CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Fan Studies Network North America Conference 2026 (virtual)

October 22-25, 2026

THE BOUNDARIES OF FAN STUDIES AND FANDOM

Boundaries have always been a part of fandom, as producers and broader mainstream culture dictate the “right” and “proper” ways of interacting with beloved texts, stars, and cultural objects. Historically, boundaries have often been physical: denoting where sports fans could gather alongside the playing field, where music fans could watch or dance away from the stage, or where celebrity fans could stand behind the red carpet ropes to glimpse their favorite stars. Fandom, too, has often created boundaries to protect participants against IP holders or casual discovery: fanzines and mailing lists required insider invitations, and fannish concepts such as “the premise” of Star Trek (Kirk/Spock) couched fan affect in innocuous language. Following in fan studies’ long-standing investment in interrogating and making visible the implicit bounds of proper reception practices, we take up and revisit the concept of boundaries for 2026.

Many of these boundaries have changed drastically in the last several decades, thanks to the proliferation of digital technologies and the increasing visibility of fandom and fan practices. Even the concept and nature of boundaries merit scrutiny: do boundaries encourage gatekeeping, or do they enable communities to safeguard themselves? Where do the boundaries between authorized producers and amateurs lie, and why does this matter for fans’ creative production? How do fans grapple with boundaries enforced by technology providers and legislation, such as NSFW bans and mandatory age-verification systems? Where do fans themselves erect boundaries, and who is being kept on which side? The pace of these changes makes grappling with them both challenging and vital.

As the FSNNA conference enters its ninth year (!!!), we invite proposals that explore boundaries, writ large, in fandom and fan studies. 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2026 CONFERENCE

Fan Studies Network North America (FSNNA) warmly welcomes submissions from all fan studies scholars, including established scholars, early career researchers, graduate students, and independent scholars. (And after its success last year, we are also continuing our track specifically for undergraduate students. Keep an eye out for that parallel CFP soon!) Contributions are welcome from across disciplines, including fan studies and its intersections with research in media studies, the humanities, the social sciences, library science, and more.

Given this year’s theme, we are particularly interested in submissions that take up one or more of the following lines of inquiry:

• Definitions: How do fans create/define boundaries, and what do these boundaries demarcate? How do fan studies scholars identify and treat boundaries? What are some boundaries between source text/fan object and fan work(s)? How are geographical, national, regional, or other broad boundaries reflected in fandom practices? How, if at all, are boundaries distinct from borders (if at all)? What actually is fan studies, distinct from other fields or disciplines? 
• Histories: What boundaries were established in early fandom (or fan studies), and how, if at all, do they resonate today? What historical boundaries still exist in fandom or fan studies, and what is their impact? How do these histories shape the future of fandom or the field? 
• People & Subject Positions: Who creates, values, and enforces boundaries in fandom spaces? How do platforms and their affordances lead to and shape boundaries, or seem to necessitate boundaries? How do intersectional and marginalized identities complicate traditional or long-held ideas about boundaries? 
• Conflicts: What are boundaries between existing and new fans? How do fans mediate between personal, social, and community boundaries? What happens when the values-based boundaries of fans and external stakeholders (platforms, media producers, viewers, other fan communities) collide? What expectations do boundaries create, and are these conditions just or unjust? What limitations are created by the inherent affordances of both physical and digital boundaries? 
• Limitations & Opportunities: Is fan studies, as a term, itself a boundary? How does fan studies break boundaries? What can studying fan boundaries teach us about media, cultural production, communities, etc.?

We will happily consider any proposal, not just those focused on the topics enumerated here. Similarly, proposals can focus on specific media texts (e.g., film, television, print texts/series, games, video streaming, etc.) or other fan-objects (e.g., sports, music, celebrity culture, etc.). Proposals can also consider specific national or regional contexts, theoretical approaches to studying fandom, investigations of fanwork genres or fan practices, and more.

FORMAT OF THE 2026 CONFERENCE

FSNNA 2026 is once again a discussion-focused online conference with accessibility, interdisciplinarity, and global participation at its heart. We are continuing the popular 2025 format that allows for longer conference presentations of roughly 10-15 minutes apiece. Based on participant feedback, we are also allowing for the sharing of visuals during each individual talk.

For individual proposals, we retain the two format options of FSNNA 2025.

• Presentation Track (Roundtable Talk + Poster)
• Participants on the presentation track will be grouped into roundtables based on overlapping objects, approaches, methods, or themes. Each presenter will have an opportunity to introduce themselves and explore their work for 10-15 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A with the audience.

Participants will also prepare a digital poster summarizing their research contribution. (More specific guidelines about poster formats will be available after submissions are evaluated.)

• Poster-Only Track
• Participants on the poster track will prepare a digital poster summarizing their research contribution. They will not be assigned to a roundtable or introduce their work during a talk. 

All posters from both tracks will be available asynchronously throughout the conference in our Discord server, where attendees can post questions and share feedback.

PLEASE NOTE: As part of your application, you will be asked to stipulate which track you are applying for – presentations or poster only. Likewise, once a submission is accepted, the participation format cannot be changed (i.e., you cannot move from poster only to presentation, or vice versa).  

As in past years, we also welcome the submission of pre-constituted roundtables, which are a group of 3-5 talks that are already organized around a shared topic, text, and/or method. Please note, however, that participants in a pre-constituted roundtable must still contribute posters.

Submissions are due by Friday, May 8. 

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Ready to submit your work for FSNNA 2026? Here’s what the application form will ask for: 

• An abstract of ~300 words (include a clear explanation of your research, methods, and the project’s relevance to fan studies and fan studies scholars)
• 3-5 keywords about your poster (may include topics, texts, theories, methods, etc.
• A bibliography that includes 3–5 reference
• A biographical statement (~50 words)

Submit your work at the link: FSNNA 2026 Submissions

(Please note: beginning 2026, AI-generated content submitted *as* a proposal will be rejected automatically.)

For more info, contact the FSNNA organizing committee (fsnna.conference@gmail.com)