Short answers, pulled from the story.
Fan fiction is fiction written by fans in an amateur capacity, based on existing copyrighted works such as novels, films, television shows, video games, or musical groups, without authorization from the original creator. The term has appeared in print since 1938, originally describing amateur science fiction as distinct from professionally published work.
The modern phenomenon of fan fiction as organized fandom activity was popularized by Star Trek fans in the 1960s. The first Star Trek fanzine, Spockanalia, was published in 1967 and contained fan fiction; many others followed. These fanzines were distributed by mail and sold at science fiction conventions.
By 1970-83% of Star Trek fan fiction authors were female, and by 1973 that figure had risen to 90%. Scholars have noted that fan fiction met the needs of a mostly female audience for stories that expanded beyond what was offered on television and film screens.
Yes. Fifty Shades of Grey originated as fan fiction for the Twilight series, written under the pen name Snowqueen's Icedragon and originally titled Master of the Universe, featuring characters based on Bella and Edward from Twilight. E. L. James changed the characters' names to Ana and Christian before publication, a practice known as pulling-to-publish.
In 2009, United States District Court Judge Deborah Batts permanently prohibited publication in the United States of a book by Swedish writer Fredrik Colting, writing as John David California, which featured a 76-year-old version of Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye. The judge rejected the argument that the work constituted parody.
FanFiction.Net is a non-profit website launched in 1998 that allows anyone to upload fan fiction in any fandom. It removed earlier barriers requiring insider knowledge or membership in specific communities, and allowed readers to post reviews directly on the site, notifying authors of new feedback.