April Showers of Fannish History

April Showers of Fannish History (also known simply as April Showers) was an annual month-long challenge on the Archive of Our Own and Fanlore, both projects of the Organization for Transformative Works, that ran on AO3 and Fanlore between 2011 and 2015, and on Fanlore only in 2017 and 2018. After 2018, it was discontinuedHelp:Participating in April Showers as the challenge was less impactful without its AO3 component, and the Fanlore Committee made the decision to focus on other events.
The challenge was first issued in 2011. For each day of the month, a different fandom was highlighted and announced via the ao3org and fanlore_news Twitter accounts and the AO3 Tumblr. Fans were encouraged to import their works related to these fandoms into AO3, and add relevant pages and stories to Fanlore.
The challenge did not take place in 2016. It returned in 2017 and 2018, but was run as a Fanlore-only challenge in both years.
For other Fanlore challenges/festivals, see the IFD Fanlore Challenge, the Fanlore Bingo Challenge, June Bloom, and Stub September.
==2011==
The first April Showers challenge was announced by AO3 on April 1, 2011 and by Fanlore on April 5. See April Showers - The Masterlist at AO3 News. The featured fandoms for 2011 were:
Week 0-1 (April 1–9)
* Star Wars - (on AO3)
* Sailor Moon - (on AO3)
* Figure Skating RPF - (on AO3)
* The X-Files - (on AO3)
* Works by Diana Wynne Jones - (on AO3)
* Mass Effect - (on AO3)
* The Losers - (on AO3)
* Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) - (on AO3)
* Johnny's Entertainment - (on AO3)	
Week 2 (April 10–16)
* Xena: Warrior Princess - (on AO3)
* Works by Jane Austen - (on AO3)
* Final Fantasy - (on AO3)
* High School Musical - (on AO3)
* X-Men - (on AO3)
* Backstreet Boys - (on AO3)
* Sports Night - (on AO3)
Week 3 (April 17–23)
* A Song of Ice and Fire - (on AO3)
* Kingdom Hearts - (on AO3)
* Inception - (on AO3)
* Naruto - (on AO3)
* Disney RPF - (on AO3)
* Doctor Who - (on AO3)
* Works by J.R.R. Tolkien - (on AO3)	
Week 4 (April 24–30)
* Pokémon - (on AO3)
* The Fast and the Furious - (on AO3)
* Gundam Wing - (on AO3)
* Big Bang - (on AO3)
* Highlander - (on AO3)
* Twilight - (on AO3)
* Dragon Age - (on AO3)
==2012==
The second April Showers challenge was announced by AO3 on April 1, 2012 and by Fanlore on April 4. The featured fandoms for 2012 were:
Week 1 (April 1–7)
* Pirates of the Caribbean - (on AO3)
* Rurouni Kenshin - (on AO3)
* The Sentinel - (on AO3)
* The Hunger Games - (on AO3)
* Fire Emblem series - (on AO3)
* NSYNC - (on AO3)
* Alien series - (on AO3)	
Week 2 (April 8–14)
* Fullmetal Alchemist - (on AO3)
* Glee - (on AO3)
* The Dresden Files - (on AO3)
* Gyakuten Saiban / Ace Attorney - (on AO3)
* SHINee - (on AO3)
* X-Men Movieverse - (on AO3)
* Avatar: The Last Airbender - (on AO3)
Week 3 (April 15–21)
* NCIS - (on AO3)
* Percy Jackson and the Olympians - (on AO3)
* Portal - (on AO3)
* Pundit RPF - (on AO3)
* The Eagle - (on AO3)
* Cardcaptor Sakura - (on AO3)
* Farscape - (on AO3)	
Week 4 (April 22–28)
* Durarara!! - (on AO3)
* Warcraft - (on AO3)
* My Chemical Romance - (on AO3)
* The Avengers (movie) - (on AO3)
* Teen Titans - (on AO3)
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer - (on AO3)
* Good Omens - (on AO3)
Week 5 (April 29–30)
* Shin Megami Tensei series - (on AO3)
* L'Arc~en~Ciel - (on AO3)	
==2013==
The third April Showers challenge was announced at the OTW blog on April 1, 2013. The AO3 Tumblr also promoted and participated in the challenge; see the Round Up. The featured fandoms for 2013 were:
Week 1 (April 1–6)
* Les Misérables - (on AO3)
* Veronica Mars - (on AO3)
* Gunnerkrigg Court - (on AO3)
* Dungeons & Dragons - (on AO3)
* Political RPF - (on AO3)
* Neverwhere - (on AO3)	
Week 2 (April 7–13)
* Kuroko no Basuke - (on AO3)
* Star Trek Reboot - (on AO3)
* Professor Layton - (on AO3)
* Baseball RPF - (on AO3)
* Hawkeye - (on AO3)
* Rise of the Guardians - (on AO3)
* Works by Agatha Christie - (on AO3)
Week 3 (April 14–20)
* Gokusen - (on AO3)
* Spartacus - (on AO3)
* Assassin's Creed - (on AO3)
* Saint Seiya - (on AO3)
* Animorphs - (on AO3)
* Super Junior - (on AO3)
* Teen Wolf - (on AO3)	
Week 4 (April 21–27)
* Takarazuka Revue RPF - (on AO3)
* Chak De! India - (on AO3)
* Tomb Raider - (on AO3)
* M*A*S*H - (on AO3)
* Works by Alexandre Dumas - (on AO3)
* Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy - (on AO3)
* Hey Arnold! - (on AO3)
Week 5 (April 28–30)
* Hip Hop RPF - (on AO3)
* The Lizzie Bennet Diaries - (on AO3)
* Suikoden - (on AO3)	
== 2014 ==
The fourth April Showers challenge was announced at the OTW blog on March 31, 2014. The selected fandoms will be highlighted on the AO3 Tumblr and both the AO3 and Fanlore Twitter accounts. In addition to posting fanworks for the selected fandoms to AO3, users are also encouraged to post recs for the fandoms to the April Showers Recs (2014) collection.
Week 1 (April 1–5)
* Warehouse 13 - (on AO3)
* Dangan Ronpa - (on AO3)
* Divergent - (on AO3)
* Mac vs. PC Commercials - (on AO3)
* Labyrinth - (on AO3)	
Week 2 (April 6–12)
* Transformers: Prime (on AO3)
* Dishonored (on AO3)
* No. 6 (on AO3)
* Rooster Teeth / Red vs. Blue (on AO3)
* My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (on AO3)
* Pacific Rim (on AO3)
* French Revolution RPF (on AO3)
Week 3 (April 13–19)
* Discworld (on AO3)
* Hannibal (on AO3)
* Young Avengers (on AO3)
* Tatort (on AO3)
* The Legend of Zelda (on AO3)
* The Cornetto Trilogy (on AO3)
* Nancy Drew (on AO3)	
Week 4 (April 20–26)
* The Sandman (on AO3)
* due South (on AO3)
* Elder Scrolls (on AO3)
* Arashi (on AO3)
* Frozen (on AO3)
* Free! (on AO3)
* Young Wizards (on AO3)
Week 5 (April 27–30)
* Bioshock (on AO3)
* The Devil Wears Prada (on AO3)
* Power Rangers (on AO3)
* Welcome to Night Vale (on AO3)	
== 2015 ==
The fifth April Showers challenge was announced at the OTW blog on March 31, 2015. The selected fandoms will be highlighted on the AO3 Tumblr and both the AO3 and Fanlore Twitter accounts. In addition to posting fanworks for the selected fandoms to AO3, users are also encouraged to post recs for the fandoms to the April Showers Recs (2015) collection.
Week 1 (April 1–5)
* Dragon Ball - (on AO3)
* Jupiter Ascending - (on AO3)
* Redwall - (on AO3)
* Nabari no Ou - (on AO3)
* Snowpiercer - (on AO3)	
Week 2 (April 6–12)
* Over the Garden Wall (on AO3)
* Valdemar Series (on AO3)
* Hellblazer/Constantine (on AO3)
* Alex Rider (on AO3)
* Black Books (on AO3)
* Marble Hornets (on AO3)
* Orphan Black (on AO3)
Week 3 (April 13–19)
* Ib (on AO3)
* Cobra Starship (on AO3)
* RWBY (on AO3)
* The Fault In Our Stars (on AO3)
* Shadow Hearts (on AO3)
* Le Petit Prince (on AO3)
* Agent Carter (on AO3)	
Week 4 (April 20–26)
* Nochnoy Dozor (on AO3)
* Kingsman: The Secret Service (on AO3)
* Cabin Pressure (on AO3)
* Gravitation (on AO3)
* The Last of Us (on AO3)
* How to Get Away with Murder (on AO3)
* Carmilla (on AO3)
Week 5 (April 27–30)
* Ouran High School Host Club (on AO3)
* Minecraft (on AO3)
* Wicked (on AO3)
* The Book of Life (on AO3)	
== 2017 ==
Week 0-1 (April 1–8)
* Attack on Titan
* Fall Out Boy
* American Girl
* Thunderbirds
* The Road to El Dorado
* Critical Role
* Ookiku Furikabutte
* The Originals		
Week 2 (April 9–15)
* Phandom
* The Baby-Sitters Club
* Death Note
* Borderlands
* Twin Peaks
* Gravity Falls
* Rivers of London		
Week 3 (April 16–22)
* Girl Meets World
* Yuri!!! on Ice
* The Mortal Instruments
* The Binding of Isaac
* Simon Snow series
* Marvel Cinematic Universe
* Undertale		
Week 4-5 (April 23–30)
* Descendants
* Megamind
* Haikyuu
* Supergirl
* Life is Strange
* Political RPF
* Hetalia: Axis Powers
* Hamilton
== 2018 ==
Rather than spotlighting one fandom per day in April, Fanlore created a list of editing tasks, one for each day of the week. Fen were invited to carry out the day's editing task on any of the spotlighted fandom pages for that week.It's time for April Showers!, announcement on Fanlore, 1 April 2018.
Daily editing tasks:
* Sunday (Day 1): Add ships to your chosen fandom page
* Monday (Day 2): Add some fanwork links or recs
* Tuesday (Day 3): Add links to fan communities
* Wednesday (Day 4): Add some links to meta or discussions
* Thursday (Day 5): Add some info about common tropes for that fandom
* Friday (Day 6): Add some more canon detail to the page
* Saturday (Day 7): Add some information about fandom and fanon
Spotlighted fandom pages:
Week 1 (April 1–8)
* Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
* Captive Prince
* Panic! at the Disco
* Charmed
* Kirby
* Black Panther
* Vampire Hunter D		
Week 2 (April 9–15)
* Dragonriders of Pern
* BTS
* Game of Thrones
* Sherlock Holmes
* Overwatch
* Detective Conan
* Darkover		
Week 3 (April 16–22)
* Wonder Woman
* Riverdale
* New Kids on the Block
* Fruits Basket
* Temeraire
* Shadowhunters
* Strange Magic		
Week 4 (April 23–30)
* Fate/stay night
* Phantom of the Opera
* Orange is the New Black
* Good Charlotte
* Fantastic Beasts
* Stranger Things
* V for Vendetta
* RENT
* Friends at the Table
===Badges===
File:AS badges W2 - V2 Day 14 Fandom.png|Day 14
File:AS badges W4 Day 30 Fanwork.png|Day 30
==References==
Category:Fandom Occurrences
Category:Organization for Transformative Works
Category:2010s Events
Category:Fanlore Challenges