WE ARE RENEGADE.
Renegade Bookbinding Guild is a not-for-profit guild of artists engaged in binding fannish works, aka Fanbinding, under the idea of fandom gift economy! We have dozens of resources for folks interested in starting or continuing their fanbinding journey!
Renegade is an open and mutually supportive community—we share resources, tutorials, tips, mentorship, and good fun. We encourage questions, process notes, and pictures; we are here to crowdsource solutions if we can, hold each other’s hands, express our sympathies, cheer each other up, and be proud of each other.
Anyone can be a fanbinder, no matter your bookbinding experience level or access to resources. Come and learn with us!
What is fanbinding?
Fanbinding, also called “fannish bookbinding,” is the act of binding a fandom story or creation into a physical book. While many fanbinders focus on the binding of fanfiction, some also bind art, fandom social media commentary, or replica books of canon texts.
What is the Fannish Gift Economy?
A gift economy is a system of exchange where elements are not sold, but rather given without an explicit expectation of reward.
As Fanlore Explains, “In fannish terms, gift economy refers to the process of fans making fanworks available openly and freely without any formalized requirement that anything be given in return.”
For many of our binders, taking fanworks and turning them into a beautiful, hand-crafted book is our way of showing our appreciation for the hard work and creation of our fellow fans, and to engage with and give back to the fannish community.
There are many reasons to bind, but here are our favorites:
◊ To make a statement on the validity and importance of fanfiction as a genre of literature.
◊ To participate in the traditional gift economy of fandom. The best way to respond when receiving a gift is to give one in return!
◊ To preserve fandom history and works for future generations. Unfortunately, not everything on the internet is actually forever.
◊ To challenge preconceptions about what is valuable and worthy of being memorialized in print, much less bound in a fine edition.
◊ To encourage freedom of expression and stand against censorship in any of its forms. We believe in the three laws of fandom, and that individuals should be free to choose what they want to create. Not all fannish works are for everyone, but every work is loved by someone.
