Enough Trope is a project launched by Dr Kate Cuthbert, former editor for Harlequin and Pantera Press and author of one of How To Judge A Book By Its Cover. Through podcasts and written articles, Enough Trope is an emerging home to thoughtful, informed engagements with genre fiction.
I wrote a short essay as part of the launch of the project, which has just gone live. Load Bearing Fans is a peice about the participatory aspects of fandom, and how it occasionally leads ot situations where awards, small presses, and other “key” parts of the genre culture can be left in the hands of load-bearing fans and rely heavily on those fans not burning out.
Inspired by the recent announcement that one of my favourite small presses was closing, plus the significant changes announced for next years Aurealis Awards here in Australia (since walked back a bit due to public outcry), and considering the capital exchanges that underpin these conversations and complicate conversatoins about the future of such institutions.
You can read the essay live on the Enough Trope website now: https://www.enoughtrope.com/journal/load-bearing-fans
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