Fanwork Release Forms

Related terms:	Disclaimers
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Fanfic and permissions were heavy on many fan and professional writers' mind in late 1992 and early 1993 due to the Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy.

Three of these professional writers were Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, and Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Bradley only used her release form for short time as a stopgap measure regarding a single volume of DAW Darkover Anthologies. Lackey's release from may still be required today. Lichtenberg's release form appears to not have been utilized for print zines, but is required today for fanworks on the internet.

Marion Zimmer Bradley

In 1992, sometime before September, Bradley required her fans to fill out a release form. This was due to Holes in My Yard and the Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy.

The release form was only short-term, and it only covered fiction submissions for her long-running DAW Darkover Anthologies. It did not cover fiction or other fanworkds for zines and newsletters in which she did not participate.

The release from was no longer in use after "Snows of Darkover" was completed. In March 1994, Elisabeth Waters told a fan who asked about it: "Unfortunately, Mrs. Bradley has no current plans to do any more Darkover anthologies. The release form we used last summer was a stop-gap measure to get us through the one that was currently under contract ("Snows of Darkover," currently scheduled for release in April 1994.) It's really a shame, because Darkover anthologies were a good market for beginners (my first sale was to "The Keeper's Price"), but Mrs. Bradley says that sometimes one bad apple really does spoil the whole barrel."

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  disclaimer, printed in the September 1992 issue of Darkover Newsletter

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  disclaimer

Jacqueline Lichtenberg

Jacqueline Lichtenberg's: Sime~Gen Fanzine Fiction Posting Agreement, ^{Archived version}

Mercedes Lackey

In 2002, Lackey wrote: "[My] release form was copied wholesale from Marion Zimmer Bradley's fanfiction release form and covers the occasion when she used someone's idea (with their permission and signature) in one of her Darkover novels."

See much more at Mercedes Lackey's Release Form.

Mercedes Lackey's: Release Form for Mercedes Lackey, ^{Archived version}