Festival

Zine
Title:	Festival
Publisher:	Beyond Dreams Press
Editor(s):	Jenna and Dusky
Date(s):	January 2001
Series?:
Medium:	print zine
Size:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

cover by Deeb titled "Rescue", sample interior art below

Festival is a 217-page Star Trek: TOS slash anthology. It was the winner of two Philon awards and five ASCEM Golden O's. Cover by Deeb and three pieces of interior art by Deeb and other artists.

The zine is a collection of fan fiction written in connection and posted online as part of the first Kirk/Spock Online Festival which took place in the summer of 2000. Each author randomly picked one of several challenges (for example: Kirk witnesses Spock masturbating. What happens?) and then wrote a story based on it. 23 writers participated in the festival and produced 45 stories. The stories were posted in two waves: the first in mid-October 2000 and the second in early November. The stories were also shared with other K/S mailing lists and online communities.

Reactions and Reviews

The editor, in an issue of The K/S Press #52 (December 2000), goes into further detail of the zine’s origins:

There have been a plethora of 'fests’ online since the summer. A person/persons thinks up various scenarios … then people sign up for the fest and are assigned one these scenarios. … A group of K/Sers decided to create a Fest that was purely K/S, and so the Kirk/Spock Online Festival was born… I’m talking about this particular zine project now because I’m very curious about how it will be received by the zine-buying public. All the stories are easily available to read online, so who will buy it? Those who aren’t online? Those who prefer not to read their fiction from a computer screen? Thos who enjoyed the fest so much that they might want a permanent bound record of some of the stories, lovingly presented?...There might not be a market at all, and I guess if not, that’s something we need to find out. But it has always seemed to me that there is plenty of space in the universe for printed K/S, online K/S, and every permutation of the two in between.

Online

All 45 stories, and some of the art, are available online here (archive link).

Contents

Delighted Passion by IM Mueller. Note: Marked as sexually explicit; minimized.

Ten stories from the group are gathered in this zine along with artwork and poetry.

• The Word Withheld by J.S. Cavalcante (Spock is afraid to let Kirk know of his feelings, until a visit from his future self of seventy years hence encourages him to tell Kirk.)
• Getting to Know by Rae Trail (Kirk confesses his feelings to Spock while trying to deal with his psychological rape by the Dolman of Elaas.)
• The Siren's Call by Hafital (Kirk wills himself out of the Nexus to go to Spock, just as Spock is to be executed as a spy on Romulus.)
• The Island by Menolly (Knowing something is bothering Spock, Kirk takes him on shoreleave, but a short sea trip leaves them stranded on a deserted island.)
• The Same Mistake by Islaofhope (A/U After a meld with Sarek, Kirk starts remembering his love affair with Spock during the first five-year mission, an affair Spock removed all memories of after each encounter.)
• Losing Myself in You by Francesca (After a kiss, fear causes Kirk to withdraw from Spock, fear that must be confronted when Spock returns from Gol and the two men fight to rebuild a relationship.)
• The Last Straw by Liz Ellington (Kirk discovers that the crew believe he and Spock have had a loverʼs quarrel after Kirk starts spending all his time with a male passenger, a situation made more difficult because he and Spock are not lovers.)
• The World Turned Upside Down by Jenna Sinclair (Kirkʼs greatest fears are realized when Spock is proclaimed insane by a Vulcan healer after a head injury that may yet cause his death.)
• But Never Parted by Dread Nought (The best command team that Starfleet has are lovers, and some political factions object. So Kirk and Spock are separated. Kirk takes the Enterprise on a dangerous patrol in Orion space with a new first officer and a new science officer, while Spock joins a Vulcan exploratory mission with a persistent female Vulcan scientist. Will they - and their relationship - survive?)
• That of Which We Do Not Speak by Kira-Nerys (Invited to dinner by Kirk after five years apart, Spock finds a letter addressed to him in one of Kirkʼs books, a letter that confesses Kirkʼs feelings for Spock.)

Poetry

• Silent Touch by kira-nerys
• Loneliness by kira-nerys
• Return to Life by kira-nerys
• The Rruth of You by kira-nerys

Art

• Cover by Deeb
• Caring by Liz Woledge
• Delighted Passion by IM Mueller
• Once Before I Die by Deeb

Gallery

• 

  interior art, "Once Before I Die" by Deeb -- "Kirk holding a wounded Spock close.... For Spock h/c fans it doesn’t get much better than this! Deeb’s talent is in the details: a torn shirt, that stubborn curl on Kirk’s forehead, the look of loving concern on the captain’s face, the look of devotion on Spock’s. This artist always knows how to pluck at my heartstrings!"

• 

  interior art, "Caring" by Liz Woledge

Reactions and Reviews

See reactions and reviews for The Word Withheld.

See reactions and reviews for The Same Mistake.

See reactions and reviews for But Never Parted.

See reactions and reviews for The World Turned Upside Down.

See reactions and reviews for Getting to Know.

See reactions and reviews for The Last Straw.

See reactions and reviews for Losing Myself in You.

See reactions and reviews for That of Which We Do Not Speak.

See reactions and reviews for The Siren's Call.

See reactions and reviews for The Island.

[art]:

CARING by Liz: Another beautiful piece from this wonderful artist. It accompanies “The Word Withheld” by JS Cavalcante that I reviewed above. It’s a lovely and sensitive work showing Spock in a black muscle-shirt (as we like to call them) with a little chest hair showing (I love that) and Kirk bare-chested in bed. Kirk seems to be comforting Spock and his hand rests lightly on Spock’s arm—a delicate gesture. And just a hint of a knit blanket draped over them is a wonderful touch. Liz is truly an accomplished artist and thank goodness for her interest in K/S!

DELIGHTED PASSION by Marianne Mueller: Wow! Strong, erotic, definitely passionate—definitely one of Marianne’s best. A gorgeous hunk ‘o muscular Kirk stands before a kneeling muscular hunk ‘o Spock who holds Kirk’s...umm...manhood and...wow! Pretty darn sexy. I haven’t read the story that accompanies this drawing yet, but I think, based on this art, I need to. Really neat!

ONCE BEFORE I DIE by Deeb: A stunning Deeb drawing that I can’t believe I’ve missed until now. It might have something to do with my 627 unread zines, but what can I say? This is so beautiful—I could stare at it for a long time imagining the emotions going on between them as Spock holds Kirk in his arms. I happen to glance at the accompanying page of text and I saw a description of the pose and Spock has been injured. His eyes are closed and his uniform sleeve is torn. I love the soft placement of Spock’s hand beside Kirk’s head. I love everything about the drawing except for the title. If I were to title it, it’d be “Spock with Flowers” or something.

Anyway, gorgeous.