Call for Book Chapters
on Fans, Fandoms, and Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Deadline for submissions: Sunday, June 15, 2025

Contact email:fans.fandoms.and.ttrpgs@gmail.com 

Editors: 

Maria K. Alberto, University of Utah

Adrianna Burton, University of California – Irvine

We are seeking proposals for chapters to be included in a peer-reviewed edited collection on fans, fandom(s), and tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). The University of Michigan Press has expressed interest in this collection and the book proposal is currently underway. 

TTRPGs are rapidly evolving, as are their players, designers, and content creators. For example, industry titan Wizards of the Coast released a new 2024 Dungeons & Dragons ruleset; Catalyst Games successfully crowdfunded a Frostpunk tabletop adaptation; and indie studios like Evil Hat and Crossed Paths continue launching new games. Meanwhile, actual play (in which players record themselves playing TTRPGs, and the recordings are released as their own media texts) has proven a booming area of interest. Actual play shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20 regularly draw tens of thousands of viewers each week; these shows are also expanding in new directions with spin-offs like live events, novelizations, and more. TTRPGs have even made it mainstream both on the silver screen, in movies like Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures, 2023), and on consoles, as with video games such as Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios, 2023). 

Underlying all of these developments is the undeniable involvement of fans, who play a critical role in the success of TTRPGs both new and established. This edited collection will critically explore relationships between fans, fandom(s), and TTRPGs, examining how these connections impact analog gaming in both its long-standing and emerging forms.

We are interested in close readings of specific texts, in autoethnographic or personal experiences contextualized critically, and in considerations of historical or overall trends and movements, among other approaches. We invite perspectives from game studies, fan studies, and beyond; other disciplines may include performance studies, digital humanities, pop culture studies, sociology, communication, media studies, interdisciplinary work, and more. This collection is ultimately interested in exploring questions such as: who are fans of TTRPGs? How might fans relate their positionality as simultaneously TTRPG players, creators, and/or freelancers? How do TTRPGs and their producers view their fans and fandom? How do fans position themselves in reaction to industry or textual changes?

Potential topics for chapters include, but are not limited to: 

• Fan productions inspired by TTRPGs (fanfiction, fanart, fanvids, etc.) 

• Positionality of TTRPG fans and/as players

• TTRPG fan culture - in general, or for mainstream vs. indie TTRPGs

• Navigation of TTRPG fandom (as fan, creator, consumer, viewer, or other positionalities)

• Industry perspectives on TTRPG fandom

• Design for fans, fandom, and/or fan engagement

• Designers and industry professionals as fans

• Fan reactions to industry or textual changes like the Open Game License (OGL), Open RPG Creative License (ORC), new seasons of actual plays,etc.

• Fans of actual play shows 

• Education and TTRPG fandom

• Technology/digital platforms and TTRPG fandom

• Other topics related to TTRPG fans and fandom(s)

Please submit a 300-500 word abstract for your proposed chapter (including title, 3-5 keywords, and a 100-150 word author bio) to fans.fandoms.and.ttrpgs@gmail.com with the subject line “Chapter Proposal [Author Name].” 

Deadline for Abstract Submission: June 15, 2025

Notification of Acceptance: July 1, 2025

Full Chapter First Draft Submission Deadline: December 15, 2025