Page 10 - Fandom: Fic Writers, Vidders, Gamers, Artists, and Cosplayers

of retroactive continuity, or retcon, which is the official replacement of a
previously established detail in canon with a new one.)
Holmes fans also created the practice they called the Game: treating
the stories as historical documents about a real detective written by his real
friend, Dr. John Watson. In the Game, Conan Doyle is just their literary
agent. Modern fans know the Game as the “in-universe” point of view,
which treats a story as if it were all real. Sherlockians called nonfiction
commentary on and discussions about the Sherlock Holmes stories the
Writings on the Writings. In modern fandom, this kind of bird’s-eye view is
called meta, a philosophical term meaning “beyond.”

“WE LIvE IN AN ENTIRELY NEw

WORLD”: LETTERS AND ZINES

Early Janeite and Sherlockian fandoms
were small and rather exclusive. Fandom
began to spread more broadly after
publisher Hugo Gernsback started
Amazing Stories in 1926. It was the
first US magazine devoted to science
fiction––or scientifiction (scientific +
fiction), as Gernsback called it—and
it would further the careers of Isaac
Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin, and many
other famous authors.

The first issue of Amazing Stories featured
cover art by Frank R. Paul. Publisher Hugo
Gernsback autographed this copy to a
fellow science-fiction fan.

18 FANDOM