Last Edited: June 22nd, 2010; by: Kate Fletcher

Fanfiction Coordinator: Kate Fletcher
Creation Station Manager: Ellen Klowden
Judges: TBA

Layout for this set of Contest Rules:

1. General Rules
   1. Submission Materials
   2. Submission Ratings
   3. Citations
   4. Source Materials
   5. Submission Length
   6. Manga and Webcomic Submissions
   7. Multimedia Submissions
2. Submission Requirements
   1. How to Submit
3. Award Categories
4. Fanfiction Bedtime Stories
5. Deadlines
6. “See Below” Section
7. Other Information of Note to Entrants

Please read through all the rules before submitting anything to the contest! Thanks!

If you have any questions about these rules please send an e-mail to fanficcontest@kumoricon.org. Please put [Kumoricon 2010 Fanfic Contest Question] as the subject. This will allow for quick response from the judges and coordinators.

No new rules will be introduced without explicit mention on the forums.

(1) General Rules

We want to be able to accept all entries, so please read and comply with all rules carefully!

All entries should be previously beta read (by someone else) or edited by the author before submission; too many errors that distract from the story, or make it unreadable, will disqualify a piece. (This includes spelling errors, grammatical errors, errors in simple canon material, Ex: hair and eye color, without explanation in the story or your notes, and clearly out of character representations without explanation.) Disqualification will be decided by a consensus among all the judges.

Alternate Universes, Alternate Histories, Crossovers, Fusions, Slash, Parodies, etc. are always welcome and encouraged, just make sure to make note of it in your submission so that it is clear to the judges.

Note: If your piece is disqualified, you are still welcome to bring it to Fanfiction Bedtime Stories, and you are encouraged to bring it to our scheduled beta times to meet other writers and betas for help and suggestions.

We regret to say that we will not have online access in the Creation Station during the convention. Therefore if you wish to submit anything during the convention it must be in hard copy form, on a USB Flash Drive, or burned to a CD. (If you wish to use either of the latter methods, please double check that your submission is copied correctly and can be opened on another computer before you bring it to con. The Creation Station cannot be held responsible if a document fails to open or is otherwise incomplete or inaccessible.)

(1a) Submission Materials

Materials that have already won prizes from Creation Station judges for the overall fanfiction/novella or manga/webcomic contests at Kumoricon (2003 – Present), Chibi Chibi Con (2007 – Present), Sakura-Con (2005 – 2007), Otafest (2008 & 2010), or Anime Evolution (2006 – 2009) may not be submitted for this contest.

Materials that have been written by, illustrated by and/or beta read by any of the Fanfic Judges and/or the Contest Coordinator may not be submitted for this contest.

While we encourage entries of original content for our webcomics and original content manga categories, no works of original text-only fiction will be accepted for the other categories of the contest at this time. Original text-only works will be permitted for in-room events such as: Fanfic Bedtime Stories, Scenes from a Hat, and Fic-Into-Art & Art-Into-Fic contests.

Fanfic works submitted do not need to be in prose; they may be poems. Songfics and filks are also welcome.

Materials generated during programming (i.e. Scenes From a Hat or other mini contests) during this convention or any previous convention may be submitted. Materials read at Bedtime Stories or presented as part of Fanfic Theatre, but not previously submitted in this contest, may be submitted. Also welcome are extensions from prior On-Site Mini-Manga contests.

Kumoricon and Creation Station volunteers and staff are welcome to participate in any program at the Creation Station, including these contests, as long as it does not interfere with staffing or volunteering duties, nor pose a direct conflict of interest. (E-mail us if you have a question!)

Authors may submit multiple pieces, but please limit your submissions to your best 3 pieces per category.

(1b) Submission Ratings

Kumoricon judges will be using the Fiction Rating system on http://www.fictionratings.com/. Please check the site to see where your fic falls. If you have a question about the rating of your fic, or are still unsure about what rating to give it, please e-mail Kate at mellonemrys@gmail.com. Anything with a rating of MA cannot be considered for the general fanfiction contest. Mature-rated pieces may be taken to our 18+ Adult Fanfiction Bedtime Stories if you are at least 18 years old by the night of the event.

(1c) Citations

If you use reference materials of any kind, you may cite them, which may put you into consideration for the “Best Authenticity” category. Citing your references is not a requirement, but is greatly encouraged. Information on how to cite references can be found here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.

If you collaborated on a piece with another person, please cite that. If your work is a parody of another’s work, please cite that. Example: Name of the fic, author name or penname, link to the website where you found the original work.

Attempting to pass someone else’s work off as your own is plagiarism and will not be tolerated in this contest. If you are writing or drawing in another ficcer’s universe, please cite the original work in your notes.

(1d) Source Materials

Acceptable source materials include but are not limited to: Anime series, movies, or OVA/ OAV; manga; manwah (Korean comics); doujinshi; Web comics; dating sims/visual novels/ren’ai gaming; anime-inspired video, computer, console, and table-top, board, RPG, LARP, or other games; and for the one non-anime category, anything with a fan base.

(1e) Submission Length

Works of novella or novel length will be limited to one per author. Please note that the length requirements for Novella and Novel have changed since previous years.

Novella: 10,000 – 39,999 words typed; about 20 – 95 pages typed (size 12, Times New Roman), or multiple part fics
Novel: 40,000+ words typed; about 95+ pages typed (size 12, Times New Roman)
If you do not have a word processor to check word count, you can put your fic into Google Docs, which has a word count feature, or use: http://www.wordcounttool.com/

For Manga or Webcomic submissions, writers/ artists will be limited to one 50+ page comic. You are welcome to submit multiple comics that are under 50 pages.

(1f) Manga and Webcomic Submissions

Fics accompanied by original illustrations, be they hand-done or computer-generated, may additionally be evaluated in the Manga category. Illustrators must also be credited.

Entries in the Manga category may be sole-person productions or team productions, but all contributors must be credited (e.g., storyboard, outlining, coloring). Art may be black and white or color, handmade or computer-generated. Format may be left to right or right to left.

Manga and webcomics which were previously entered in the overarching Kumoricon Fanfic contest may be re-entered only if they did not win when first submitted and have been substantively continued, rewritten, and/or redrawn since previously submitted.

(1g) Multimedia Submissions

Multimedia entries, if you wish, may be pre-screened by the Judges and Coordinator prior to FFBS, by arrangement, up to the beginning of Fan Fiction Bedtime Stories.

If you are submitting a multimedia entry, please bring your own computer with the proper software installed, or e-mail us to confirm that a Creation Station staff member will be able to view and/or play your submission at the convention.

(2) Submission Requirements

Submissions may be typed/printed, hand printed, or handwritten in cursive. However, they must be legible.

Include the following at the beginning of EACH submission:

Title of Entry:
Your Full Name: (Your name as it will appear on your badge)
Pen Name: (As you would want it printed/announced if you are a winner)
Names of anyone else collaborating on the work:
Your Name on the Forums: (If any.)
Fandom: (Multi-fandom and crossover works are welcome.)
Categories/ Genre: (Categories you are submitting to; limit 3 per piece.)
Spoilers: (Any plot or character points that may be ruined by not having seen/ read the entire series or canon.)
Rating: (Note: We CANNOT accept M or MA rated pieces for this contest.)
Word Count:
Contact Information: (Working e-mail and/or phone number.)
Age if Minor: (For special prize for submissions from folks 16 & under.)
Is this your first contest?: (Yes/ No)
Notes: (Optional)

(2a) How to Submit

You may submit your entries online, in person, or by snail mail.

To submit online, e-mail your entry to fanficcontest@kumoricon.org. You may link to your fic on the internet; attach Word, Microsoft Works, or Notepad files to the email; share your Google Docs document with mellonemrys@gmail.com (Kate) as a viewer; and/or copy and paste your fic directly into an email (though any special formatting you may have used most likely will not be conveyed accurately if you select that option).

To submit in person, come to a Kumoricon General Meeting prior to deadline or submit at the Creation Station at Anime Evolution, or Kumoricon (making clear whether your submission is for AE, KC, or both). See the ‘Deadlines’ section below, for more information. (Email fanficcontest@kumoricon.org to make arrangements; other possibilities may emerge.)

To submit by snail mail, mail to:
Creation Station c/o Ellen Klowden
P.O. Box 5098
Eugene, OR 97405.

Any fanfic, manga, or webcomic entries submitted during Con must be hand-delivered to the Fanfiction Contest Coordinator and/or one of the contest judges within the Creation Station. Submissions must be in hard copy (i.e. printed or hand written on paper), or saved in a .word or .rtf format for text only entries, or a JPEG or GIF format for entires with graphics, on a USB drive, or burned on a CD. Kumoricon and the Creation Station assume no liability for USB Drives or CDs left in the Creation Station unattended. To insure the return of your USB or CD please only give your submissions to the Fanfiction Contest Coordinator, or to a Fanfiction Contest Judge.

(3) Award Categories

Note: This list is presented to encourage a variety of entries. The specific awards allocated by the judges will vary each year with the total number of entries received and the quality and variety thereof.

Best Newbie (see below)
Best Creator—Age 16 & Under
Best Drama
Best Comedy
Best Romance
Best Songfic/Filk
Best Crossover/Fusion
Best Canon
Best Fanon
Best Parody—Written
Best Parody—Multimedia (see below)
Best Novella—Humorous
Best Novella—Serious
Best Novel
Best Manga—Black & White, Hand-Drawn
Best Manga—Color, Hand-Drawn
Best Manga—Black & White, Computer-Generated
Best Manga—Color, Computer-Generated
Best Web-comic/Online Manga
Best Authenticity (see below)
Best Backstory (see below)
Best Presentation (see below)

(4) Fanfiction Bedtime Stories

Any works, whether submitted for this contest or not, are welcomed at Fanfiction Bedtime Stories, where you may cosplay them, read them, or have them read for you by our volunteers. Other forms of performance are also welcomed and encouraged; it’s a great place to let loose and be creative!

If you have any MA-rated materials, you may read them at Adult Bedtime Stories, as long as you are 18 years or older the night of the event.

(5) Deadlines

We intend to uphold these deadlines. If we make any changes to these deadlines, or, indeed, to any contest rules, they will be announced immediately in the KC forums. Judges will not be obligated to accept any works submitted beyond these deadlines. If you have extenuating circumstances, please bring your situation to the attention of the Fanfic Coordinator as soon as possible: fanficcontest@kumoricon.org

Entries will be accepted from the moment these rules are posted.

Novellas and novel-length fics, and any manga or webcomic submissions over 50 pages must be submitted by Sunday, August 1st, 2010.

All snail mail submissions must be received by Saturday, August 14th, 2010 at the latest.

We encourage all e-mailed submissions to be sent by Saturday, August 28th, 2010 so we have time to send you a confirmation e-mail, and so we are sure we are able to open any attachments or use any links to find your submissions.

At-con submissions must be turned into a Fanfiction Contest Judge by 9:00 PM September 4th, 2010. (If you will not be attending the first day of the convention and have absolutely no other way to turn in your submission, please e-mail us, and we will try to work something out with you.)

Multimedia works may be turned in until the beginning of Fanfiction Bedtime Stories (Sunday Night), and will be judged by the FFBS audience.

(6) “See Below” Section

Best Newbie – For the purposes of this contest, a “newbie” is one who has not previously entered any work in any contest (online, at school, at a con, etc.). One need not be a first-time author, just a first-time competitor.

Best Authenticity – Will be awarded to the author and/or illustrator who uses their work to explain or show something about another culture. Culture can be anything from a subculture (such as the Shinjuku kids or American-style punk) to a completely different country (the most common here would be Japan, but in an AU you can put these characters anywhere). Authenticity is an essential tool for a writer’s believability, and seamless incorporation of all of your research is important.

Best Backstory – Will be awarded to the author and/or illustrator who takes the time to best explicate (a) what inspired the work; (b) how it relates to his/her personal life and/or what it meant to her/him to write; (c) how it relates to the canonic material; and/or (d) what the judge needs to know to comprehend the choices characters make, their interactions, their actions, and their universe. Links to canonic illustrations will be given brownie points, but will not suffice to constitute backstory.

Best Presentation – Will be awarded to an author and/or artist who takes the time to provide extras alongside her/his submission that explicate and showcase the submission in a captivating and professional light. Examples include full glossary, bibliography, etc.

Parody—Multimedia – Anyone who intends to work on such an ambitious project must alert the Contest Coordinator and/or Judges to it prior to the start of the con, but works of this magnitude will be accepted through the beginning of Fanfic Bedtime Stories (see Pocket Guide for Schedule). Any works submitted in this category will be viewed and appraised by the Fanfic Bedtime Stories audience.

(7) Other Information of Note to Entrants

Make certain your sources are either put in the notes section of the header or in endnotes (please mention in your notes if you have endnotes or footnotes).

It will not matter what you use for font, type of paper, margins, spacing, etc., so long as the judges can read your work. Please remember that, just like any form of art, presentation is an important part of writing, and visual presentation can affect how a judge feels.

Original characters, alternate universes, crossovers and fusions are welcome, but particularly for crossovers, be sure to credit all canonic sources.

While the judges will not have time to make specific notes or suggestions for every entry, you are welcome to ask the judges what they thought of your work after the winners of the contest have been announced. If you would like a piece reviewed or beta-ed after the contest winners have been announced, we will do our best to help network you with someone willing to work with you on your piece.

When we have received your entry we will send you confirmation (in e-mail form) that we received it. (If you do not have an e-mail address and would still like confirmation, please provide us with a phone number.) Please give us a few days for us to send you confirmation. If we haven’t sent you a confirmation e-mail within two weeks of you sending us your submission, please e-mail us again, or PM mellonemrys and/or RemSaverem on the Kumoricon forums. (Please allow for three weeks if sending your submission by snail mail.)

We reserve the right to alter these rules at any time, in which case we will post an alert with the alterations on the Kumoricon forums.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please e-mail us: fanficcontest@kumoricon.org or PM mellonemrys and/or RemSaverem on the Kumoricon forums.

Good Luck to Everyone! We’re looking forward to your submissions this year!
The more unique, the better!