How Wattpad and Fanfiction Are Changing Publishing (with Alessandra Ferreri)

Book Talk for BookTok

Cloud10

Arts, Books

4.9 • 608 Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How Fanfiction is Reshaping Publishing: A Conversation with Alessandra Ferreri of Wattpad What do After, The Kissing Booth, and countless BookTok favorites have in common? They all started on Wattpad. In this episode, we sit down with Alessandra Ferreri, Head of Content at Wattpad and self-proclaimed “Fanthropologist,” to explore how fanfiction is influencing the future of publishing, screen adaptations, and Gen Z storytelling. We dive into: What makes a fanfic—or fanfic-inspired story—poised for mainstream success The fan behavior Wattpad studies to identify breakout stories Popular tropes and character archetypes trending on the platform How fandom trends evolve from Wattpad to BookTok to bookstores and screens The growing legitimacy of fanfiction in literary conversations How Wattpad scouts original voices and builds community-driven success Whether you're a longtime Wattpad reader or just discovering the platform, this conversation sheds light on how digital storytelling, fan communities, and BookTok trends are reshaping what it means to be a reader—and a writer—in 2025. 🎧 Perfect for fans of BookTok, fanfiction, romantasy, YA fiction, and those curious about the future of publishing. — About Our GuestAlessandra Ferreri is the Head of Content at Wattpad, the global storytelling platform and webnovel leader from WEBTOON Entertainment. With nearly a decade of experience studying fan communities, she balances art and data to discover breakout stories that span books, screens, and genres. — ✨ Book Talk for BookTok is your weekly deep dive into Romantasy, fantasy, and romance with the academic flair of an English class—but way more fun. Subscribe for author interviews, literary analysis, and all things BookTok-worthy. Share your thoughts for a chance to be featured! Submit them at booktalkforbooktok.com for a future mini-episode or exclusive Patreon discussion. Support the Show: Patreon: patreon.com/booktalkforbooktok Merch: Etsy Store Follow Us on Social: Instagram: @BookTalkForBookTok TikTok: @BookTalkForBookTok YouTube: @BookTalkForBookTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	We are Allie and Erica, certified integrative nutrition health coaches in gut and hormone health
0:05.8	and the hosts of the podcast, Courageous Wellness.
0:08.2	We are committed to destigmatizing conversations in the wellness space and celebrate the experiences and lessons of our guests in pursuit of physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness.
0:19.2	Listen to Courageous wellness wherever you get your
0:21.3	podcast with fresh episodes every Wednesday. Welcome to Book Talk for Book Talk with Jack and Amy.
0:38.8	You're in Busties with a literary podcast that deep dives into the, that deep dives into your favorite novels.
0:44.9	This is Jack.
0:46.1	And I'm Amy.
0:47.4	We're currently taking a break from preparing our Crown of Midnight season to talk to Alessandra Ferreari, the head
0:55.9	of content at Wattpad.
0:57.9	Wattpad is a leading global
0:59.6	web novel platform, storytelling
1:01.8	community from Webtoon Entertainment,
1:04.6	with nearly a decade spent
1:06.2	accumulating her fan
1:07.4	thrillopogical understanding of
1:09.8	online communities and their evolving appetite for stories.
1:14.1	Alessandra specializes in balancing both the art and science of uncovering
1:18.6	adaption hits on WAPAD for screens and bookshelves around the world.
1:23.8	Previously, Alessandra was the VP of Content at Wattad, WebTune Studios, an integrated studio and publishing business from WebTune Entertainment that has introduced web comics and web novels to new entertainment audiences around the world. Welcome, Alessandra.
1:41.3	Welcome. Thanks for having me. Oh my God, thank you. It was a dream come true that I didn't even know was a dream, if that makes sense. I didn't know this was an option in life. Like just WAPAD in general? To have WAPAD on the podcast. Yeah. Amy and I are deep fanfic lovers. Deep. So this was just one of those where like, oh my, like the WAPAD. Wow. So Alessandra, tell us a little bit
2:03.7	about yourself. What is a VP of content and maybe how you got to WAPAD? Yeah. So my titles actually
	...

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