LGBTQ+ Fanfiction Writers & Fanart Creators Club (Age 8-12)

Fanfiction is an amazing tool for developing writing skills, building a community, and exploring experiences and identities in a supportive environment. Published authors like Rainbow Rowell, Cassandra Clare, Neil Gaiman, Lev Grossman, Seanan McGuire, and Holly Black have all written—or still actively write—fanfiction. The conflicts and events these authors examine in their fanworks often make their way onto the published page as part of original short stories and novels. The importance of transformative fanworks to the literary community was recently acknowledged when the fanfiction site Archive of Our Own (AO3) received the prestigious 2019 Hugo Award for science fiction. Fandom and its commentary/impact on culture is even studied at universities!

In this class, students will share and discuss fanworks they have created. These fanworks may be in the form of fanfiction, fanart, fanvideos, and more!  Students may create and share works based on any source media, including books, comics, movies, television, musical theatre, music/bands, video games, and even historical events. I have expanded this club to be inclusive of other fanwork creators beyond just fanfiction writers. 

This class is geared towards LGBTQ+ learners who are looking for a safe and supportive environment to explore characters and stories relevant to their lives through fiction and artwork. Students are encouraged to use Google Docs to easily share work with their classmates.