- Forbes hosted an article about cartoon fandom in Zambia and the difficulty in obtaining canon. “‘It’s literally impossible to find anime DVDs in stores here,’ said Banda. ‘Also, the last anime I saw in a Zambian cinema was [Studio Ghibli film] Ponyo. So yeah, access is pretty rough.’ Even today, DVDs and BluRay are Zambians’ only legal options, as ‘streaming legally is pretty much out of the question,’ Banda said, referring to Crunchyroll, Funimation, and other websites’ region locking for much of Africa. Since the local currency, the Zambian kwacha, is weak compared to the Euro, fans often obtain anime through piracy when that’s all they can afford.”
- Science Fiction.com wrote about a donation to the OTW’s partner institution, the University of Iowa. “73-year-old Allen Lewis spent the last 20 years collecting more than 17,000 books. Many of them are in the science fiction and fantasy realm as Lewis sought to rekindle his childhood love for those genres. Lewis has been a sci-fi fan since he was 12…Many of Lewis’ books are first editions and first printings. His collection includes 30,000 signatures from authors, editors and artists.” Don’t forget that the Open Doors project helps fans arrange donations of fannish memorabilia to the Iowa collection, so contact them with questions about your own collection!
- NBC Philadelphia was among those profiling the local furry community “Ward, who helps organize the local group, didn’t identify as a Furry until 2008, after she graduated from Marietta College in Ohio. Like many local Furries, she found her way into fandom through its anthropomorphic artwork. ‘It’s kind of an all-or-nothing thing,’ she said. ‘You start going, they drag you to the convention, and that’s it, you’re done.’ Around Pennsylvania, Furries congregate on one online forum, www.pa-furry.org, and a handful of Facebook and Twitter groups. Anywhere between a dozen and a hundred Furries, friends and family show up to the local events, which become more frequent in the summer.”
- The New York Times hosted a discussion about fannish nostalgia. “Alas, I will never be 9 years old in 1987 ever again, and though it’s fun to romanticize the past, I don’t want to mistake fondness for excellence…Much like my friendships with the other members of my Full House Club, whom I sporadically see in my Facebook feed with their own 9-year-olds, my fandom seems unsustainable now. Better, then, to let the children of today discover and obsess about their own TV shows. Don’t remake the sweet smarm of our youth. I’ll be fine without it. I can always read up on some Uncle Jesse and Uncle Joey fan-fic if ever I’m feeling sentimental.”
What stories about fans and canon have you been part of? Write about them in Fanlore! Contributions are welcome from all fans.
We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent OTW Fannews post. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in a Fannews post, and inclusion of a link doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.