Critical Fandom positions fan authors as rhetoricians and fan fiction as an action. Every fan author navigates—implicitly or explicitly—the politics of their fandom, the media they love, their lived experiences, digital technologies, reader expectations, and a larger culture. To better understand critical fans, Cara Marta Messina analyzes Archive of Our Own tagging practices, fan fictions, and interviews from four different fandoms. Fans of The Legend of Korra celebrate queer relationships while understanding representation is just the first step in the face of systemic homophobia. Game of Thrones fan authors challenge racism and heteronormativity in both the community and the show. In online forums for Black Panther, fans make space for sapphic romances and explore the humanity of Erik Killmonger, ultimately contending with harmful stereotypes of radical Black men. And the Our Flag Means Death fandom demonstrates how a show can flourish when it centers queerness, especially for trans fans. Even in these moments of joy, there’s conflict. Critical Fandom seeks to answer what comes next.

This book builds on Messina's interactive dissertation project, the Critical Fan Toolkit: criticalfantoolkit.org/about_disser...

Many congratulations, and we can't wait to read it! 🤓

Congratulations to Cara Marta Messina (Marist University) on her forthcoming book Critical Fandom: Representations of Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Fan Fiction, published with the University of Iowa Press! This book "positions fan authors as rhetoricians and fan fiction as an action."

Congratulations to @caramartamessina.com on her upcoming book Critical Fandom, forthcoming in June 2026 through University of Iowa Press! 🎉

📗: uipress.uiowa.edu/books/critic...

#FeministFridays

Feminist Connections Ad Submission We know as feminist scholars that our personal connections matter to the work that we do. Feminist Connections is a social media campaign created to help us connect with others by bringing back a…

Are you a feminist researcher seeking connections to others in the field? Looking for a research partner, conference buddy, interviewees, writing group members, or just looking to expand your network? Submit your ad to: tinyurl.com/FeministConnections

CCCC 2027 Panel CFP CFP: “Pandemic PhDs and the Possible Futures of Rhetoric & Writing” Please consider submitting a proposal to a 4Cs roundtable about experiences of “pandemic PhDs” in rhetoric & writing studies. I…

our field is creating or contemplating in its wake.
Contact mannonbo@appstate.edu or check out the full CFP to connect!

See the full CFP here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Image reads: "Seeking co-presenters for 4Cs roundtable about experiences of “pandemic PhDs” in rhetoric & writing studies: bringing together people who were in grad programs or who were mentoring grad students during the Covid-19 pandemic to reflect on the possible futures our field is creating or contemplating in its wake. Contact mannonbo@appstate.edu to connect!"

#4C27 goers are seeking co-presenters for 4Cs roundtable about experiences of “pandemic PhDs” in rhetoric & writing studies: bringing together people who were in grad programs or who were mentoring grad students during the Covid-19 pandemic to reflect on the possible futures

The flyer states: "Peitho Bookclub. The Coalition's Grad Student Engagement Committee is reading and discussing the latest issue of Peitho! Join us!"

Reminder!

The Coalition's Grad Student Engagement Committee invites you to join the Peitho Book Club! Tomorrow on Wednesday, April 15th, from 12pm-1pm ET they will be reading the latest issue of Peitho: Volume 28, Number 2.

Register at tinyurl.com/PeithoBookClub.

Join us this week to #TalkAboutHumanities! Humanities research has never been more important so let's all make our voices heard.

How the COVID-19 pandemic revealed gendered inequities in academic labor—and how to overcome them Although the covid-19 pandemic that began in 2020 proved universally challenging, women, especially, found themselves caught between professional and familial responsibilities as work and homelife bound­aries converged and collapsed. These gendered workplace struggles were not unique to the pandemic but rather were exacerbated and exposed by the public health response. In Blurred Boundaries: Feminist Essays on Twenty-First-Century Academic Labor, scholars, teachers, and administrators pair eyewitness narratives with sustained interrogation of interminable labor inequities to demonstrate the ongoing dilemmas posed by gendered social and professional expectations. Contributors, grounded in rhetoric and composition scholarship and feminist methodologies, highlight systemic labor issues and suggest solutions to these embedded, ongoing problems. They pose critical questions regarding institutions’ responsibilities for engaging intentional decision-making practices both to disrupt recurrent work imbalances and support sustainable, ethically managed academic labor practices.

This collection addresses topics like mothering and domestic labor during the pandemic, remote teaching from home, and pursuing a graduate degree in flux.

Congratulations to everyone who wrote and edited this lovely collection! 👏

Congratulations to editors Jessica Edens McCrary (Emory U) and Lynée Lewis Gaillet (Georgia State U) and all the chapter authors on the publication of their edited collection Blurred Boundaries: Feminist Essays on Twenty-First-Century Academic Labor, published with the University of South Carolina University Press!

Congratulations to editors Jessica Edens McCrary and Lynée Lewis Gaillet and all of the chapter authors on the publication of Blurred Boundaries: Feminist Essays on Twenty-First-Century Academic Labor with @uscpress.bsky.social!

📘: uscpress.com/Blurred-Boun...

#FeministFridays

The poster states, "Coalition Members: are you heading to RSA?" below is an image of a sign with a white stag and the words Portland, Oregon.

Are you heading to Portland this summer for #RSA2026? The Coalition's RSA Event Planning Committee invites you to complete a ✨️super short✨️ survey to gauge attendance and to see whether members would be interested in a CFSHRC get-together during the conference.

survey: forms.gle/7nt4vwvXByyN...

Congratulations!! Can we feature this in an upcoming #FeministFridays?

Do you have your own news or accomplishment to share? We'd love to celebrate with you! Tell us about your wins in this Google Form to be featured in Feminist Fridays: forms.gle/hfzUJJuxuDiB...

Congratulations to Jenna Vinson, Associate Professor at UMass Lowell, on the publication of her book Stop Saying Snip! The Rhetoric of Vasectomy, published with Rutgers University Press! This book's multimodal analysis draws on media, policy, and interviews to examine the tropes and practices that obstruct vasectomy uptake.

Happy #FeministFridays, and many congratulations to Jenna Vinson on the publication of her new book Stop Saying Snip! The Rhetoric of Vasectomy, published with Rutgers University Press! 👏

📕 Use code RUP30 for 30% off at www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/stop-saying-...

Four books stacked on top of each other showing the spine: the spine reads Black Tech Ecosystems

Four books showing the front cover

A year ago next month my book Black Tech Ecosystems was published as an open access PDF. I’m happy to share that the physical copy of the book is now available for purchase!

upcolorado.com/wac-clearing...

Rachel Held Evans and Sarah Bessey - Braving the Truth A Feature Review of Braving the Truth: ... Essays for Reckoning with & Reimagining Faith by Rachel Held Evans & Sarah Bessey (HarperOne, 2026)

My review of Braving The Truth, the new collection of Rachel Held Evans's essays (edited by the wise and generous @sarahbessey.bsky.social) is out today!

tl:dr -- it's a gorgeous collection, you should read it, teach it, and talk about it with other people
englewoodreview.org/rachel-held-...

A collage that reads: Thank you! Together, we raised $5,827 to support the CFSHRC. The collage background has clouds, mountains, pressed flowers, and a disco ball.

No fooling here! Together, we raised $5,827 for the CFSHRC during our Giving Days! 💐 That's $5,827 toward feminist research, mentorship, and building the scholarly communities that sustain us. Thank you, thank you, thank you 💛

Congratulations to editors Kristine Acosta, Michelle Cowan, Rebecca Rickly, Nancy Small, and Erica M. Stone on the publication of their open-access book Storied Practices: Positionality in Writing Studies, published with the WAC Clearinghouse! The collection explore how the various identities and lived experiences of scholars shape their professional personas, research methodologies, and teaching practices.

Happy #FeministFridays and congrats to editors Kristine Acosta,
@michellecowan.bsky.social, @rhetrickly.bsky.social, Nancy Small, & Erica M. Stone on the publication of Storied Practices: Positionality in Writing Studies!

Read at @wacclearinghouse.bsky.social: wacclearinghouse.org/books/practi...

A collage that reads: We've raised $5,139 of $7,500! Can you help us reach our goal? The collage has a green background, images of a road leading into mountains, a hand holding a megaphone, flowers, and hand-drawn clouds, stars, and a rainbow.

It's the last day of our Giving Days fundraiser! We're so close to our $7,500 goal--can you pitch in $5 to help us fund feminist mentorship, research, and community?

Link to donate: pages.donately.com/cfshrc-e085/...

Wishing for a feminist conference before #FemRhet2027? 👀

June 17-19, 2026, in Cornwall

Congrats on the publication! Can we feature your book in our #FeministFridays series?

Issue 53.2 is built around three questions: What does AI actually change about writing? Whose experiences in rhet-comp have been silenced? And what does composition owe the political present?

We're starting with the questions. Article highlights coming soon. Which one's yours?

A collage that reads: Funding Feminist Futures $1000 raised so far! Even $5 helps! :) The collage has images of a megaphone, an open mouth smiling, flowers, a film strip, colorful paper and tape, and hand-drawn stars.

The CFSHRC has helped graduate students get to their first conferences, funded feminist research, & recognized field-changing work in #TeamRhetoric. A few dollars from enough of us adds up fast, & your $5 keeps that going. 💓 #TheFeministsAreComing

Link to Donate: pages.donately.com/cfshrc-e085/...

Feminist Fandom: Media Fandom, Digital Feminisms, and Tumblr Published in Feminist Media Studies (Ahead of Print, 2026)

Review of Feminist Fandom finally out online!! Was so pleased to have been asked last year ☺️, and the tldr of the review is that yes 100% you should read the book it’s bril
doi.org/10.1080/1468...

And if the Coalition's work has shaped your research, your teaching, or your path in the field, we'd love to hear about it: forms.gle/vY6s9Rn8vnhK...

Your story helps us show what this community makes possible. 🦋

Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition Your contributions will help the Coalition to amplify and award the work of fellow feminist scholars, teachers, and activists; fund future feminist research; mentor graduate students; and support…

If you'd like to help us raise $7,500 to continue supporting junior feminist scholars through scholarships, grants, and awards, head to the donation page: pages.donately.com/cfshrc-e085/...

The post reads: "My travel across the country to FemRhet 2025, funded by the Shirley Wilson Logan Diversity Scholarship, gave me the gift of living out the legacy of my ancestors. Building community with other feminist scholars opened up a new world to me. The Coalition's commitment to including junior scholars in conference experiences proved invaluable for my personal and professional development. The community I met continues to help me expand my scholarship and explore what kind of work I offer. I am excited about the generative ways these opportunities will buoy feminist research as they did for me."

As part of our new Giving Days fundraiser, this #FeministFriday, we are highlighting stories from CFSHRC members to share how much this community we've built means to all of us in #FeministRhetorics. Today, we're featuring a story from a 2025 Shirley Wilson Logan Diversity Scholarship recipient.

Check out this fascinating example of #DH methodologies in #rhetoric research!

And if the Coalition's work has shaped your research, your teaching, or your path in the field, we'd love to hear about it: forms.gle/vY6s9Rn8vnhK...

Your story helps us show what this community makes possible. 🦋

Funding Feminist Futures $5 from you, $7,500 for our community. There are butterfly graphics on a stylized green and purple background.

Still buzzing from #4C26? Us too. Let's keep the #FeministRhetorics going! This Women's History Month, give $5 on Giving Wednesdays. If every CFSHRC member chips in, we can raise $7,500 for feminist scholarships, grants & awards: pages.donately.com/cfshrc-e085/...

CFSHRC's Feminist Bingo: Complete a full row, column, or diagonal to win! Prizes include your choice of a book from Parlor Press's Studies in Rhetorics and Feminisms (3 available), vinyl rhetoric stickers designed by Ryan Skinnell (5 packs of 5 stickers available), and a takeout box (sourdough starter, seasoning, and mini food zines) from the panelists of "Coming to the Table" (1 available). Comment or tag us to claim your prize! @CFSHRC on Facebook or Bluesky.

It's the last day of #4C26! If you're wrapping up your CFSHRC bingo, the conference schedulers have saved some of the best for last--attend a Saturday panel to learn about labor & AI, food rhetorics, counterstory & so much more! We'll see you out there ✨️