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SMOF News, volume 1, issue 11

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SMOF News, volume 1, issue 11

More about program participation, and news in brief.

Petréa Mitchell
Nov 11, 2021
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SMOF News, volume 1, issue 11

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How to Convention: Program Participation (Part 2)

A few weeks ago, I talked about how to be a program participant at sf and related conventions. Now let’s look at the other model of program participation, the one common at anime and gaming conventions.

In this model, the programming department simply takes pitches for complete program items and matches the ones it likes to the event space and schedule. It replaces the existential terror of having no idea what you might be talking about until you get your preliminary schedule with the confidence that you know what you’re in for and the existential terror of needing to finish that presentation or gather all those supplies in time for the convention.

Typically, a convention will open up a “panel application” several months before the event and close it with a month or two to go. (“Panel” has become the generic term for program items at many anime cons, regardless of the format or number of people involved.) Aside from the title and description for the schedule, the application will ask you for things like:

  • Type of item (discussion, presentation, workshop, etc.).

  • Track or category you would like it to be in.

  • Days and times that would work for you.

  • Planned duration. Even if this is flexible, talks and panel discussions generally have their best shot at being scheduled if the stated duration is 60 minutes. If you’re worried about whether you can fill that much time, remember you can always leave time for questions.

  • Preferred room setup.

  • Tech requirements. Assume that nothing is obvious from the description. If you’re going to be talking a bunch, ask for a microphone. If you have a visual element, specify a projector.

  • Likely attendance or general interest level. It may be tempting to make grandiose claims about how excited other people will be about your item, but this can work against you. Programming will have a range of room sizes to fill, and being honest that your topic is probably a niche interest may score you a slot when there are too many ideas fighting for the big room.

Like with the sf model, if your item is selected, you’ll find out a few weeks before the convention happens. If your circumstances have changed and you are no longer able to do it, or the time selected won’t work, communicate that to Programming. Don’t feel awkward about it, this happens all the time, and Programming would rather know than be surprised.

In Brief

  • News from Corflu 38 this past weekend:

    • Guest of Honor, chosen in the traditional manner by a random draw of attendees: Sandra Bond.

    • Past President of FWA, elected by convention members: Sandra Bond.

    • FAAn Awards, usually announced at the convention, were presented in a virtual ceremony in March. This year’s winners can be found at the bottom of this page.

    • Corflu 39 will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on March 18-20, 2022.

Event Calendar

Weekend of November 12-14

  • Novacon 50, Nottingham, UK

  • TusCon 48, Tucson, Arizona, USA

  • Windycon 47: Urban Fantastic, Lombard, Illinois, USA

  • OryCon 42, Portland, Oregon, USA

  • ArmadilloCon 2021, Austin, Texas, USA

  • Multiverse 2021, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

  • OmegaCon Fall 2021, Siren, Wisconsin, USA

  • New England Crime Bake 2021: Home Sweet Homicide (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA

  • MEPACon 41 (gaming), White Haven, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Heroicon (gaming), Decatur, Illinois, USA

  • Bride of Geekway Mini (gaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA

  • MACE 2021 (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

  • Ludo-Outaouais (boardgames), Gatineau, Ontario, Canada

  • Historicon 2021: Aircraft of War (historical miniatures gaming), Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, USA

  • MillenniumCon (historical miniatures gaming), Round Rock, Texas, USA

  • Flüüfff Grand Casino (anthropomorphic), Brussels, Belgium

  • Bewhiskered: Prepare for Blast Off! (anthropomorphic), Durham, North Carolina, USA

  • Aquatifur (anthropomorphic), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA

  • CanFURence 2021: The Furs Are Back in Town (anthropomorphic), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

  • Anime Dallas, DFW Airport, Texas, USA

  • Anime Iwai, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

  • WasabiCon (anime), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

  • Thought Bubble (comics), Leeds, UK

  • Grand Rapids Comic Con, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

  • Destination Star Trek London, London, UK

  • Empire City Con (Steven Universe), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Weekend of November 19-21

  • Fantastika 2021 (Swedish national sf convention), Stockholm, Sweden

  • HispaCón 2021 (Spanish national sf convention), virtual

  • Philcon 2021, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA

  • Anime NYC, New York City, New York, USA

  • Consequences O: Otherworldly Consequences (gaming), Christchurch, UK

  • U-Con 2021 (gaming), virtual (usually Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA)

  • BGG.CON (gaming), Dallas, Texas, USA

  • Anthro Northwest 4 (anthropomorphic), Seattle, Washington, USA

  • Con Nichiwa (anime), Tucson, Arizona, USA

  • Colossalcon Texas (anime), Round Rock, Texas, USA

  • Sin City Anime, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

  • Anime Town: Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, USA

  • London Film & Comic Con, London, UK

  • New England Super Megafest Comic-Con, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA

  • Heroes Dutch Comic Con, Utrecht, Netherlands

  • Vienna Comic Con, Vienna, Austria

  • Time-Flight 2021 (Doctor Who), Holtsville, New York, USA

Weekend of November 26-28

  • Loscon 47/Westercon 73, Los Angeles, California, USA

  • Chambanacon 50, Normal, Illinois, USA

  • Chessiecon 2021, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

  • UK Ghost Story Festival 2021, Derby, UK

  • Winter Wolfcon 21 (gaming), Chicago, Illinois, USA

  • MAG 2021 (gaming/anime), Erfurt, Germany

  • Atlanta AnimeDay, Duluth, Georgia, USA

  • Comic Con Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

  • Comic-Con Special Edition, San Diego, California, USA

  • Chicago TARDIS 2021 (Doctor Who), Lombard, Illinois, USA

  • Starbase Indy 2021 (Star Trek), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Weekend of December 3-5

  • Smofcon Europe (con-running), Lisboa, Portugal

  • Weymouth Steampunk Christmas, Weymouth, UK

  • Midwest Furfest (anthropomorphic), Rosemont, Illinois, USA

  • Dragonmeet (gaming), London, UK

  • Shorehammer (miniatures gaming), Ocean City, Maryland, USA

  • Anime Frontier, Fort Worth, Texas, USA

  • Nashville Anime Day, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA

  • For the Love of Sci-Fi 2021 (media), Manchester, UK

  • Geek Days Lille (media), Lille, France

  • Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, Washington, USA

  • L.A. Comic Con 2021, Los Angeles, California, USA

  • Naiccon 2021 (media), Nairobi, Kenya

  • Mini-Mini Con (media), San Antonio, Texas, USA

Weekend of December 10-12

  • RADP 26 (Disney theme parks), Walt Disney World, Florida, USA

  • PAX Unplugged (tabletop gaming), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Anime Pasadena, Pasadena, California, USA

  • Tekko 2021 (anime), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

  • Yama-Con 2021 (anime), Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA

  • Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Chicago, Illinois, USA

  • Ocean City Comic Con, Ocean City, Maryland, USA

  • TFCon Toronto (Transformers), Missisauga, Ontario, Canada

Coda

  • Jack Skellington suspected of being “Jetpack Guy” (Newsweek)

Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.

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