1887
The first Sherlock Holmes adventure is published, inspiring a devotion that surprised even the author. A devotion so strong that nearly 100 years later, a Baker Street Irregular and his wife, a member of an all-female Sherlockian group, take their 12-year-old daughter to the Adventuresses of Sherlock Holmes dinner. Here her love of Sherlock Holmes begins to flourish to the point that she is a member of the Baker Street Irregulars herself, almost a century after the last story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was published.
1963
A mom who loves history is excited about a new children’s show called Doctor Who, sits down with her kids to watch, and falls in love. Four generations later, the entire family, ages 87 to 4, gathers around their Doctor Who-themed Christmas tree and plans dinner around the Doctor Who Christmas special. The four-year-old proudly wears his fez throughout dinner.
1977
A six-year-old falls in love with Star Wars. Today she proudly debates the merits of the theatrical releases vs the enhanced 90s versions with her own child while trying not to trip over lightsabers and Star Wars action figures. Both of them are anxiously awaiting the new film, which they will see together.
1982
A dad decides to skip E.T. and take his daughter to see The Wrath of Khan. A decade later, the child finds a Star Trek convention, and a lifelong passion for this fictional universe is born. The dad still loves to tell the story of her discoveries at every family gathering.
2011
The new Muppets movie is released. A twentysomething wonders who’d be better to see the movie with than her mom. After all, she was the one who first introduced her to the joy of the Muppets as a small child.
Present Day
Fandom is ageless. One of the most amazing things about fandom is the pure joy fans find in sharing their love of their fandom with others. Sometimes this takes the form of sharing the source material with their own kids. Other times, it takes the form of fanworks. In both cases, the sharing keeps the passion of the original fans alive while also sparking new love in the next generations.
Sharing fanworks and preserving fannish history for the future is a job larger than any one person or family, though. That’s where the OTW’s many projects come in, from Legal fighting for the DMCA exemption for fan video makers, to Open Doors preserving works that would otherwise disappear, to Fanlore allowing fans to read about and add to the record of the history of their fandom.
In order for the OTW’s efforts to continue, we need your help. Your donations are what enable us to preserve and protect these works for the next generation. Please help share your love of fandom and donate to the OTW today!