Tis the End Times

News: kindle/amazon license deal allowing you to sell your fan fiction.

edited to add:
Kindle Worlds entry on Fanlore
Timeline of Fandom and Profit on Fanlore (for historical context)

5-25-2013: my link collecting has dramatically slowed to a trickle. Just an FYI.
_____________________________________________________________
*Best comment so far: "So after reading about ... Amazon's new pay-for-fanfiction scheme, I read around on other reaction posts, reread the fanlib entry at fanlore, and mulled a bit. What am I going to do? Answer: Go give some money to the OTW."

*Second best comment: "Does this mean fanfic could now qualify for SFWA (Science Fiction Writers Association) membership? "

*Third best comment: "GOOD LUCK, AMAZON, AND STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM AO3."

*Another comment: "Soon there will be two groups of fans: "The Live Write Free and Die Read Hard!"  crowd and  the "Girls Humanoid Writers Just Wanna Have Fun Money!" camp. With secret trysts between the two as they exchange forbidden fanfic under the sheets."

*Fandom nudists unite!: "As long as we have open range where we can run naked and free writing our slash and our het and our threesomes fic, we have nothing to fear.   But god help them if they try to take our knotting fic away."

*And then there is this gem:

“Blair,” Jeff whispered, his lips almost touching her earlobe, “I have something I need to tell you.”

“Jeff, please,” Blair danced away. She laughed coyly, mercilessly. They’d both had too much to drink.

“It’s important you listen to me, Blair.” Jeff ran his hands over his gleaming scalp. He was sweating.

“Fine, talk, ” she said, looking away. “But don’t bore me, Jeff. I’m warning you. There are plenty of other rich boys in tight pants at this party, and some of them can dance.”

The air was heavy in this velvet-curtained room on Park Avenue. Her necklace glinted in the lights from cars passing far below.

“Blair, I’ve started a new program to make money off of fan fiction,” he pleaded. “I’m letting authors sell stories on a platform I’m calling Kindle Worlds. We’ve licensed three so-called ‘worlds’ from one company, to start. So now authors can submit fan fiction using the plots, setting, and characters of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, or The Vampire Diaries.”

*Final(?) word on the no-porn and no crossover policy: "LMFAO TUMBLR FANFICS WILL NEVER BE ACCEPTED THERE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
____________________________________________________________________________
Articles arranged starting with my reading list, moving ever outwards. Most recently added links at the bottom. And  the rest remains random like Brownian particles with asymmetric collisions.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/finally-make-money-from-your-gossip-girl-pretty-li,98106/

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/05/amazon-sets-up-system-to-trade-on-controversial-fan-fiction/

http://kirana.dreamwidth.org/487578.html

http://astolat.tumblr.com/post/51076669454

http://astolat.tumblr.com/post/51083882191

http://rivkat.dreamwidth.org/389313.html

http://astolat.tumblr.com/post/51112156328

http://hesychasm.dreamwidth.org/261679.html

http://elf.dreamwidth.org/689015.html

http://heidi.dreamwidth.org/1274268.html

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/05/22/amazons-kindle-worlds-instant-thoughts/

http://cymbalism.dreamwidth.org/134946.html

http://dragonfly.dreamwidth.org/471662.html

http://havocthecat.dreamwidth.org/1396994.html

http://unjapanologist.dreamwidth.org/70490.html

http://www.jimchines.com/?p=7825

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/05/22/all-your-fanfiction-belong-to-us-what-the-fuck-is-kindle-worlds/

http://www.themarysue.com/amazon-fanfic-kindle-words/

http://flourish.dreamwidth.org/540706.html

http://fanhackers.tumblr.com/post/51077366521/amazon-announces-publishing-platform-for-licensed

http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/22/amazon-introduces-kindle-worlds-for-selling-fanfiction/

http://ithiliana.dreamwidth.org/1725212.html

http://phoenixchilde.dreamwidth.org/681399.html

http://www.dailydot.com/business/kindle-words-amazon-fanfiction-problems/

http://sunnymoraine.com/2013/05/22/what-fresh-hell-is-this-amazon/

http://selenay.dreamwidth.org/494420.html

http://dafna.dreamwidth.org/219904.html

http://seperis.dreamwidth.org/974558.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/05/22/amazon-rewrites-the-rules-of-fan-fiction/

http://www.forbeck.com/2013/05/22/kindle-worlds-worlds-burning/

http://www.afterellen.com/2013/05/kindle-worlds-would-pay-you-your-emaya-and-paily-fan-fiction

http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/78021851.html

http://missl0nelyhearts.tumblr.com/post/51098870975/second-and-final-thoughts-regarding-kindle-worlds

http://mazarin221b.tumblr.com/post/51076682866/announcing-kindle-worlds

http://fail-fandomanon.livejournal.com/57105.html?thread=267005457#t267005457

http://inkstone.dreamwidth.org/245352.html

http://www.gwendabond.com/bondgirl/2013/05/packaging-it-up.html

http://www.malindalo.com/2013/05/amazon-tries-to-monetize-fan-fiction-i-freak-out/

http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2013/05/22/amazon-brings-disintermediation-to-the-tie-in-industry/

http://james-nicoll.livejournal.com/4368894.html

http://sakana17.dreamwidth.org/99177.html

http://liviapenn.dreamwidth.org/530961.html

http://lettersfromtitan.com/2013/05/22/amazon-worlds-not-bigger-on-the-inside/

http://tptigger.dreamwidth.org/645679.html

http://shameless2shoes.dreamwidth.org/4516.html

http://inkstone.dreamwidth.org/245352.html

http://beren-writes.livejournal.com/870494.html

http://lorax.dreamwidth.org/59750.html

http://www.mhpbooks.com/amazon-to-monetize-fan-fiction-he-moaned/

http://fitz-y.dreamwidth.org/74375.html

http://jeeps.dreamwidth.org/33169.html

http://cymbalism.tumblr.com/post/51079758034

http://chainedtoacomet.tumblr.com/post/51083435662/seeing-a-lot-of-backlash-on-twitter-about-this

http://readingwithavengeance.tumblr.com/post/51073868920/kindle-worlds

http://gisellelx.tumblr.com/post/51122695232/my-preliminary-thoughts-on-kindle-worlds

http://dawnfelagund.tumblr.com/post/51115778242/the-heretic-loremaster-getting-paid-for-your-fanfic

http://teslatricity.tumblr.com/post/51077535023/on-the-other-hand-the-thought-of-amazon-having-to

http://falsettofetish.tumblr.com/post/51089728821/at-this-point-my-reaction-to-the-whole

http://wingsofwriting.tumblr.com/post/51113785882/the-more-i-think-about-the-kindle-worlds-things

http://lemonpaperfingers.tumblr.com/post/51147551184/if-kindle-worlds-actually-gets-the-rights-well

http://jbridger1313.tumblr.com/post/51151730078/why-i-wona-t-be-submitting-to-kindle-worlds-feral

http://coasterchild.tumblr.com/post/51161256172/so-ive-seen-that-kindle-worlds-thing-cropping-up

http://fetchalgernon.tumblr.com/post/51102175671/writerly-thoughts-the-stigma-of-fanfiction

http://glassmohawk.tumblr.com/post/51078667238/seriously-though-the-kindle-worlds-is-a-step-in

http://kymethra.tumblr.com/post/51072649533/just-out-of-interest-as-a-matter-of-record

http://oh-what-providence.tumblr.com/post/51118843778/to-all-the-people-who-think-that-kindle-words-is-some

http://saathi1013.tumblr.com/post/51111214437/cats-dogs-living-together-a-response-to-the-kindle

http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2013/05/22/amazon-legitimises-fanfic-publishers-are-left-behind-again/

http://fyeahcopyright.tumblr.com/post/51070772955/its-kindle-worlds-were-just-living-in-it

http://desidere.tumblr.com/post/51085987542/okay-heres-my-problem-with-amazon-trying-to-monetize

http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/1046407.html

http://cloudunbound.tumblr.com/post/51145280921/will-your-library-collect-fan-fiction-published-by

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/23/fan-fiction-different-universe-kindle-worlds

http://ithiliana.dreamwidth.org/1725212.html

http://beccaelizabeth.dreamwidth.org/2605797.html

http://seperis.dreamwidth.org/974824.html

http://icarus.dreamwidth.org/1068819.html

http://elf.dreamwidth.org/689247.html

http://esteefee.dreamwidth.org/141347.html

www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/do-fans-really-own-fan-fiction/276236/

Mr Wolcott is a Klingon spy!

35 yeas ago, a 14 year old Star Trek fan wrote a letter to the editor, disagreeing with a critic of Star Trek. "Mr Wolcott is a Klingon spy!"  It comes complete with an adorable photo of the fan.

Here is the original article written by Mr Wolcott, the Klingon spy (may require login to your google account to read).

(thanks to MPH for the links).