Wank Wednesday: Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy
Ever wonder why authors can never read fanfic of their work? Part of the reason is today's Wank Wednesday, the Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy.
Marion Zimmer Bradley was a prolific sci-fi/fantasy author. She was often involved in her fandom, reading fanzines and encouraging fans to write stories in her universes, one of which was her popular Darkover series. In 1991, Jean Lamb wrote their fic Masks about the Darkover character Regis Hastur, and it was published in the zine Moon Phases. Bradley's forthcoming novel Contraband was also supposed to be about the character Regis Hastur. The next year Bradley offered Lamb money for the copyright to Masks, which Lamb refused and Lamb tried to negotiate a counteroffer which Bradley refused. The events after that are a little muddled, but Bradley's lawyers sent Lamb a cease and desist order, and Contraband was never published. Bradley's team would later claim that Bradley could no longer read fan material because a fan had tried to sue Bradley, something that Lamb vehemently denies. Ultimately this incident, along side a few others, lead to major changes in how authors interacted with fanfic.
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