Nan Dibble

Fan
Name:	Nan Dibble, Nancy Dibble
Alias(es):	nan, Ansen Dibell
Type:
Fandoms:	BtVS, Angel the Series, Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Communities:
Other:
URL:	The Soulful Spike Society; her memorial Livejournal
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Nan Dibble was a noted fanfiction writer in the Buffyverse, who passed away 7 March 2006 after a sudden illness. She was also active in the Beauty and the Beast fandom. Her work includes such stories as Blood Rites and Blood Kin, among others. She was also a professional published fiction and nonfiction author in her life outside fandom, as well as an editor for many years.

Memories/Recollections

From Jo Ann Baca:

If all Nan Dibble had done for fandom was produce the Qfer, that would have been contribution enough, but for many years, she also ran The Helpers' Network US. And that’s still not all. Nan also wrote...and wrote...and wrote! Classic, Third Season, Fourth Season.... creating quality fanfic in virtually every subset of fan writing, with zines such as Bright Spirit Descending, Once Upon a Winterfest, Acquainted with the Night, and Phoenix, some of which is available online. It’s hard to imagine someone who contributed more, in so many ways, to keeping the candles burning."

Her friend Stephanie Wiltse wrote a tribute to Nan here. Her memorial guestbook is archived here.

Perhaps some of you who've been in the fandoms for many years will remember Nan from her work in the "Beauty and the Beast" fandom (the series with Vincent and Catherine and Diana), on the Hotline, with her fanfic recs Quarterly, with the Cincinnati fan group and for her own superior BATB fan fiction.

Later on, Nan wrote in the "Buffy" universe: she was particularly attracted to the character of Spike. Her fan fiction continued to be original, dramatic, fascinating and written with great verve and style, superior without question.

Nan never boasted but she had PhDs in English Literature and in Writing. She was also a published professional writer of science fiction (using the pen name Ansen Dibell). She was what is termed a "world builder," a style that she brought to her fan fiction, even though fan fiction is sourced.

But there were two qualities about Nan that didn't really have anything to do with her own writing, per se. One was her desire to teach and ability to teach even a novice like me, about writing. Her book "Plot" (also using the pen name Ansen Dibell) is still the standard today in writing classes in the United States and around the world, having been translated into many languages.

And the other quality was her great, deep and unfailing kindness. She befriended me and consistently supported me both with my "real life" troubles and in my attempts to learn to write. She extended her friendship to many people whose lives were enriched by knowing Nan. Her love never failed.