The No Stairway Anthology
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The No Stairway Anthology |
| Publisher: | winterlive and maygra |
| Editor(s): | |
| Date(s): | 2008 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | e-zine |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Supernatural |
| External Links: | Livejournal community & issue #1 archived here |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The No Stairway Anthology was an online anthology of gen and slash fan fiction selected by fan editors and formatted for online reading.
From the anthology website: The anthology "is a collection of fiction, posted in digests of ten stories, presented in full by pre-posted publishing dates. The goal of the Anthology is to showcase fan works that are considered solid, appealing, original in theme or execution, re-readable, literary, and well executed. We accept Gen, Het and Slash works of between 1,000 and 10,000 words. Works previously published online or in 'Zines are welcome, as are new works. It will be "part online fanzine and part recommended reading." Maygra [1]
The Anthology was distributed in electronic format from the No Stairway website: nostairway.org.
The Anthology submission process was detailed and included screening & reviews by Anthology "staff". Details are archived here and here.
Origins
The No Stairway Anthology was first announced January 27, 2008 following a post and subsequent discussion on winterlive's LJ. Its founders were Maygra (Administrator), Winterlive (Acquisitions Manager) & Traveller (Production Manager). By the end of February 2008, No Stairways had a huge team of additional administrative, technical and editorial staff.
- You know how it goes. You turn on a classic rock station, and they are guaranteed to play Stairway to Heaven at least 23 times a day. Everybody loves Stairway, but there are some amazing songs that you only hear once in a great while; songs that are buried on the b-side of out-of-print platters, songs that weren't deemed commercial or hits. Why hasn't anyone put together a radio station to play all those great songs, songs that you might love if only given the opportunity?
- This project is to showcase stories that you might not otherwise see and to offer classic examples of literary fiction in the Supernatural fandom. No Stairway is not a greatest hits collection, but an anthology of work that values both style and substance, and a chance for readers to discover those unrenowned b-sides that might become dear favorites, or replay an old favorite that they lost four moves and five cars ago.
- Please note that 'literary' in this instance refers to form and function and not to genre. Romances, science fiction, fantasy and all other so-called "genre" forms are welcome here. What, after all, is Supernatural if not a genre story? We are looking to share your best work with our readers. Be it prosaic or experimental, sexy or plain, featuring dragons, robots, or just two boys on the road, we want to give your songs a chance to be heard. From "No Stairway - an introduction & overview."[2]
Debate
The concept of the publication caused much discussion in fandom, particularly related to what constituted 'literary' fan fic and concerns over any form of editorial selection process. Due to this discussion only one issue was published and the website went offline sometime in 2009. An archived copy of issue #1 can be found here.
Some of the sample criticisms:
- "So here's the thing. I loathe quality fanfiction communities. I hate pretty much everything about them -- the attempts of a limited group of people to pretend their subjective taste is an objective barometer of "good" writing; the solidification of a fandom class system with "worthy" writers set apart from the rest of the riffraff; the cookie-cutter fiction they tend to inspire, once writers get a handle on how this particular comm is defining "good;" and, if a comm succeeds the way it's intended to, the choking out of authors who are deemed unworthy or choose not to participate." by esorlehcar [3]
Some of the sample support:
- It looks to me like a perfectly standard e-zine. (If anything, I'd say they're bending over backwards to be fair and to be seen to be fair.).... I really can't see anything at all wrong with showcasing a range of excellent stories. People in slash fandom tend to be uncomfortable with good/bad, which IMO makes fandom and fanfic all the poorer. As referenced above, I certainly understand the need to be diplomatic, but OTOH, good examples help when one is trying to improve one's writing. One can be diplomatic, inclusive, helpful to new fans, and still celebrate excellence in fan writing. I don't think it's elitist at all." by mrs260 [4]
Issue 1 - June, 1, 2008
The first issue was published on June 1, 2008, on the No Stairway Website.