Maggie Stiefvater
| Name: | Maggie Stiefvater |
| Also Known As: | |
| Occupation: | writer, artist... |
| Medium: | novels, art, etc. |
| Works: | The Raven Cycle, The Shiver Trilogy, etc. |
| Official Website(s): | Official Site Official LiveJournal Official Tumblr Official Twitter |
| Fan Website(s): | |
| On Fanlore: | Related pages |
Maggie Stiefvater is the creator of The Raven Cycle series, The Wolves of Mercy Falls and other artistic ventures including art, mixes, tarot card design related to her books, and more.
Relationship with Fandom
Stiefvater is active on social media in the same spaces her fandom is located, which gives her both a privileged way to interact with it and puts her in what sometimes appears to be an awkward or uncomfortable position.
Maggie had a LiveJournal account under the name m_stiefvater, which now belongs to another user, where she interacted with fans and brought news about the development of his books and possible film adaptations of it.
She has repeatedly stated her appreciation of fandom, within some limits, like in this Aug 4 2015 Tumblr post addressed to Fandom:
Dear Fandom,
I’m going to try to say this in a way that I hope doesn’t crush feelings; I appreciate the enthusiasm for the series and I don’t want to hold it under the water until the bubbles stop, etc. etc.
But. My inbox and Twitter feed are pretty adventurous places at the moment: basically, readers are asking me to participate in fandom in ways that I not only can’t (I can’t read your fanfic for legal reasons) or don’t want (I do not belong in my own fandom). Readers are asking me to confirm headcanons and provide extra-canonical material and asking for things to appear in the last book. Additionally, I have some messages about the content of the tag.
Can I make this all sound coherent? We’ll give it a shot.
- a lot of the headcanons people are running by me are ship-related. A lot are sexual. Some of them are just pure smut. Guys, this is a series about teens. I am an adult. Even when my teen characters start exploring their sexuality, I try not to write them in a way that sexualizes them. I’m especially mindful of being an adult female creator writing m/m teen relationships. I know that it’s in fandom’s nature to write raunchy fics, but please keep them and any smutty headcanons out of my space. It makes me 400% uncomfortable. [...]
Maggie also has issues with fans, and fanwriters in particular, charging for their work. A short post was written apparently after people asked if she was taking fic commisions. [1]
This is a friendly reminder that creators and publishers alike are very ok with fanfic and fan art (in particular, I am very fond of the existence of fan art), but when you charge money or accept donations (i.e. take in money) for fan fiction, you’re violating the copyright of whichever content you’re writing for.
I know it sucks to try to make it as an artist, but as artists, we’ve got to respect other folk’s work. So remember, fanfic for the fun of it, charge for your OCs.
In September 2015, Maggie had an argument on Twitter with Halsey. TRC fans had told Maggie that they considered Halsey's song "Drive" appropriate for a Blue/Gansey scene, but Maggie began tweeting mockingly about perceived innuendos in the lyrics. Maggie was widely mocked for her comments about the song and her response to Halsey's replies, and the interaction is used as a criticism of her character or her presence online.
She has also been critical of online piracy of books, like many other authors.
See the Maggie Stiefvator receipts post on your authors are problematic (2017) for more.
Fan Reactions
I am glad you said this, because this line has been blurred a lot, with people on the one hand still writing disclaimers on their fic and on the other accepting money for commissions or prints or whatnot.One question (because I am a person who splits hairs): Where do “charity commissions” fall in this? I’ve participated in fic exchanges where I wrote in response to a prompt provided by someone who donated to a relief charity (and provided the receipt). Money was exchanged, but it didn’t benefit me as the person playing with the copyrighted characters and it was very well-intentioned, but we all know what the road to court is paved with.[2]