Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike is a media and music academic and author, specializing in fan culture, the cult of dead celebrity, music and music heritage.
She has written and presented extensively on fandom and media,using her experience as a former American music industry and Silicon Valley executive to explore a range of societal issues and behaviors.
Jen's recent appearances include TruTV, BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC 4, Camp Bestival, Bestival at Goldsmiths University of London, Channel 4, Bass Guitar Magazine, Absolute Radio, The Guardian, Manchester Off The Record, Liverpool Sound City and Classic Album Sundays .
Jen‘s next project about the importance of vinyl records, "Why Vinyl Matters", will be out in the Fall of 2017 on ACC Publishing.
A manifesto about the importance of vinyl as a cultural object, the book features interviews with a variety of fans, including Tim Burgess, Henry Rollins and Fatboy Slim.
A recovering Anglophile herself, Jen has released several books about fan culture, including 2014’s "Fandom, Image and Authenticity: Joy Devotion and the Second Lives of Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis" (Palgrave MacMillan); 2015’s "The Secular Religion of Fandom" (Sage); and the 2016 release "Joy Devotion: The Importance of Ian Curtis and Fan Culture".