Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Holly Swinyard delves into the intricate dynamics of fan communities, shedding light on their significance in contemporary culture. She looks at fandom's origins and evolution, from the beginnings of sci-fi conventions to current social media, and how technology has reshaped fandom to provide people with new ways of expression and engagement.

Swinyard also looks at how people identify with their fandom - how it creates an emotional investment and sense of belonging and empowerment for those involved. She also gives insights into how fandom can align with broader social and political issues, to help advocate for themselves and others and bring change to a larger collective.

Unfortunately I was looking for a more academic, intellectual read versus this introductory, surface-level book. While it was thorough, it doesn't examine deeper themes, and it gives a bias, subjective view of the material, given the author's self-identity as a fan. This bias may also skew some of the other subjects' information as well, if the author does/does not participate in other parts of certain fandoms, and this would be a good place to point out that the book would have been stronger as a collaboration among different fans than just a volume from one fan herself.

Felt a bit cobbled together like a nonfiction Frankenstein. While parts around cosplay were well-written, the goal audience was unclear and ultimately left it a hard read to really get into. Considering Swinyard's success and other work, this could be a one-off or a rush, so I'd still be up for reading more of their articles which I think are well done but it'd be a hard sell for me to pick up another full length nonfiction.

In the book Fans And Fandom by Holly Swinyard we learn everything about dance and phantom from the beginning to current day from cosplay to football teams Eurovision gamers in much much more although it was a very interesting history I found myself zoning out only because I don’t believe I was the actual audience for this book from the things set in our social consciousness that it seems everyone around knows about it to Facebook groups and on and on there’s lots to learn about fans in the fandom they belong to and Molly‘s swingyard has done a great job putting it all in a cohesive history in this book. I want to thank Pin and Sword Press, the author Amy Swinyard and met galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

enjoyed most aspects of this book - prob not bits on ComicCon and Cosplay as I am not involved in this but I am involved in other fandoms ie Eurovision Song Contest and various 80's bands and of course books etc so was interesting to read more on fandom
Overall a good read

As somone who has been activley into cosplay, cons and other nerdy things since the early 2000s this was neat to read. It covers all the main aspects of the topic: the beginning of fanship, terminology, the rise of fandoms, fandoms online, turning points of their history, fanfiction, fanart and cosplay and everything in-between.

I read this book halfway before putting it away. It's definitely a good guide to fandom, but as someone who has been in fandoms ever she could read, this book didn't bring anything new. It felt more like a guide for people who have no idea what fandoms are, for people who are going to a comic con and want to know what the hype is about. Many things that were explained were very well known and 'natural' for me, so it didn't bring anything new to the table. The history of fandom was also very very brief, and that was the one part I was really interested in because I wanted to know more about that.

All in all, its a good book if you want to know more about fandom, but if you lived on Tumblr in your teenage years and regularly use the word 'blorbo', you will know everything that is written in this book.

Holly Swinyard, Fans and Fandom, A Journey into the Passion and Power of Fan Culture, Pen & Sword, White Owl, March 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley and Pen & Sword, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Holly Swinyard’s Fan and Fandom, A Journey into the Passion and Power of Fan Culture, is an excellent read for both those who are currently involved in the journeys she describes, and those whose knowledge of fandom is limited to attending a rock concert or sports event, some vague knowledge of Star Trekkers and possibly having some interest in fan fiction. I am in the latter group and realise that my knowledge is far from profound on this complex topic. Swinyard certainly brings one up to date, sometimes with a frightening jolt. In her well-researched text Swinyard demonstrates that a somewhat benign attitude to fandom is misplaced.

I am not an admirer of the style with exclamation marks and somewhat confected voice to the audience. However, this is a personal objection and having given warning would like to impress upon others who feel similarly, please persevere. The content is really well worth reading and digesting. The chapters are posed as answers to the questions: When? Why? How? Who? Where? Huh? The End? Each question relates to several chapters, some of which include familiar concepts, others, such Affirmative and Transformative require more explanation. And explanation there is aplenty. The introduction is complete with explanations about the purpose of the book, what you can expect from it, terminology explained and a lot of lively discussion that explains fandom in easily understood terms. There are notes for each section, including further reading, and another glossary of terms at the end of the book.

Swinyard provides so much information – the good and the bad. When I finished this book, I knew so much more that was useful in informing my own concept of fans and fandom. For the more well informed there are some constructive lessons on how to use that knowledge and experience safely and wisely. And lest it all sounds gloom and doom, Swinyard ensures that all the positives of communicating through fandom, gaming, and associated features has its positive aspects also. I feel very gratified to have had the opportunity to learn more about fan culture through this informative and thoughtful book. It’s a work that I shall reread with enthusiasm.

I've been waiting for someone to write a book on this topic for so long and I got so hyped when I saw this one! It ended up being a good informative read and I like the inclusion of pictures.
I'm not into fanfiction or cosplay so those chapters didn't really interest me and on the other hand I was sad to see that music fandoms weren't really explored except for a brief mention of BTS and ARMY.

"Fans and Fandom" by Holly Swinyard seemed to me a good starting point for a discussion about fans and fandoms (plural is definitely appropriate here) coming from an insider. As much as I appreciate academic discussion on the state of being a fan, it comes mostly from the outside, from the uncommitted researchers.
And a good starting point it is. Swinyard swiftly navigates us amid the rocky road of fans creating fandoms. The book basically covers all the main aspects of the topic: the beginning of fanship, terminology, the rise of fandoms, fandoms online, turning points of their history (such as Gamers Gate or disappearing Anne Rice fandom), doing it with both love and substantiveness. It's a great book for someone who wants to know what the fandom is all about - but also for the one willing to understand their own fanship better and better.
That being said, one of the topics covered got me disappointed. Mainly: fanfiction. Swinyard understands what fanfiction is - but she's missing the point as far as the "why" is concerned. Fanfiction isn't about storytelling, it's about challenging the narrative given, about putting the story already told into a new perspective. Thus, myths aren't fanfiction - they are the same stories told under various circumstances and "localized" for various public, but they are not changing nor challenging the perspective. However, we can see a fanfiction (or rather an RPF?) aspect in the Gospel. I really missed such a notice in the book (or at least a mention about Gilgamesh or Divine Comedy).

The idea of fandom seems like a current thing so it was interesting to see the fanatic ideologies from other time periods

Thank you Netgalley, Holly Swinyard, and Pen & Sword White Owl publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am honestly pretty disappointed with this, but I think it's mostly because I expected something different from this book than what it turned out to be. I was interested in learning about the psychology behind fandoms, and although there is a little of that in this (our human need to "reach into the darkness"), there was not very much at all. For the majority of the book, the author is just describing what fandoms are and the different ways people interact with popular art.

Also, the writing style irked me quite a bit. It was like the author was trying to force enthusiasm on a bunch of cynical teens at a high school pep rally. It was a little insulting. But perhaps this is geared more for teens and young adults? Also, I found the description of fanfiction to be...maybe inaccurate? Or at least, incomplete.

It wasn't all bad though. I did enjoy learning about some of the history of fandoms (like the Shakespeare jubilee), and the pictures were great.