Rough Draft #19 Idol, Burning x Superfan

In this episode of Rough Draft, we discuss 2 mirror image books of fiction about the interior life of young women navigating fandom, idol worship and parasocial relationships. Superfan: A Novel by Jenny Tinghui Zhang and Idol, Burning: A Novel by Rin Usami address how performers aren’t the only ones who must navigate balancing outer persona with their authentic self. Idol, Burning focuses on high school student Akari in Japan. She has a huge following on the internet where she blogs about the J-Pop group Maza Maza, but she can't seem to complete school assignments or hold down a job. Superfan focuses on college student Minnie in Austin, Texas. Her obsession with the band HOURglass helps her cope with the trials of relationships. But can she find her way with making genuine connections? Among other things, we talk about how expression of fandom can lead to higher level thinking, characters taking power back that they once gave away, the appearance of zine culture in Superfan, and Keidra's secret parasocial relationship with rabbits on the internet.   Hey, thanks for listening! We’ve now had over 1000 downloads! Thanks for supporting us!   Links! Parts of this conversation were featured in Wild Ramp Review of Books (Summer 2026 issue) https://wildramppublishing.bigcartel.com/product/wild-ramp-review-of-books Superfan: A Novel by Jenny Tinghui Zhang https://bookshop.org/p/books/superfan-a-novel-jenny-tinghui-zhang/ec6c61eba883c0b2?ean=9781250369666&bkshp-astro=t Idol, Burning: A Novel by Rin Usami, Translated by Asa Yoneda https://bookshop.org/p/books/idol-burning-a-novel-rin-usami/9f461ba958c4849c?ean=9780063213296&bkshp-astro=t Keidra's "The Empowered Stan" article on Fainsplaining: https://fansplaining.com/the-empowered-stan/   Links for Keidra: @keidrachaney + @wildramppublishing + bsky.app/profile/kdc.bsky.social + bsky.app/profile/wildramppublishing.bsky.social + wildramppublishing.com + keidradchaney.net   Links for Liz: @caboosezine + @sugarhijinx + lizmasonisawesome.com + linktr.ee/caboosezine