fan

…stories written and read by fans, typically featuring preexisting fictional characters or real-life celebrities. Many successful traditionally published authors honed their craft writing fan fiction, including Meg Cabot and Neil Gaiman. Even famous writers who profess to hate fan fiction, such as Orson Scott Card, have published “fanfic” at some…

Fans relished the seemingly endless variety of SF-related products and pastimes, including books, movies, television shows, computer games, magazines, paintings, comics, and, increasingly, collectible figurines, Web sites, DVDs, and toy weaponry. They frequently held well-attended, well-organized conventions, at which costumes were