A sweeping editorial vogue is boosting fantasy's current popularity in literature, the cinema, and the games sector. No doubt the time has come to no longer merely describe, but rather to explore, this genre that has now become a social phenomenon.
The goal of these "50 Questions" is to identify what mechanisms are behind this fad by extending the angles of approach beyond preconceptions. What is fantasy ? Is it really an Anglo-Saxon genre ? How has it managed to assume new forms throughout the course of history ? Can any fantasy writer surpass Tolkien ? Why is fantasy still so timely today ?

Anne Besson, a senior lecturer in General and Comparative Literature at Université d'Artois (Arras), co-founded the "Modernités médiévales" Association. She is the author of D'Asimov à Tolkien, cycles et séries en littérature de genre, and has published several articles on Romanesque ensembles, contemporary literature and particularly on the imaginary, science fiction and fantasy genres.