Finndom
| Synonyms: | |
| See also: | Conventions, Fan Clubs, Science Fiction Fandom |
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Finndom is an affectionate name often used of the Finnish (science fiction) fandom. Traditionally Finndom has had a strong focus on scifi literature, but in recent years anime fans and media fans have also carved their own niche in the fandom scene. Because there has always also been a strong focus on (original) fiction writing, the older fans tend to look down on fanfiction, though this too has started to change with the new generation of fans.
Cons and other fannish Events
For a small country, Finland has a surprising large number of cons and other fannish events. Commercial/industry cons as such do not really exist in Finland, and even the largest events are generally fan-run and organised by volunteers.
- Finncon - Largest SF/F lit con in Northern Europe.
- Åcon - Small relaxacon held in Mariehamn.
- Animecon - Largest anime/manga con in Finland.
- Huviretki tienpientareelle - Annual picnic on an island in Tampere, called 'roadside picnic' after the Finnish name of the novel Stalker by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky.
- Yhteistyökokous - Annual 'co-operation meeting' at Tampere where representatives from the various clubs and societies present their activities for the past and coming year.
- Tracon - Anime and roleplaying con.
- Ropecon - Largest fan-run/non-commercial roleplaying con in Europe.
- Turconen - Scifi minicon held in Turku.
- TamFan - Small fantasy literature con, organised every other year in Tampere.
- Tampere Kuplii - Comics festival/con organised every April in Tampere.
- Tähtivaeltajapäivät - 'Star Rover Day', one-day scifi lit con arranged irregularly in Helsinki.
- Finfar - Annual seminar for science fiction and fantasy scholars.
- Fanfest - Con focusing on Western pop-culture and fandom.
Fannish societies and clubs
Most university cities have their own local scifi clubs, which organise regular meetings ('mafias'). There are also many single-fandom clubs and societies.
- Spektre - Scifi club located in Tampere.
- Turku Science Fiction Society
- Helsinki Science Fiction Society
- Helsinki University Science Fiction Club
- 42 - Scifi club located in Jyväskylä
- Suomen H.P. Lovecraft historiallinen seura - Fans of H.P. Lovecraft
- Esc - Scifi club located in Espoo
- Suomen Tolkien-seura - Finnish Tolkien Society
- URS (Uusrahvaanomainen spekulatiivinen fiktio) - Fans of old-fashioned scifi/fantasy
- Joensuu Science Fiction Society
- Spock's HUT - Star Trek fanclub located in Helsinki
- Oulu University Science Fiction and Fantasy Club
- Suomen science fiction- ja fantasiatutkimuksen seura - Society for scifi and fantasy scholars
Online communities
- Babek Nabel - Scifi-focused discussion forum
- Rising Shadow - Discussion forum focusing on SF/F literature and writing
- Aniki - Anime/manga forum
- Kontu - Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien
- FinFanFun - Finnish fanfiction writers' forum
- Vuotava noidankattila - Harry Potter forum
- Suomalainen fandom - Facebook group for Finnish SF/F fandom
Resources
- Partial Recall - News about Finndom and Finnish SF/F in ENglish