As the Harry Potter fandom grew, so did the number and variety of Harry Potter fanfic websites. Some of the most popular and prominent ones were FictionAlley, which was founded in 2001 and hosted over 60,000 stories, The Leaky Cauldron, which was founded in 2000 and featured news, podcasts, and forums, and MuggleNet, which was founded in 1999 and offered quizzes, games, and interviews. These websites not only provided a platform for Harry Potter fanfic, but also fostered a sense of community and culture among Harry Potter fans, who discussed, debated, and celebrated their fanfic and fandom.
The Harry Potter fanfic scene also expanded and diversified with the advent of social media and other online platforms. Harry Potter fans used blogs, livejournal, tumblr, twitter, and other sites to share and promote their fanfic, as well as to interact and collaborate with other fans. Harry Potter fans also created and participated in various fanfic events and challenges, such as The Harry Potter Big Bang, which was a yearly event that required writers to produce a long and original fanfic, and The Yuletide Exchange, which was a secret santa-style gift exchange that involved writing fanfic for a randomly assigned recipient. Harry Potter fans also organized and attended fanfic conventions and festivals, such as LeakyCon, which was a multi-day event that featured panels, workshops, and performances related to Harry Potter fanfic and fandom.
The Harry Potter fanfic phenomenon also attracted the attention and recognition of the mainstream media and the academic world. Harry Potter fanfic was featured and discussed in various newspapers, magazines, podcasts, and documentaries, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, PotterCast, and We Are Wizards. Harry Potter fanfic was also the subject of numerous studies, books, and courses, such as Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet, The Fanfiction Reader, and The Literary Uses of Harry Potter. Harry Potter fanfic was also acknowledged and appreciated by the original author, J.K. Rowling, who expressed her support and gratitude for the fanfic community in several interviews and statements.
Types of Harry Potter Fanfic
Harry Potter fanfic is a diverse and dynamic genre, with many different types and categories. Some of the most common and popular types of Harry Potter fanfic are:
Canon-compliant
These are fanfic that follow the events and rules of the original work, and do not contradict or change anything that happened in the books or movies. Canon-compliant fanfic can be set before, during, or after the canon timeline, and can focus on the main characters or the minor or background characters. Canon-compliant fanfic can also explore the details and aspects of the Harry Potter universe that were not fully explained or explored in the canon, such as the history, culture, and politics of the wizarding world, the magic system and the spells, and the lives and personalities of the characters.
