential to some peoples’ sense of self. So I just feel like in some ways, we’re preserving something that is bigger than anyone involved in it...

Yes, we have to tell a good story. Obviously this is an adaptation. Obviously we have to adapt for television—books and television are different. All of those things, but... it’s a sacred text for a lot of people.

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Fansplaining @fansplaining.bsky.social · Aug 8

On our recent SDCC panel, @megfitz89.bsky.social talked about how growing up in fandom spaces (ask her about writing "Arwen’s twin sister" 😉) helped her build the collaborative skills she uses working comics, TV, and more.

Watch the panel or read a transcript: www.fansplaining.com/articles/sdc...

Screenshot of text reading:

[Fandom roleplaying] does give you a lot of tips and tricks to be collaborative...on how to engage with people that come from different life experiences with you, and come from different parts of the planet, maybe different cultures from you.

And having to learn how to communicate in a really positive manner, in a really understanding manner? That’s being in a room. That’s working with editors. That was such a useful skill set that I’m always very encouraging of other people to engage with in fandom culture, is there are so many people who, what brings you together is this love of something. That’s so powerful!

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