Symposium broke new ground in terms of making the area of fan studies something that fans themselves could have an ongoing voice in. To quote:

“TWC’s Symposium section was designed as a fluid category for fannish meta and personal essays. We want many voices to be heard, including nonacademic ones. Fan communities have been producing complex and insightful discussion for years. However, their publication in specialized zines, mailing lists, and blogs has meant that the content has too often been inaccessible and unknown to outsiders, meaning that academic study of fan texts and cultures has failed to take into account communities’ discussion of their own activities.”

Deadline for the next Symposium is March 1, 2016.