Looking for panel co-mods!

Looking for panel co-mods!

Hi everyone,

There are a few planned panels that are looking for additional co-mods. If you are interested in helping out with any of these, email us at panels@con-txt.net ASAP (or by Friday, July 10th).

Panel title: f/f forever: Queer Women Represent! (Multi-Fandom)

Current mod: queercore_curriculum

Description: With the L Word reboot, the mainstream popularity of shows like Killing Eve, and the rise of writers like Lena Waithe and Alice Wu, there’s more representation of queer women in the media than ever before. How has the depiction of queer women’s sexuality and relationships changed in recent years? Why do we need queer women behind the scenes just as much as we need them to appear on camera? Is slash fandom's occasionally strained relationship with f/f evolving? And let’s squee over our f/f ships, canonical or otherwise!

Panel title: How Is This So Hot? aka The Workshop No Writers’ Center Will Offer (How-To)

Current mod: Marina

Description: Did you melt over the last bit of PWP you read? How did that author do it? We'll review and dissect outstanding erotic passages in fic and published work to explore what hits that spot just so, what makes a scene work, how to steam up a room if you can't get graphic, and more. This is a writing style and craft workshop, so bring your kink tomato and hold it tight, oh yeah babe, just like that.

Panel title: Let’s do the Fanwarp Again (Multi-Fandom)

Current mod: noxelementalist

Description: Now that we're living in the so-called "Golden Age" of TV, it's easier than ever to find and revisit the fandoms you thought nobody else remembered or got around to seeing. so let's talk about some of these "lost but not forgotten" fandoms who are just waiting for the right folks to find it again- rare shows/rare pairing shippers welcome!

Panel title: Rose Apothecary (Single Fandom)

Current mod: BeatriceEagle

Description: Schitt's Creek was six seasons of dramatic eyebrows, queer romance, incredible transatlantic pronunciations of the word "bebe," character growth, and whatever "A Little Bit Alexis" was. Here's a panel to talk about it! But also not it's not just a panel, it's an environment. It's more like a branded immersive experience.

Panel title: The Lan Jawn (Single Fandom)

Current mod: multiscorn

Description: I love these gay ancient Chinese necromancers and you might, too. Discussion of the actors limited to the last 20 minutes of the panel.

CON.TXT needs volunteers!

CON.TXT needs volunteers!

With CON.TXT 2020 entirely virtual this year, we’re looking for volunteers to help in different ways than usual. No sitting at the registration desk this year! Instead, we need folks to help out with Discord and Zoom.

We are looking for:

  • Volunteers to help us monitor channels (text-based, no voice channels) on the con's Discord server: read everything posted to your assigned channels during your volunteer time slot and report issues.
  • Volunteers to help us host and monitor panels on Zoom: assist presenters with screen sharing, monitor the Zoom chat, and report issues.

We will be hosting several 1-2 hour training sessions for volunteers on how to use Discord and Zoom, so volunteers with little or no existing knowledge of these platforms are welcome!
If you’d like to volunteer, please fill out this survey by Wednesday, July 8.

Panel mod emails are starting soon!

Panel mod emails are starting soon!

Hi, folks!

We're about to start contacting potential panel mods. If you don't hear from us immediately, PLEASE DO NOT PANIC. Moderator confirmation emails are NOT automated--we send them individually, a few at a time, as we receive confirmation from volunteers whose schedules affect other panels.

(Because we can't schedule someone in two places at once, and we try not to schedule people for more than three panels, or for back-to-back panels. This means we tend to start with people who volunteered for the largest number of panels that made the first cut, and work our way down. This is also the stage at which we ask volunteers whether they'd be willing to consolidate similar panels, or whether they need another co-mod or have constraints on their availability, all of which affects our scheduling.)

When you receive an email, please respond promptly! We can't put the schedule grid together without your input.

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to mod a panel--we love you all, and we quite literally could not have the con without you.

Watch your inboxes!

CON.TXT 2020 Vid Show: Submit What You’d Like to See and Make

CON.TXT 2020 Vid Show: Submit What You'd Like to See and Make

Hi everyone! Your friendly vidshow committee - alpheratz, cinco, and corbae - is looking for suggestions for CON.TXT's 2020 vidshow! Tell us about the vids you love in new and old fandoms, and definitely tell us if you're thinking about submitting a premiere to the show! As you know, CON.TXT 2020 will be held online on July 25. The virtual con will include a streaming vid show.

VID SUBMISSIONS

To nominate a vid for inclusion in the show, head on over to our submissions form. Please don't be shy: self-nominate as much as you like!

To give us time to curate and assemble the final show, the deadline for vid suggestions is July 5, 2020.

If you're thinking of submitting a premiere, please fill out the premiere interest form. Preliminary drafts of premieres are due July 5th. Final drafts are due July 11th.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

If you are submitting your own vid, please upload it to Youtube or Vimeo without password protection in place. If possible, please also upload subtitles.

QUESTIONS?

If we’ve left anything out, or if you’d like to know more about the con or the vid show, please ask! You can reach us at: vids@con-txt.net or comment on this post.

Panel Voting is Now Open!

Panel Voting is Now Open!

Panel voting is now open! This is your chance to vote for the panels you'd like to see at virtual CON.TXT 2020! You may vote for as many or as few panels as you like.

We strive to offer a well-balanced and wide range of panel topics. The voting tells us which panels are the most popular, but it also helps us choose among similar panels and decide which suggestions might be better combined. We don't use a strict numbers cut-off to determine our programming.

Your votes are especially important this year, because they'll also help us decide how many panel tracks to have. Since CON.TXT 2020 is a one-day event, we won't be able to fit in all the panel suggestions--but if there are enough popular panels we will run two or more panel tracks in parallel.

Some panels have potential moderators already listed. These are not final commitments! Some panels don't have moderators yet, and these panels can't happen--no matter how popular--unless someone leads them! We'll call for more moderators once the votes have been tallied, but you can also volunteer by selecting "I'll definitely attend and could moderate" and entering your badge name at the bottom of this form if you are interested in moderating. This is also not a final commitment; we'll follow up with interested people by email after the voting.

Please don't volunteer to mod panels you're not excited about! If you volunteer to mod more than three panels, remember to fill out the question at the bottom asking for your top three priorities.

We're looking forward to seeing you all (virtually)! Vote now for your preferred panels.

If you haven’t yet registered for CON.TXT 2020 (and why wouldn’t you? It’s free, although you’re welcome to donate to cover virtual expenses for CON.TXT 2020 and scholarships for CON.TXT 2021 via Paypal), please do!

Registration for CON.TXT 2020 is OPEN!

Registration for CON.TXT 2020 is OPEN!

Please register here to join us for  CON.TXT 2020 on Saturday, July 25!

The con will be online this year using Discord and Zoom, and all programming is free. If you would like to support virtual CON.TXT 2020 (we expect minimal expenses, but there will be some) and scholarships for CON.TXT 2021, donate at PayPal.

Registration for CON.TXT 2020 closes at midnight EDT (what time is that for me?), on Friday, July 24. Discord invites will go out by 9 am on Saturday, July 25.

Get your panel suggestions in for the virtual con!

Get your panel suggestions in for the virtual con!

All,

As you know, the in-person CON.TXT 2020 has been postponed to July 9-11, 2021, at the Residence Inn Pentagon City. All CON.TXT 2020 registrations have been rolled over to CON.TXT 2021 (if you don’t want to attend CON.TXT 2021, you may request a refund through Eventbrite until June 9, 2021). Any hotel room reservations made in our 2020 room block have also been automatically rebooked for the equivalent July 2021 dates.

However, we ARE still hosting CON.TXT 2020: virtually! This free, one-day virtual con will be held on Saturday, July 25, with panel programming running from 10am to 7pm EST, followed by a cosplay/fancy dress cocktail party (make and share recipes for your own themed drinks!) and a vid show. We plan to open up a new panel suggestion post for CON.TXT 2021 next year, so we are repurposing the original 2020 suggestion post for the virtual con. We are still taking panel submissions, so add your suggestions! If you’d like to moderate and/or see an idea you’d love to take on, drop a comment in the linked post and volunteer.

Timeline

Now: Panel submissions are open!

Sunday, May 31 (11:59pm EST): Panel submissions close

Wednesday, June 3: Panel voting opens!

Monday, June 15: Panel voting closes

Early July: CON.TXT 2020 programming schedule posted on our website

Mid-July: Virtual con instructions go out

FAQ:

Q: How much does the virtual con cost?

A: The virtual con is free, although you are welcome to donate on PayPal. Donations will go towards paid features for software that facilitate the virtual con and scholarships for CON.TXT 2021.

Q: Do I need to register for CON.TXT 2021 to attend the virtual CON.TXT 2020?

A: No. You can participate in the virtual con regardless of if you plan to attend CON.TXT 2021!

Q: How do I register for the virtual CON.TXT 2020?

A: We will post a survey later this month to collect the email addresses of those interested in attending the virtual con (but if you're already registered for CON.TXT 2021, you will receive instructions for the virtual event automatically and don’t have to answer the survey!). We will use that information to send out the instructions for participation.

Q: What time does the con start?

A: 10:00am (Eastern Daylight Time). Convert to your local time here.

Q: Is there an age restriction for the virtual con?

A: Yes. You must be 18 on or before July 25, 2020 to attend this event.

Q: How are you going to enforce the age limit?

A: We acknowledge we have no enforcement authority on this restriction. We will rely on your honesty and integrity to comply with this requirement, due to the sensitive nature of panel discussions as well as the (virtual) presence of alcohol at our cocktail party.

Q: What are the technical requirements to participate?

A: We will likely be using Zoom and Discord for the panel programming and chat features, respectively, and potentially other, similar programs. You may need to download or install these applications to participate. Guides will be available before the con.

Q: What happens once I register?

A: We will send out further instructions in early-to-mid July on the software we plan to use, as well as the appropriate invitations (Zoom and Discord server invites) so that you can connect and participate the day of.

Q: Is the virtual con going to be recorded?

A: No. We will not be recording any of the panel sessions or social activities.

Q: What panels are going to be included in the virtual con?

A: That’s up to you! We have a running list of panel suggestions here. The post will stay open until May 31, 2020, so add your suggestions now! We will use your suggestions and votes to organize panel tracks and finalize programming.

We’ve never held a virtual con before, and we would welcome your ideas and suggestions on best practices. Post your ideas, as well as any questions, in the comments and a member of the concom will get back to you shortly.

Announcing dates for CON.TXT 2021!

Hi all!

We have two big pieces of news to share:

CON.TXT 2021 will be held July 9-11, 2021, at the Residence Inn Pentagon City. Everyone who was registered for CON.TXT 2020 is now registered for CON.TXT 2021. If you do not wish to be registered for CON.TXT 2021 for any reason, you can request a refund through Eventbrite. If you reserved hotel rooms in our 2020 room block, those reservations will be rebooked for the equivalent July 2021 dates automatically (if you need to cancel, please do so with the hotel).

We will host a free, one-day virtual CON.TXT 2020 on Saturday, July 25 (and panel submissions are open). We’ll have more details in the coming weeks! If you have ideas for virtual events or platforms, please comment here or drop us a line at info@con-txt.net.

We apologize for not asking for your input before picking the 2021 dates, as we originally intended. Unfortunately, our options were limited due to concom availability and the hotel’s availability and rates.

We look forward to seeing you online in July, and in person in 2021!

CON.TXT 2020 Postponed – Dates TBA

CON.TXT 2020 Postponed, Dates TBA

Hi, everyone. Concom here again.

CON.TXT 2020 is POSTPONED until 2021. We don’t know the exact dates yet; we have a couple of possibilities in mind in the spring and summer of 2021, and we’re going to ask for your input before we make a final decision. Our hotel is graciously allowing us to postpone with no financial penalty (CON.TXT 2021 will be held in the same hotel as CON.TXT 2018).

At this time new registrations are still suspended, but they will reopen once we finalize our new dates. At that point, we will contact all currently registered members to ask if you prefer to roll your membership to 2021 or the future, or to have your membership refunded.

If you made hotel reservations under the 2020 CON.TXT room block, you'll be able to roll them over to 2021--we'll provide information on how to do that when we know the new dates. (If you made your own booking--for example, if you wanted a room type that wasn't included in our block--you'll need to cancel your 2020 reservation and rebook for 2021 yourself.)

There will be a longer announcement coming soon with more info on our 2021 dates as well as if the con after this one will be in 2022 or 2023--that's another thing we're still deciding!

We're sorry we won't see you this summer, but we're looking forward to having a great con in 2021. Please stay safe, everyone!