Is Fanfiction Literature?

If you did not know, fanfiction is fictional writing featuring real life people that is usually written by a fan of a musician/musical group, TV character, actors, etc.

Right now, I am reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. In this novel, fanfiction is an important part of the narrator's life, but some think it is childish and an abomination to literature.

I have heard about this argument as fanfiction has grown in popularity over the past few years. But what really got me thinking about this was a video posted by a YouTuber named Ariel Bissett. In this video, Bissett addresses the controversial topic and her personal opinion on the matter.

To me, any written work that the author puts time and energy into is literature, like Ariel said in her video. However, if someone writes everything so it's based on celebrities' life and real life events, then they're basically writing a biography. That was sort of confusing so let me give an example.

Say a One Direction fan writes a Harry Styles fanfiction. As they are writing it, news breaks about one of Harry's relatives passing away. If they incorporate that real life event into their story than it's not creating their own conflicts for Harry or other characters to overcome. However, if the story is in an alternate universe, like an apocalypse per say, then that is literature because the writer is creating their own imaginary plot conflicts. The author is just using a real life person as someone to visualize as one of the characters within the story.

I still don't feel like I am being 100% clear, but I think you can catch my drift.

In conclusion, differentiating fanfiction from literature is solely based on what kind of fanfiction it is. The key is finding that fine line between imagination and real life.