Taking midnight GMT last night / this ack emma as a cut-off point – because I don’t, actually, expect a sudden surge of votes – I took a shufti at the leading stories (not authors) w/r/t their nationalities.
Now I must say at once that in many instances, these are on my spreadsheet (yes, really) as UNK: unknown. Unless they have declared their nationality, I don’t guess. That being said, I can say what any critic should say, that internal indications clearly put these unknown-nationality authors almost invariably in the North American camp: at the very least, the ethos, the diction, and the cultural capital clearly underpinning the stories are North American, even in minor cultural references. This is not a condemnation: Femmequixotic, for one, writes like an angel and does her research.
Of course the poll is self-selecting, from nomination to balloting. Of course some authors have several stories with huge numbers. Of course ‘I have read this’ needn’t mean ‘… and liked it’: I for one dutifully ticked every story I had read, and not infrequently they were stories I’d not read again on a bet. (Also, I at least, when participating in a fest, read every story posted and find something nice to say in comments, if only, ‘What an interesting use of the prompt’: like a Royal Duchess at a prize-giving, it’s cringe-making.) No other methodology could have been employed, and I applaud the work that went into the poll.
The fact is, HP fandom is an odd duck indeed. The canon is thoroughly British, and presumably this has its place in attracting readers. The readers and the subset of readers who are fen are international, and inevitably Americans and the Americanised predominate. Yet it is rather odd that Americanised visions of the British canon seem to be the most popular. Of the top of the 25 pops when I did the maths, there are two pieces by a British author or authors, two by Canadians (or possibly the same Canadian, I deleted identifying information after I did the tables), eight by Yanks, and the remainder by those whose nationality is not stated but who I make absolutely certain are, through no fault of their own, Not British.
Aussies begin to appear in the top 100 (although of course the UK can claim Brammers as well as Oz may do). There is one Irish author, at about the 70th rank at time of dekko. No EU author is in the top 150. I know of two British authors who, Malfoy-like, actually dwell in the ceremonial country of Wilts (although one, poor dear, technically lives in Swindon, God knows why); between them, they have some 110 votes all together.
I did not mark for the ballot paper any story I hadn’t yet read on polling day; I have since read many of the top stories I’d not read before, including those by authors whose nationality is nowhere to be found. They’re perfectly good stories. They are also an Americanised interpretation, actually or culturally, of the thoroughly British canon. I am not using these terms pejoratively, and I am far too likely as it stands to be mistaken for Boris, which I do try avoiding; but I think this does suggest a conclusion that may be of interest. The fandom being international, it prefers its Potterfic, I rather think, to be more familiar than faithful, and not to make too many demands of it w/r/t the Briticism of canon. The films are doubtless largely to blame. Equally, it does expect its authors to be Anglophone and part of the Anglosphere. Again, I am not judging quality of work here, merely cultural familiarity (both ways).
I should be very interested to hear what others make of this.
Oddly enough....
Now I must say at once that in many instances, these are on my spreadsheet (yes, really) as UNK: unknown. Unless they have declared their nationality, I don’t guess. That being said, I can say what any critic should say, that internal indications clearly put these unknown-nationality authors almost invariably in the North American camp: at the very least, the ethos, the diction, and the cultural capital clearly underpinning the stories are North American, even in minor cultural references. This is not a condemnation: Femmequixotic, for one, writes like an angel and does her research.
Of course the poll is self-selecting, from nomination to balloting. Of course some authors have several stories with huge numbers. Of course ‘I have read this’ needn’t mean ‘… and liked it’: I for one dutifully ticked every story I had read, and not infrequently they were stories I’d not read again on a bet. (Also, I at least, when participating in a fest, read every story posted and find something nice to say in comments, if only, ‘What an interesting use of the prompt’: like a Royal Duchess at a prize-giving, it’s cringe-making.) No other methodology could have been employed, and I applaud the work that went into the poll.
The fact is, HP fandom is an odd duck indeed. The canon is thoroughly British, and presumably this has its place in attracting readers. The readers and the subset of readers who are fen are international, and inevitably Americans and the Americanised predominate. Yet it is rather odd that Americanised visions of the British canon seem to be the most popular. Of the top of the 25 pops when I did the maths, there are two pieces by a British author or authors, two by Canadians (or possibly the same Canadian, I deleted identifying information after I did the tables), eight by Yanks, and the remainder by those whose nationality is not stated but who I make absolutely certain are, through no fault of their own, Not British.
Aussies begin to appear in the top 100 (although of course the UK can claim Brammers as well as Oz may do). There is one Irish author, at about the 70th rank at time of dekko. No EU author is in the top 150. I know of two British authors who, Malfoy-like, actually dwell in the ceremonial country of Wilts (although one, poor dear, technically lives in Swindon, God knows why); between them, they have some 110 votes all together.
I did not mark for the ballot paper any story I hadn’t yet read on polling day; I have since read many of the top stories I’d not read before, including those by authors whose nationality is nowhere to be found. They’re perfectly good stories. They are also an Americanised interpretation, actually or culturally, of the thoroughly British canon. I am not using these terms pejoratively, and I am far too likely as it stands to be mistaken for Boris, which I do try avoiding; but I think this does suggest a conclusion that may be of interest. The fandom being international, it prefers its Potterfic, I rather think, to be more familiar than faithful, and not to make too many demands of it w/r/t the Briticism of canon. The films are doubtless largely to blame. Equally, it does expect its authors to be Anglophone and part of the Anglosphere. Again, I am not judging quality of work here, merely cultural familiarity (both ways).
I should be very interested to hear what others make of this.