This companion brings together an internationally and interdisciplinarily diverse group of emerging and established fan studies scholars to reflect on the state of the field and to chart new directions for research.

is Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Gonzaga University, USA. Her work on fans, audiences, and popular culture has been published in Television & New Media, the International Journal of Communication Studies, Popular Communication, and Popular Music & Society. She is editor of Anti-Fandom: Dislike and hate in the digital age (2019), and the co-editor of The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom (2018), and Bitten by Twilight (2010).

Suzanne Scott is Associate Professor in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. She is the author of Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry (2019), and the co-editor of Sartorial Fandom: Fashion, Beauty Culture, and Identity (2023) and The Routledge Companion to Media Fandom (2018).

PART I: METHODS, ETHICS, AND THEORETICAL APPROACHES Methods, Ethics, and Theoretical Approaches: Introduction MELISSA A. CLICK AND SUZANNE SCOTT 1. The Ethics of Studying Online Fandom KRISTINA BUSSE 2. What does the "transnational" mean for fan studies today? Some provocations RUKMINI PANDE 3. (Media) Fandom is Not a Noun KATHERINE MORRISSEY 4. After poaching and 'negotiated' readings: Towards the real-time emergence of co-decoding within fans' multisocial interaction MATT HILLS 5. Surveying Fandom: The Ethics, Design, and Use of Surveys in Fan Studies LUCY BENNETT 6. Fandom and Dis/Ability: Expanding Theoretical Perspectives to Fan Studies DIVYA GARG 7. Transnational Media Fan Studies LORI MORIMOTO 8. When Platforms Fall: Scraping and Interpreting Fandom Data in Tumultuous Times ANASTASIA SALTER & BRIDGET BLODGETT 9. Archaeologies of Fandom: Using Historical Methods to Explore Fan Cultures of the Past KATHY FULLER-SEELEY 10. Conversation on Studying Toxic Fans KISHONNA GRAY, CARRIELYNN REINHARD, ADRIENNE SHAW PART II: FAN PRACTICES AND PLATFORMS Fan Practices and Platforms: Introduction MELISSA A. CLICK AND SUZANNE SCOTT 11. Where the Fans Are: Rethinking Fan Studies and Participatory Culture RHIANNON BURY 12. Fan Curators and the Gateways into Fandom DEREK KOMPARE 13. The Roles of Language in Transcultural Fanfiction CLARICE GRECO 14. Fan Tourism and Pilgrimage: Revisited REBECCA WILLIAMS 15. Negotiating Fandom: The Politics of Racebending HENRY JENKINS 16. Shifting, Harry Potter, and TikTok Fan Practices CLAIRE WHITLEY & KATHARINE PERROTTA 17. Tumblr Fan Aesthetics LOUISA ELLEN STEIN 18. Accessing Platformed Fandoms: Disability and Digital Fan Practices ELIZABETH ELLCESSOR 19. A Tale of Two Communities. The Polish Fandom, the Fandom in Poland, and the Internet's Influence on Fan Identities AGNIESZKA URBA¿CZYK 20. Navigating Online Ecosystems: Chinese Celebrity Fans' Participation across Social Media Platforms QIUYAN GUO 21. Vidding and Identity: A Conversation FRANCESCA COPPA, ALEXIS LOTHIAN, AND TISHA TURK Identities: Introduction MELISSA A. CLICK AND SUZANNE SCOTT 22. The Invisible Bag of Holding: Whiteness and Media Fandom BENJAMIN WOO 23. The Queer Politics of Femslash JULIE LEVIN RUSSO 24. Identity, Positionality, and Comics Fandom: Women of Color Fans ERIKA CHUNG 25. Finding the National in Transnational: Mapping Identities and Power in K-Pop Fandoms CELESTE OON 26. Charting Latinx Fandom JILLIAN M. BÁEZ 27. Everyday Costume: Feminized Fandom, Retail, and Beauty Culture ELIZABETH AFFUSO 28. Watching the series of the enemy: The reception of Turkish soap operas by Greeks DIMITRA LAURENCE LAROCHELLE 29. Aging, Fans, and Fandom C. LEE HARRINGTON AND DENISE D. BIELBY 30. Sounding Queer Fandom: Podfic and Non-Binary Theory OLIVIA JOHNSTON RILEY 31. Exploring Debates over "Boys Love" Media in the Philippines: From Misogynistic Backlash to Queer Emancipation THOMAS BAUDINETTE 32. Advancing Transcultural Fandom: A Conversation BERTHA CHIN, ASWIN PUNATHAMBEKAR, AND SANGITA SHRESTHOVA PART IV: INDUSTRY AND LABOR Industry and Labor: Introduction MELISSA A. CLICK AND SUZANNE SCOTT 33. Fans and Merchandise AVI SANTO 34. The Fan Fiction Gold Rush 2.0: After/AI MEL STANFILL 35. Fandom and the Politics of Cancel Culture EVE NG 36. Conspicuous Convention: Industry Interpellation and Fan Consumption at San Diego Comic-Con ANNE GILBERT 37. (Black Female) Fans Strike Back: The Emergence of the Iris West Defense Squad KRISTEN J. WARNER 38. Fantagonism, Franchising, and Industry Management of Fan Privilege DEREK JOHNSON 39. Friki Conventions: Comic-cons, Expos, and Fandom in Mexico City GUILLERMO AGUILAR VÁZQUEZ AND ANA FABIOLA VIDAL FERNÁNDEZ 40. Fannish Affect, "Quality" Fandom, and Transmedia Storytelling Campaigns MELANIE E. S. KOHNEN 41. DAZN's Coverage Strategies of the UEFA Women's Champions League: Growing the Game Through Women's Football Fandom CHARLOTTE HOWELL 43. The Bigger Picture: Drawing Intersections between Comics, Fan, and Industry Studies ALISA PERREN AND LAURA E. FELSCHOW 43. So Strike We All: Union Action and Cosplay on the Picket Line SUZANNE SCOTT AND KATE FORTMUELLER