What is filk?

Filk is a genre of music often associated with, and born in, science fiction fandom. It started when fans gathered in the bar at the end of a day at a convention and started singing. After a while, some started bringing guitars along to cons and writing their own songs, sometimes to a "borrowed" tune, sometimes to an original one. The name arose from a typo of "folk" in a programme book at an American con, but there are now annual filk conventions in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK. HarmUni's guest of honour, Alexa Klettner, is a singer and songwriter from Germany.

Over the years, "filk music" has diversified to include many styles of music. Songs have been written about a huge variety of topics in as many different styles. Taking a song and changing (some of) the words ("filking" the song) remains popular, but many filk songs are now written to original tunes.