Should fanfiction actually become formally published literature? Lauren explores this through the wild world of Harry Potter fanfic.
It’s late at night and Lily is reading her Kindle in bed. She’s about to fall asleep, falling into the universe of a Harry Potter fanfiction. Just as she’s about to bookmark the page, drop the device and switch off the light, her hair starts to lift, a wind picks up. She glances around the room, a growling figure rips the kindle from her hands, tears it to shreds and disappears. The figure was capitalism.
The Harry Potter fandom has, without a doubt, been a typically well-known fandom, inside and outside of the fanfiction community, however now a political and cultural force can be applied, owing to JK. Rowling’s public image declining in popularity.
Is this encouraging a rise in Harry Potter fanfiction becoming real life books, and if so, is that what the community really wants?
Rowling Controversy
Considering Rowling’s engagement in criticism of transgender rights, fans began boycotting anything that would make her gain financially, such as merchandise and story adaptations.
“Many people have appreciation for the characters, especially with such a comfort book when growing up, but they don’t want to support Rowling and her political opinions,” says Ella Rigby, a keen Dramionie shipper.
This is where the Harry Potter fandom becomes intrinsic to fans who don’t support Rowling, as it thrives on the continuation and adaptations of characters and storylines. These becoming traditionally published media means that fans can continue reading real books without supporting Rowling.
Rigby emphasises that a lot of fans want ‘nothing to do’ with the Harry Potter Author anymore.
“They want something that isn’t in the words of J.K. Rowling. Even if she produces any more storylines, there’s always the opportunity for fanfiction authors to create a different plot or they can take something fundamental from the books and change it.”
Why publication matters
Harry Potter fanfiction, All The Young Dudes (ATYD), a prequel to Harry Potter, following Lupin, has become so popular on platforms such as A03, it has recently been announced that it will be traditionally published, with changes made to names and specific details which may be subject to copyright.
“In the last 5-7 years these fanfics online have been getting published. It’s a good way to grow with the characters, we can see what they might be getting up to in their adult lives or if there’s a specific trope fans want to follow, they can do that, without just having to read it online,” Rigby highlights some benefits of publishing.
Fanfiction began with small increments being shared online and has now escalated to a globally recognised community, leading to authors becoming known outside of the community, in the real world.
Grace Reynolds, fanfiction enthusiast, emphasises why publication does matter in the fanfiction world.
“Fanfiction is no longer this niche thing you have to hide, it deserves a permanent place in society. Published media can’t be erased, but fanfiction can.”
As well as ATYD, many other Harry Potter fanfictions have also been traditionally published in the past.
Dramione is one of the most popular ships in the Harry Potter fandom and it’s popularity means fics written about the pairing are amongst the most likely to get adapted and published traditionally.
Rose in Chains by Julie Soto, is originally a Dramione fanfiction published under Soto’s username lovebitca8. The adaptation of the fanfiction, The Auction, is a perfect example of a traditionally published Harry Potter fanfiction.
After its release in July 2025, it became globally recognised as a number 1 best seller.
Despite positive claims of permanence in the ‘real’ world, does this really matter for fanfiction or is it stripping away an aspect of culture of the community and conforming to what society expects of it?
Is publication the issue?
Lily Bull, a fanfiction author and a member of the Harry Potter fandom, highlights that a lot of people don’t agree with publishing deals, stating that authors choosing not to publish their works ‘maintains the integrity of fandom.’
“The point of fanfic has always been for people in fandoms to express their ideas and passions in a way that’s freely available for other people to also enjoy and create a community for those passions to be shared without judgement.
“This is especially strong in the case of Marauders (fanfiction on four older Gryffindor’s: Lupin, Pettigrew, Black and Potter), publishing the works and hiding them behind a paywall, feels like a betrayal of these spaces for a lot of people, including myself.”
Lily does emphasise that fanfiction should still be ‘properly acknowledged’, stating that there is ‘a lot of skill and devotion’ put into fanfiction that it does deserve recognition as an ‘artform.’
However, Lily doesn’t agree that it should be published: “What an author does is up to them, but publishing fanfics removes them from fandom spaces, which are often considered sacred for some people.
“This pushes them into a public space which has shown itself to be historically unsafe for the people in fandoms.”
Political reasons for not publishing
Videos on popular platform TikTok spark debate in comment sections, over whether fanfiction should be published.
Many on TikTok find that the main issue with fanfiction publication is the monetisation of the community.
“It puts a gross capitalist twist on something that should be, and has always been profit/cost free, and accessible for literally everyone.” Says Lily.
“Publishing fics like ATYD, especially when they are such pillars of a fandom, like Marauders, breaks away from building a community that protects fans.”
The Marauders fandom, which Lily views as separate from the canon Harry Potter fandom, has been a very profitable place to find stories to become published works.
It existed long before popular fanfiction sites such as Wattpad and A03, and is still now a very popular aspect of fanfiction as a whole. It highlights the growth of fanfiction through a lens of The Harry Potter world.
On TikTok, a political idea is developed, emphasising the importance of keeping fanfiction free.
A lot of fans express online that it is anti-capitalist to consume and write fanfiction as it is a way of circulating creative works without big corporations also profiting.
This paints fanfiction as a cultural force to combat this political aspect.
“Perhaps it might give other authors in the Harry Potter fandom an idea about what they could do with their fanfiction,” Lily explains that while published fanfiction can inspire younger or newer authors, as it shows them what they could achieve, it also hinders the community.
Once a safe space for creative works to be shared judgment-free, publishing these strips away not only the profit-free aspect, but also the community and that place of comfort.
Authors such as MissKingBean89, author of ATYD, are making a conscious choice to take away their work from millions of fans who access it online.
“I don’t really think it should be published despite the skill and devotion put into it.” says Lily.
Additionally, as the content is so intertwined with the Harry Potter universe, a lot of the work will have to be altered which also takes away from the original connections that fans have with the Harry Potter fandom.
The work not being inherently the same, evokes the feelings in many fans that society and in particular, capitalism are taking away a core value of the fanfiction community.