Elbakin.net is a French website created in 2000, dealing with fantasy in all media (books, illustrations, comic books, films, TV fictions, games). It is one of the main Francophone information websites dedicated to the fantasy genre. Since 2006, the main contributors to the website formed an eponymous association (under France's 1901 law on associations) which manages the website and undertakes cultural actions in the same field.
In early September 2000, three fantasy lovers, namely Raphaël Cervera, Jean-François le Gac and Emmanuel Chastellière, launched a website, Elbakin.com, resulting from the merger of their individual websites. At that time, Elbakin.net was mainly dedicated to the universe of The Lord of the Rings and its film adaptation by Peter Jackson, then in production, and the website made itself known by relaying information about the film adaptation. After the release of the trilogy, the website was dedicated to all aspects of fantasy.
In April 2001, a new version of the website was published online. In April 2002, Elbakin.net renewed its forum by setting up a phpBB engine to deal with the increase in Internet traffic.
In September 2003, the website replaced its domain name and became Elbakin.net. In 2004, the permanent editorial board of the website changed: Emmanuel Chastellière was the only remaining active founding member, and several new editors joined the team.
In 2006, Elbakin.net became a voluntary association under France's 1901 law. Its aim is to promote the fantasy genre, mainly with the website Elbakin.net but also by other means, especially participation in festivals.
In February 2009, the website opened a Facebook page.
In June 2009, Elbakin.net took part in two study days organised by the Paris 13 University about fantasy in France with the participation of an editor of the website in a round table.
In 2010, Elbakin.net organised France's first Fantasy convention in Grenoble from 26 to 29 August, alongside the 37th Science Fiction convention. On that occasion a fantasy literary award was introduced: the Elbakin.net Award.
In September 2010, the website celebrated the tenth anniversary of its founding, and on this special occasion published words of encouragement from several well-known figures in French fantasy, including the authors Alain Damasio, Pierre Pevel, Jean-Philippe Jaworski and Fabrice Colin, and academics like Vincent Ferré.
At Christmas 2010, the website launched a podcast as a series of monthly programmes featuring a review of the past year and reviews of books and films. The first series included eight programmes published online between Christmas 2010 and July 2011, and continued over the following months.
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