Hi, all! It’s time to start thinking about what we would like to discuss, learn about, and enthuse over in this year’s FanWorks panels! Panel brainstorming is a great way to get inspiration for panel topics and bounce ideas off one another. (It’s also a good time to find co-mods for panels you’re interested in leading, or to get mods to take on panel ideas you have but don’t want to lead yourself!)
Because FanWorks is virtual this year, there will be fewer panels than usual, but the goal is still to have panels evenly split across the usual tracks:
Writing:- Fanfiction: writing, reading, and betaing
- Meta and fandom essays
- Ship manifestos
- Poetry
- Zines: editing and collecting
Video:- Fanvids, AMVs, machinima, and all kinds of fan music videos
- Meta videos: Fan theories, reaction videos
- Fan filmed content: Fan films, sweded films, cosplay music videos
Community:- Platforms: Archives, blogs, social media, chat groups (eg slacks and discords)
- Events: Gift exchanges, challenges, fests, conventions
- Curation: Recs lists, fan wikis
Audio:- Podfic
- Podcasts
- Original fan music
- Filk
- Fanmixes
- Audio edits
Art & Crafting:- Drawing, painting, and other 2D art in digital and physical mediums
- Manips, gifs, icons, and other digital manipulation of images
- Graphic design for websites, merchandise (including stickers, pins, shirts etc.), and more
- Cosplay
- Knit crafts, clothing design, and textile arts
- Design and creation of dolls, custom figures, models, prop replicas, and more
- Jewelry, buttons, and other accessories
- Fannish home goods and home design
- Fandom-inspired food and drink
Panel topics can range from introductory to advanced. If you want to brainstorm ideas for panels to introduce people to your favorite kind of fanwork, you can! If you’re interested in brainstorming ideas for panels on specific techniques or more in-depth topics, you can do that too.
Panel nominations open on August 30th and run until September 13th. Until then, brainstorm away! If you have ideas for panels but don't want to commit to running it yourself, this is a great time to share those ideas - make sure to note if your panel topics are free to a good home, and maybe someone else will want to run it!