A Priest in Korea, a M*A*S*H fanfiction archive, is being imported to the Archive of Our Own (AO3).
Background explanation
Susan Leinbach created fanart and fanfiction in a number of fandoms, including M*A*S*H (as Iolanthe) and Star Trek. Unfortunately, Susan passed away in June 2006. Susan’s next of kin has agreed for archivist Quordle to preserve Susan’s M*A*S*H fanfiction, which Susan originally shared using the pseud Iolanthe on her website titled A Priest in Korea.
Open Doors will be working with Quordle to import A Priest in Korea into a separate memorial account on the Archive of Our Own. As part of preserving the archive in its entirety, all fanfiction currently in the archive will be hosted on the OTW’s servers, and embedded in their own AO3 work pages.
We will begin importing works by Iolanthe to the AO3 after December. You will find them on the Iolanthe_memorial account.
We’d also love it if fans could help us preserve the story of Susan Leinbach and A Priest in Korea on Fanlore. If you’re new to wiki editing, no worries! Check out the new visitor portal, or ask the Fanlore Gardeners for tips.
We’re honored to be able to help preserve the works of Iolanthe, and while we mourn the loss of Susan Leinbach, we also realize we are fortunate that Susan had a friend who was given permission to collect and preserve her works on the AO3 so that they will not be lost. Thinking about the death of a fandom friend may be difficult, but it can also be an opportunity to consider what will happen to your fanworks and accounts and those of your friends after your deaths. The Archive of Our Own has an option to name a Fannish Next of Kin, someone who would be able to gain access to your accounts in the case of your death or incapacitation. By naming someone who can act on your behalf, you can decide ahead of time how you want your AO3 accounts handled going into the future.
– The Open Doors team and Quordle