Karen Bates-Crouch

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Fan
Name: Karen A. Bates-Crouch
Alias(es): Karen Bates, Karen A. Bates
Type: fan writer, fanartist, zine publisher, zine editor
Fandoms: Star Trek: TOS, Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, others
Communities:
Other:
URL: The Stories of Karen Bates-Crouch at 1001 Trek Tales
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Karen Bates-Crouch is a fan writer, fan artist, and zine publisher who was primarily active in fanzine fandom in the 1980s, although she continued writing fanfiction until at least 2000.

She was co-publisher of Ankar Press with Ann Crouch, and she also ran Checkmate Press.[1] She was the editor of zines including Starweaver (1980-1982), Fermata (1981), Nuages (1983-1988), Illusions (1987-1989), Passages (1988-1989), and Mirrors (1988-1991).

Nuages is an anthology of stories, poetry, and artwork by Karen, published by her Checkmate Press from 1983 to 1988. Many of her Star Trek stories have been republished online at 1001 Trek Tales.

Fanfiction

Karen wrote het and gen. She is best known for her Spock/Chapel stories. Henry Jenkins discussed some of her fanfiction in his academic writings and compared Karen's explorations of challenges in Spock and Chapel's marriage to contemporary feminist issues.[2]

Star Trek

Other Fandoms

Fanart

Her art was featured in zines including Datazine (1985), Interstat (1986), and Illusions (1987-1989). Karen also included her own art in her anthology Nuages (1983-1988), including art portfolios titled "Pictures Without Words" in Nuages #3 (1984) and Nuages #5 (1986).

Sample Art

References

  1. ^ For example, see the author's note for Draana: A Story of Survival at 1001 Trek Tales: "The story contents are the creation and property of Karen A. Bates and is reprinted from Nuages 2, published by Checkmate Press, 1984. Checkmate Press is the property of Karen A. Bates."
  2. ^ Henry Jenkins writes that Karen's works "explore the progression of a Chapel-Spock marriage through many of the problems encountered by contemporary couples trying to juggle the conflicting demands of career and family" and thus "speak directly to the concerns of professional women in a way that more traditionally 'feminine' works fail to do." He also notes that he had chosen Karen's works to discuss because she "achieved some success within the fan community, suggesting that [she] exemplified, at least of some fans, the types of writing that were desirable and reflected basic tendencies within the form." (Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture, 2006 and "Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual Poaching" in Popular Culture: A Reader, 2005.)