I have provided expert commentary on a range of topics in the media in the UK, USA & Europe including press, radio & television, as well as undertaking public engagement work.
I am available for consulting projects, speaking engagements, and as an expert in the areas of media audience & fandom, celebrity cultures, television studies, media tourism, transmedia culture, & participatory cultures.
Please contact me for further information.
Consultancy & Press
I offered expert opinion on a Clwstrw AHRC-funded project ‘Reel Reality’ (2020) which is developing an entertaining and engaging mobile platform for sharing screen content and mapping film and TV locations. Using a range of immersive technologies, Reel Reality aims to connect audiences with content in real locations.
I was also interviewed in 2017 about my research into Post-Object Fandom for a short film screened at the Arts Council England and British Council’s 2017 Annual No Boundaries Conference.
I have guested on the following podcasts:
- Fast Company: Creative Control. ‘A Deep Dive into the World of Fandom’. MP3, 18 May 2023. Apple Podcasts Spotify
- How Do You Like It So Far? Henry Jenkins Podcast. MP3, 1 March 2022.
- Sci Fi Gangstas, MP3, 09 October 2021.
- And Now Podcast, MP3, 6 March 2021.
- It’s a Thing! MP3, 1.2. 30 Sep 2019.
I have been interviewed about my research specialisms by media outlets including:
Zemler, Emily. Disney Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas: Beyond HalloweenTown. Disney Books. Forthcoming, 2023. https://www.quarto.com/books/9780760380987/disney-tim-burton-s-the-nightmare-before-christmas-beyond-halloween-town
Zemler, Emily. Disney Princess: Beyond The Tiara. Epic Ink Books. 2022. https://books.disney.com/book/beyond-the-tiara/
Wratten, Marcus. ‘‘Bloody hell, what a ride’: How Neighbours superfans are coping with the end as the last episode looms’. The iNews (UK) 28 June 2022. https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/neighbours-last-episode-how-superfans-coping-with-end-1764744#Echobox=1659012140
Stokel-Walker, Chris. ‘Johnny Depp Has Become a Full-Circle Meme’. Wired (International) 11 June 2022. https://www.wired.com/story/johnny-depp-amber-heard-trial-tiktok
The Times (UK, 2022) on social media, TikTok, and the war in Ukraine.
SFGate (International, 2021) on toxic Disney fandom.
The Guardian (UK, 2021) on fan collecting and Pinterest.
The Times 2 supplement (UK, 2021) Join the anti-social (media) set — Harry and Meghan have | Times2 | The Times
BBC World News’ Witness History radio show, on the fandom of Harry Potter (2020). BBC World Service – Witness History, The Man Who Published Harry Potter
BBC Radio Wales (UK, 2019)
BBC Radio Coventry (UK, 2019)
Heart Radio (UK, 2018)
The Sunday Times (UK, 2017)
The Guardian (UK, 2016) The celebrities who reply to every letter | Celebrity | The Guardian
Verdens Gang (Norway, 2016). Print only.
BBC One Wales: The Wales Report (UK, 2016)
Journalist Greg Lansdowne for book Living a Fan’s Adventure Tale: A-Ha in the Eyes of the Beholders: Amazon.co.uk: Lansdowne, Greg: Books
Information (Denmark, 2014). Print only.
Los Angeles Times (US, 2012) ‘Twilight’s’ tent city: Hundreds of campers await L.A. premiere – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
The Western Mail (Wales, UK, 2012) What next for Saturday night TV after Merlin axe and X Factor ratings plunge? – Wales Online
The Sunday Times (UK, 2012). Print only
Conference Organisation
I have extensive experience in conference & event organisation and co-organised the 2018 conference of the Fan Studies Network, having acted as a conference team member for the annual event since 2013.
Other conference organisation experience:
- Academic Symposium Coordinator for the International Vampire Film and Arts Festival, held in Transylvania, Romania, in May 2016.
- Symposium Organiser of Investigating Torchwood: Text, Context, Audiences at the University of Glamorgan, in June 2010.
- Conference Coordinator for the Cyfrwng (Media Wales Journal) Annual Conference, held at BBC Cymru Wales in May 2009.
- Conference Team Member for the Cyfrwng: International Conference on Media and Culture in Small Nations held at the University of Glamorgan in June 2011.
Professional Memberships
Member of the Steering Committee for the Fan & Audience Studies Special Interest Group for the Society of Cinema & Media Studies (2018-2020)
Member of Editorial Board of Celebrity Studies
Member of Editorial Board of Journal of Fandom Studies
Member of Editorial Board of Transformative Works and Cultures
Former Book Reviews Assistant for the journal Critical Studies in Television
Member of Editorial Advisory Board of Intensities
Member of Board of Fan Studies Network
Member of SCMS – Society for Cinema and Media Studies Includes membership of Television Studies and Fan & Audience Studies Special Interest Groups.
Member of the Themed Entertainment Association
Member of British Association of Film, Television & Screen Studies
Member of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)
Former member of the management committee of Cyfrwng: Media Wales Journal (2008-2014).
Member of the Steering Group of the Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations – University of South Wales
Member of the Centre for Gender Studies in Wales (University of South Wales) and the Music Media & Drama Research Unit (University of South Wales).
Dr Rebecca Williams 