Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
@mariakalberto.bsky.social
📚 pop culture, #fanstudies, analog game studies, Tolkien | she/her 🏳️🌈 | PhD English '24, University of Utah (diss on D&D, canon, & drow) | Assistant Professor of English at Richland Community College | header by galxrax (Unsplash)
Pinned
Delighted to report that my dissertation is now available open-access on ProQuest!
In it, I propose a definition of "canon" as used in and by contemporary transmedia franchises: exemplified by D&D and decades of texts about drow.
www.proquest.com/dissertation...
(dm if you'd like a PDF!)
In it, I propose a definition of "canon" as used in and by contemporary transmedia franchises: exemplified by D&D and decades of texts about drow.
www.proquest.com/dissertation...
(dm if you'd like a PDF!)
Proud to be the 221st backer 😎 on @BackerKit Crowdfunding for Designers & Dragons: Origins! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
Designers & Dragons: Origins
From the birth of roleplaying to the discovery of the Forgotten Realms, from the rise of Basic D&D to the fall of Mystara, historian Shannon Appelcline brings you the story of OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&...
www.backerkit.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Proud to be the 221st backer 😎 on @BackerKit Crowdfunding for Designers & Dragons: Origins! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
🚨🚨LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR OUR #FSNNA2025 #FanStudies CONFERENCE!!!🚨🚨
Registration closes TOMORROW (Oct 21) at 11:59pm ET‼️
You can find the registration & conference info on our REVAMPED WEBSITE at fsn-northamerica.org#Conference
Registration closes TOMORROW (Oct 21) at 11:59pm ET‼️
You can find the registration & conference info on our REVAMPED WEBSITE at fsn-northamerica.org#Conference
a drag queen with white hair and a blue dress has the word chance in white letters
ALT: a drag queen with white hair and a blue dress has the word chance in white letters
media.tenor.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:05 PM
🚨🚨LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR OUR #FSNNA2025 #FanStudies CONFERENCE!!!🚨🚨
Registration closes TOMORROW (Oct 21) at 11:59pm ET‼️
You can find the registration & conference info on our REVAMPED WEBSITE at fsn-northamerica.org#Conference
Registration closes TOMORROW (Oct 21) at 11:59pm ET‼️
You can find the registration & conference info on our REVAMPED WEBSITE at fsn-northamerica.org#Conference
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
⚔️ NOW LIVE! ⚔️ Designers & Dragons: Origins!
Award-winning historian @shannonappelcline.bsky.social delves deep into the origins and design of every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1E.
Pledge now and gain access to The Adventurers' Hoard
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
Award-winning historian @shannonappelcline.bsky.social delves deep into the origins and design of every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1E.
Pledge now and gain access to The Adventurers' Hoard
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
October 21, 2025 at 3:11 PM
⚔️ NOW LIVE! ⚔️ Designers & Dragons: Origins!
Award-winning historian @shannonappelcline.bsky.social delves deep into the origins and design of every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1E.
Pledge now and gain access to The Adventurers' Hoard
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
Award-winning historian @shannonappelcline.bsky.social delves deep into the origins and design of every product TSR published for OD&D, Basic D&D, and AD&D 1E.
Pledge now and gain access to The Adventurers' Hoard
www.backerkit.com/c/projects/e...
I just backed DROW BORG on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/adv...
DROW BORG
Punk rock OSR RPG of venom, rebellion, and doomed drow in the depths of a corrupted Underworld. Burn bright, die loud.
www.kickstarter.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I just backed DROW BORG on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/adv...
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
#TWC42, published last year, is a special issue focused on Fandom and Platforms! Guest edited by @mariakalberto.bsky.social, @effietheant.bsky.social, & @lesleyawillard.bsky.social, this issue emphasizes putting forward platforms in fan studies! Read it here:
Vol. 42 (2024): Fandom and Platforms | Transformative Works and Cultures
Guest edited by Maria K. Alberto, Effie Sapuridis, Lesley Willard
buff.ly
July 14, 2025 at 6:27 PM
#TWC42, published last year, is a special issue focused on Fandom and Platforms! Guest edited by @mariakalberto.bsky.social, @effietheant.bsky.social, & @lesleyawillard.bsky.social, this issue emphasizes putting forward platforms in fan studies! Read it here:
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
Submissions for the FSNNA 2025 #fanstudies conference are now open! Our theme this year is Reputation: Influence, Power, & Capital.
🤔Pick from: poster OR poster + talk
✍️Due: Abstract, bio, keywords
⏰Deadline: Friday, May 16
Full CFP & form here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/04/11/g...
🤔Pick from: poster OR poster + talk
✍️Due: Abstract, bio, keywords
⏰Deadline: Friday, May 16
Full CFP & form here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/04/11/g...
April 18, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Submissions for the FSNNA 2025 #fanstudies conference are now open! Our theme this year is Reputation: Influence, Power, & Capital.
🤔Pick from: poster OR poster + talk
✍️Due: Abstract, bio, keywords
⏰Deadline: Friday, May 16
Full CFP & form here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/04/11/g...
🤔Pick from: poster OR poster + talk
✍️Due: Abstract, bio, keywords
⏰Deadline: Friday, May 16
Full CFP & form here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/04/11/g...
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
@purplekimchi.bsky.social and I are editing a handbook on Feminist Digital Studies/Scholarship/Humanities! If you're a feminist technologist, scholar, activist, etc., regardless of where you work or where you are in your career, we want to hear from you! CFP: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Call for Proposals - Degruyter Handbook of Feminist Digital Scholarship
Call for Proposals - De Gruyter Handbook of Feminist Digital Scholarship: DS/DH at the Kitchen Table Edited by Anne Cong-Huyen & Kim Brillante Knight Overview This collection will bring together eme...
docs.google.com
April 2, 2025 at 4:26 PM
@purplekimchi.bsky.social and I are editing a handbook on Feminist Digital Studies/Scholarship/Humanities! If you're a feminist technologist, scholar, activist, etc., regardless of where you work or where you are in your career, we want to hear from you! CFP: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
DAY 1 of "Role-Playing the Humanities" in the Taft Research Center is upon us!
We'll be discussing (starting at 9 am):
--Student Engagement with Role-Play
--Worldbuilding and Worldmaking
--RPG Studies: The State of the Field
And at 7 pm: Play sessions!
taft.center/3Xj9OIR
We'll be discussing (starting at 9 am):
--Student Engagement with Role-Play
--Worldbuilding and Worldmaking
--RPG Studies: The State of the Field
And at 7 pm: Play sessions!
taft.center/3Xj9OIR
Role-Playing the Humanities
two days of panels, workshops, and play that explore the worldbuilding and radical worldmaking possibilities of role-play
taft.center
March 31, 2025 at 9:23 AM
DAY 1 of "Role-Playing the Humanities" in the Taft Research Center is upon us!
We'll be discussing (starting at 9 am):
--Student Engagement with Role-Play
--Worldbuilding and Worldmaking
--RPG Studies: The State of the Field
And at 7 pm: Play sessions!
taft.center/3Xj9OIR
We'll be discussing (starting at 9 am):
--Student Engagement with Role-Play
--Worldbuilding and Worldmaking
--RPG Studies: The State of the Field
And at 7 pm: Play sessions!
taft.center/3Xj9OIR
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
@mariakalberto.bsky.social and my Dossier on “Actual Play as Actual Art” is in the latest issue of @jcmsjournal.bsky.social. So thrilled to spotlight careful readings of @dimension20.bsky.social @criticalrole.bsky.social & New York By Night by stellar scholars.
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/issues/
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/issues/
Journal of Cinema and Media Studies - IssuesFind us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram
quod.lib.umich.edu
February 12, 2025 at 4:44 PM
@mariakalberto.bsky.social and my Dossier on “Actual Play as Actual Art” is in the latest issue of @jcmsjournal.bsky.social. So thrilled to spotlight careful readings of @dimension20.bsky.social @criticalrole.bsky.social & New York By Night by stellar scholars.
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/issues/
quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/issues/
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
We're delighted to announce that FSNNA is looking for new committee members!
Check out the full call & application process on the website here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/01/17/c...
Check out the full call & application process on the website here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/01/17/c...
January 17, 2025 at 6:39 PM
We're delighted to announce that FSNNA is looking for new committee members!
Check out the full call & application process on the website here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/01/17/c...
Check out the full call & application process on the website here: fsn-northamerica.org/2025/01/17/c...
Delighted to report that my dissertation is now available open-access on ProQuest!
In it, I propose a definition of "canon" as used in and by contemporary transmedia franchises: exemplified by D&D and decades of texts about drow.
www.proquest.com/dissertation...
(dm if you'd like a PDF!)
In it, I propose a definition of "canon" as used in and by contemporary transmedia franchises: exemplified by D&D and decades of texts about drow.
www.proquest.com/dissertation...
(dm if you'd like a PDF!)
January 14, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Delighted to report that my dissertation is now available open-access on ProQuest!
In it, I propose a definition of "canon" as used in and by contemporary transmedia franchises: exemplified by D&D and decades of texts about drow.
www.proquest.com/dissertation...
(dm if you'd like a PDF!)
In it, I propose a definition of "canon" as used in and by contemporary transmedia franchises: exemplified by D&D and decades of texts about drow.
www.proquest.com/dissertation...
(dm if you'd like a PDF!)
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
was visited by 3 ghosts last night so I’m helping them unionize
December 25, 2024 at 7:25 PM
was visited by 3 ghosts last night so I’m helping them unionize
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
New from
@mariakalberto.bsky.social & @pbooth81.bsky.social in Convergence
‘So much for the prattling of sages’: D&D gaming paratexts, Fan(nish) distribution of knowledge, and Drow
#FanStudies
doi.org/10.1177/1354...
@mariakalberto.bsky.social & @pbooth81.bsky.social in Convergence
‘So much for the prattling of sages’: D&D gaming paratexts, Fan(nish) distribution of knowledge, and Drow
#FanStudies
doi.org/10.1177/1354...
‘So much for the prattling of sages’: D&D gaming paratexts, Fan(nish) distribution of knowledge, and Drow - Maria K Alberto, Paul Booth, 2024
This article investigates gaming paratexts related to the popular tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) as heuristics. Gaming paratexts are accessi...
doi.org
December 19, 2024 at 6:01 PM
New from
@mariakalberto.bsky.social & @pbooth81.bsky.social in Convergence
‘So much for the prattling of sages’: D&D gaming paratexts, Fan(nish) distribution of knowledge, and Drow
#FanStudies
doi.org/10.1177/1354...
@mariakalberto.bsky.social & @pbooth81.bsky.social in Convergence
‘So much for the prattling of sages’: D&D gaming paratexts, Fan(nish) distribution of knowledge, and Drow
#FanStudies
doi.org/10.1177/1354...
...it's been A Rough Year 😅
December 4, 2024 at 3:48 PM
...it's been A Rough Year 😅
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
Thread on contributors and contributions to Digital Futures of Graduate Study in the Humanities (which doesn't argue that all such futures are "digital"): this book is an examination of the plans, institutions, successes, and failures of DH graduate training, broadly understood. (1/14)
November 22, 2024 at 5:22 PM
Thread on contributors and contributions to Digital Futures of Graduate Study in the Humanities (which doesn't argue that all such futures are "digital"): this book is an examination of the plans, institutions, successes, and failures of DH graduate training, broadly understood. (1/14)
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
Today's the day!!
Entering the Multiverse release day.
In another universe, this happened last week. And in another, it's tomorrow.
Thankfully, you're in this one and you can pick up your copy now!
www.routledge.com/Entering-the...
Entering the Multiverse release day.
In another universe, this happened last week. And in another, it's tomorrow.
Thankfully, you're in this one and you can pick up your copy now!
www.routledge.com/Entering-the...
Entering the Multiverse: Perspectives on Alternate Universes and Parallel Worlds
The multiverse has portaled into the mainstream. Entering the Multiverse unpacks the surprising growth of the multiverse in media and popular culture today, and explores how the concept of alternate r...
www.routledge.com
November 26, 2024 at 3:44 AM
Today's the day!!
Entering the Multiverse release day.
In another universe, this happened last week. And in another, it's tomorrow.
Thankfully, you're in this one and you can pick up your copy now!
www.routledge.com/Entering-the...
Entering the Multiverse release day.
In another universe, this happened last week. And in another, it's tomorrow.
Thankfully, you're in this one and you can pick up your copy now!
www.routledge.com/Entering-the...
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
My book about race in fandom came out yesterday! If you like Les Mis, thoughts about racebent headcanons and analysis of Tumblr AUs, please tell your library to order a copy!
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/construct...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/construct...
November 29, 2024 at 5:58 AM
My book about race in fandom came out yesterday! If you like Les Mis, thoughts about racebent headcanons and analysis of Tumblr AUs, please tell your library to order a copy!
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/construct...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/construct...
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
In #TWC42's editorial, "Putting forward platforms in fan studies," editors @mariakalberto.bsky.social, @effietheant.bsky.social & @lesleyawillard.bsky.social focus on platforms as foundations and the importance of a collective understanding of and attention to them. Read more here: bit.ly/43qSinR
March 18, 2024 at 2:08 PM
In #TWC42's editorial, "Putting forward platforms in fan studies," editors @mariakalberto.bsky.social, @effietheant.bsky.social & @lesleyawillard.bsky.social focus on platforms as foundations and the importance of a collective understanding of and attention to them. Read more here: bit.ly/43qSinR
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
Hot off the presses! #TWC42, a special issue guest edited by @mariakalberto.bsky.social, @effietheant.bsky.social, & @lesleyawillard.bsky.social is officially live! Dig in here: journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/tw... #TWC #OTW
March 18, 2024 at 2:07 PM
Hot off the presses! #TWC42, a special issue guest edited by @mariakalberto.bsky.social, @effietheant.bsky.social, & @lesleyawillard.bsky.social is officially live! Dig in here: journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/tw... #TWC #OTW
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
Very excited to share a new CFP for a Routledge Companion to Fan Video and Digital Authorship! Please spread the word, consider submitting, and don't hesitate to email me and/or my co-editor Sam Close with any questions.
CFP: Routledge Companion to Fan Video & Digital Authorship
docs.google.com
September 28, 2023 at 3:51 PM
Very excited to share a new CFP for a Routledge Companion to Fan Video and Digital Authorship! Please spread the word, consider submitting, and don't hesitate to email me and/or my co-editor Sam Close with any questions.
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
✨ 🔉 Hi! Here's my CFP for a special recurring series on queer/trans sound art for Resonance: The Journal of Sound & Culture. I'm seeking guest essays, audiovisual media, commentaries, interviews, and other editorial items *in addition* to peer-reviewed scholarship! online.ucpress.edu/DocumentLibr...
September 26, 2023 at 7:45 PM
✨ 🔉 Hi! Here's my CFP for a special recurring series on queer/trans sound art for Resonance: The Journal of Sound & Culture. I'm seeking guest essays, audiovisual media, commentaries, interviews, and other editorial items *in addition* to peer-reviewed scholarship! online.ucpress.edu/DocumentLibr...
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
Miranda Banks and I assembled a great crew for the In Media Res WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike week.
mediacommons.org/imr/
mediacommons.org/imr/
October 2, 2023 at 6:41 PM
Miranda Banks and I assembled a great crew for the In Media Res WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike week.
mediacommons.org/imr/
mediacommons.org/imr/
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
Friendly reminder: if you are excited for D20 (or any other AP) & want to ensure there’s more coverage of it, I encourage you to click & share the articles covering it. It’s very hard to get followup deeper dives (hint hint) picked up if the announcement doesn’t get an enthusiastic response.
September 20, 2023 at 8:12 PM
Friendly reminder: if you are excited for D20 (or any other AP) & want to ensure there’s more coverage of it, I encourage you to click & share the articles covering it. It’s very hard to get followup deeper dives (hint hint) picked up if the announcement doesn’t get an enthusiastic response.
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
UCLA CalRBS is pleased to announce that it will host the second iteration of the #QueerBibliography conference in a hybrid format between July 25-July 27, 2024. A call for papers is forthcoming. Sign up for the CalRBS email list at the link in bio to be the first to know! 📚 📜 #libraries
September 18, 2023 at 9:41 PM
UCLA CalRBS is pleased to announce that it will host the second iteration of the #QueerBibliography conference in a hybrid format between July 25-July 27, 2024. A call for papers is forthcoming. Sign up for the CalRBS email list at the link in bio to be the first to know! 📚 📜 #libraries
Reposted by Maria K. Alberto, Ph.D. (finishing a book proposal!!)
we are doing a vampire theme week at polygon, set to launch oct 31! please consider pitching us stories about vampires, and also please share our vampire week pitch guide (link below) with other writers you know bc twitter is useless now. THANK YOU docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Polygon Vampire Week pitch guide
Vampire Week, Oct. 31-Nov. 6 Horror is not a one-month topic for Polygon — which is why we'll soon be exploring spine-tingling fiction and culture with Polygon's Vampire Week. Much like our recent ...
docs.google.com
September 13, 2023 at 6:56 PM
we are doing a vampire theme week at polygon, set to launch oct 31! please consider pitching us stories about vampires, and also please share our vampire week pitch guide (link below) with other writers you know bc twitter is useless now. THANK YOU docs.google.com/document/d/1...