Approve or Disapprove: What 8 famous authors think of fanfiction

Some authors encourage fanfiction. Others want to sue anyone who thinks about it. From Anne Rice to George R.R. Martin and beyond, here’s where they all stand.

Love it or loathe it, you’ve almost certainly stumbled across it. Fanfiction has been around for decades and is a popular internet phenomenon today, albeit one that exists in a murky legal space. Written by fans, these non-commercial derivative works are based on pre-established characters and stories from books, series, movies and more. Websites like FanFiction.net and Wattpad.com abound with plots that stray from canon, characters who don’t seem quite themselves and shippers gone wild.

Personally, I don’t understand the appeal of fanfiction and I don’t read it because it makes me feel sullied and unusual. When it’s poorly written, it’s bad, but when it’s good, it’s almost worse. Why invest so much time writing great stories when someone else owns the intellectual property rights? Wouldn’t it be more fulfilling to create something you can claim as your own? Different strokes for different folks I guess… as long as the copyright rules aren’t being violated.

Some argue that fanfiction is a good way for aspiring writers to practice their skills in existing worlds before they’re ready to imagine their own, or that it serves as a creative outlet for zealous fans and shippers to express their adoration, hopes and dreams. It can be a way for them to reimagine characters or “rewrite the wrongs” of a plot. For others, it’s a social experience where enthusiasts of an original work can find camaraderie.

But there are some who argue that fanfiction infringes on copyright and shouldn’t be allowed. Importantly, some of these people are authors whose work has inspired a lot of fanfiction. Derivative works like fanfiction tend to fall into the non-infringing fair use category under copyright, but certain authors would rather you not write it regardless. It simply depends on who you ask.

Well-known authors like George R.R. Martin, Anne Rice, J.K. Rowling and Leigh Bardugo have made their feelings about fanfiction known. You’ll find the writers who openly detest it, fret about the legalities and who see it as an abuse of their beloved characters. Others are more tolerant or encouraging of the practice, and some are even honored by it.

Every author mentioned in this article has had their novels adapted into hugely successful movies, franchises or series. But whether it’s a question of permission, money or both is irrelevant. Shouldn’t the creator’s wishes be respected?

Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin doesn’t think fanfiction is legal 

George R. R. Martin, the genius behind the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, which HBO adapted into Game of Thrones, believes that, from a legal and creative standpoint, authors should protect themselves and their work from copyright infringement. It’s the source of their livelihoods, after all. His views on fanfiction leave very little room for misinterpretation: he is against it for various reasons.

Martin has acknowledged that not every fanfic writer wants to write professionally. But for those who do, playing in another writer’s sandpit is not a good way to exercise their “literary muscles.” He feels they should be creating their own worlds and characters instead.

Martin himself has been accused of writing fanfiction in the past, although he disputes the meaning of the term. In a blog post, he admitted that while he started out writing fanfiction as a high schooler, back then, it didn’t mean fiction using characters and universes created by other writers. Rather, it was fiction written by fans for other fans.

At the heart of Martin’s issue with fanfiction is the lack of consent. “When Howard Keltner, one of the editors and publishers of STAR-STUDDED COMICS, the leading fanzine of its day, invited me to write about two of his creations, Powerman and Dr. Weird, I leapt at the chance… but only with Howard’s express invitation and permission,” he writes.

And if one does get permission, the author could end up losing control of the rights to their creations. Martin’s characters are his children, and while he doesn’t doubt that people genuinely love them, he doesn’t want anyone stealing them away, so to speak. “No one gets to abuse the people of Westeros but me.”

Essentially, Martin believes that fanfiction is illegal, that it infringes on copyright and that it’s up to the author to defend that copyright. The experience that author Marion Zimmer Bradley had in 1992 had a profound effect on him and many other writers, and he uses her example as a cautionary tale:

"MZB had been an author who not only allowed fan fiction based on her Darkover series, but actively encouraged it… even read and critiqued the stories of her fans. All was happiness and joy, until one day she encountered in one such fan story an idea similar to one she was using in her current Darkover novel-in-progress. MZB wrote to the fan, explained the situation, even offered a token payment and an acknowledgement in the book. The fan replied that she wanted full co-authorship of said book, and half the money, or she would sue. MZB scrapped the novel instead, rather than risk a lawsuit. She also stopped encouraging and reading fan fiction."

He also cites the vastly different experiences of Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, and H. P. Lovecraft, author of The Call of Cthulhu. Burroughs was very protective of his work and no one was allowed to use his creations without permission unless they were willing to risk a lawsuit. Lovecraft, on the other hand, encouraged writer friends to borrow and rework Cthulhu Mythos elements for free. It spiraled out of control until eventually, everyone was writing these stories. While Burroughs died a millionaire, Lovecraft died in genteel poverty. Martin rests his case.