Abstract

Fan studies, as an academic field, has greatly increased our understanding of how fans relate to media texts and fandoms, from a long, rich emphasis on fanfic and other transformative fanworks and communities, to more recent attention to fannish collecting, building, and tourism. However, it has not devoted as much attention to how fans discover and are initiated into these texts and fandoms in the first place. This is particularly odd since discovery and self-awareness narratives are a long-established part of fan autobiography and lore (Hills 2002: 65–89). Telling stories of how you encountered your first David Bowie song, episode of Doctor Who, or Harry Potter book is part of how you establish your fan credentials and reveal the moment when interest became passion. Such narratives are still a typical form of self-revelation in online fan spaces and convention hotel bars.