Rules for the DemiCon 31 Prose & Poetry contest are:

• Stories and poems are to be written in the genre of science fiction or fantasy. Points will be deducted for non-genre entries.
• Prose is limited to no more than 7,500 words.
• Poetry is limited to no more than 100 lines.
• Entries must include the sentence “Only in darkness can light be found.”
• The deadline for receipt of entries is Thursday, April 2, 2020.
• Entrants may submit up to two items, i.e., a poem and a short story or two short stories or two poems.
• To be eligible to participate, entrants must have a membership to DemiCon 31. This may be an Explorer, one-day, or full convention membership.
• DemiCon is a family-friendly convention and all entries must be suitable for open reading at the convention and posting on-line.

Entries may be posted on-line after judging is completed and will be available for reading in print form at the convention. In addition to judges’ comments, members of the convention will be invited to give their feedback to the writers.

There will be first-, second- and third-place winners. Judging will be based on an overall ranking and on three broad categories. Winners will be selected based on total points, with any ties broken using the overall rankings.

The categories for short stories are Character, Description, and Continuity based on their effective use within the story. Character includes growth of characters, use of dialogue, and believability of characters. Description includes the general use of description, how technological or fantastical items specific to the story are described, and description that sets the scene. Continuity includes consistency of writing, general adherence to the theme, and if the story or poem progresses true to the story’s world.

The categories for poems are Rhythm, Imagery, and Coherence. Rhythm includes how the poem sounds when read aloud and how well the poem works within its particular form (e.g., free verse, iambic pentameter); plus, for poems following established styles, how well the poem adheres to the established structure. Imagery includes description but, more so than with stories, how well the scene is evoked. Coherence includes how well all parts of the poem go together.

The DemiCon Writing Contest focuses on judges as readers more than as writers. Judges will be well-read individuals who are not published writers or editors and may include members of DMSFFS.

Please proofread your entries in addition to checking the spelling. Judges do not deduct points for typographical errors, but misspellings and incorrect word usage do distract from the writing.

Send your entries no later than April 2, 2020, to contests@demicon.org. RTF is preferred over .doc or .docx files. Entries should include, on the first page only, the author’s name, the title of the story or poem, and contact information for the author. The judging will be blind, i.e., the judges will not know who wrote which story or poem. Please mark the end of your stories and poems with “# # #.”

You will be sent an email to confirm your entry was received. If you have not received a confirmation within three days of submitting your entry, please contact contests@demicon.org and concom@demicon.org. If you prefer to submit your entry by U.S. mail, send it to: DMSFFS – DemiCon Writing Contest at PO Box 7572, Des Moines, IA 50323.

Part of the fun of any con is the freedom to dress up as your favorite character, or archetype, or as some completely unique and original concept spawned from your own very creative brain. We at DemiCon like to encourage that freedom further by offering you the chance to show off your clever ideas and talented handiwork through our costume contest events.

On Friday, the Hall Costume Contest allows you to immortalize your amazing apparel via our fabulous official photographer’s portrait service (it’s free!), while our mystery judges mingle among the attendees to quietly select the best-of-the-best.

HOW TO ENTER:

All you need to do is come to the lobby starting around 9:30-ish and have your photo taken. That’s it! That let’s the judges know you want to be a part of this competition. Now go and enjoy your Friday evening.

When you have your photo taken they will take some of your contact information and will contact you if you have won a prize. For latest news and announcements please join our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/demiconmasqueradeandcosplay/.

MASQUERADE AND COSPLAY COMPETITION

Part of the fun of any con is the freedom to dress up as your favorite character, or archetype, or as some completely unique and original concept spawned from your own very creative brain. We at DemiCon like to encourage that freedom further by offering you the chance to show off your clever ideas and talented handiwork through our costume contest events.

On Saturday, the main stage masquerade and cosplay event lets you thrill our audience with not only your spectacular costume creations, but your skilled (or not-so-skilled – we don’t care, we love just watching everyone try!) mini-performance.

If you are looking to sign up head over to the Registration page.

SO WHAT HAPPENS?

Unlike the Friday night “Hall Costume” contest, the Saturday evening event gives you a chance to strut your clever and cunningly-crafted attire in front of a captive (although voluntarily so) audience. Prizes will be awarded for the costumes deemed by our judges to be the best of the best.

If you’ve participated in masquerades before, then you’re already familiar with the thrill of hearing the “oooohs” and “aaaahs” of an audience eager to appreciate your handiwork and presentation skills. If you’ve NOT tried your hand as a contestant in the past, then get ready for one of the biggest endorphin rushes one can experience at an SF con. Once you’ve walked across that stage in your jaw-dropping Renaissance garb, or Steampunk finery, or as your favorite anime character, or wherever your creative muse has taken you, you’ll be hooked — we promise!

STUFF TO KNOW (aka Rules and Procedures)

• The masquerade will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday evening. Adult participants should report to the green room (Ballroom D) by 7:15; junior participants (ages 13 and under) should report to the green room by no later than 7:30. [Times subject to change]
• You must have a DemiCon 31 membership to take part in the Masquerade and Cosplay. If you have not registered for DemiCon 31 yet, please visit the Registration page.
• There is no private dressing facility in the green room — so if modesty is an issue, you’ll need to don at least your lowest layer either in your hotel room, or in the nearby hotel restroom facility, before reporting in.
• DemiCon recognizes three entry categories: Apprentice (a.k.a. Junior — for contestants aged 13 years and younger), Artisan (ages 14 and up), and Exhibition (for show only; not entered for judging consideration). There will be “Best of Apprentice” and “Best of Artisan” awards presented, as well as a “Best of Show” that can be selected from either category. In addition, the judges will be given leeway to present a few “honorable mention” awards, which may include things such as: Best Presentation, Best Media Recreation, Best Use of Materials — or whatever else they deem fit in order to recognize our contestants’ outstanding work. There will also be a “Best Workmanship” award bestowed by a separate panel of judges, who will examine costumes up close and personal in the greenroom area. The workmanship judges may also elect to give out some honorable mention awards for special detail work, as they deem appropriate.
• For those opting to avail themselves of a tech rehearsal, you will be granted a 10-minute slot to practice with the emcee and tech crew on Saturday afternoon. You can sign up for your tech rehearsal time when you submit your entry paperwork — but in order to be granted tech rehearsal time, we will need your paperwork no later than noon on Saturday. (Remember: if you like being super-efficient, you can get your “paperwork” to us in advance by including it in your Masquerade and Cosplay registration.) It is not necessary to come to your rehearsal in your full costume — but for best results, we do recommend bringing along any special props, headgear, and/or footwear that are part of your ensemble, as those are the items most likely to cause unexpected challenges during a presentation.
• Persons scheduling a tech rehearsal should bring any special music or audio files with them if the presentation requires it. Preferred format is .mp3 or .aif files on a flash drive or CD. Our sound crew may or may not be able to accommodate other formats, so deviate from these guidelines at your own risk. With or without a tech rehearsal, however, we can provide you with some kick-ass background music if you need it. Just let us know the general type of mood you want to set, and we’ll select something great for you accordingly.
• We will have a photographer available to take studio-quality pictures of you in your masquerade garb. You should plan to be prepared for your photo shoot during the pre-event green room time, although our photographer MAY be available for a brief period after the conclusion of the masquerade if you don’t get around to having your portrait snapped earlier.
• After your time on stage, we recommend that you remain in costume until all entries have been presented (although you can certainly temporarily remove pieces if some “breathing time” is required), so that you may participate in the post-masquerade “photo run” across the stage for the photographers in our audience. This is optional — but after having gone to all that hard work to make the costume, don’t you want to give everyone else as much opportunity as possible to enjoy it?
• After the photo run (or sooner, for those who opt not to do the “catwalk” thing), participants may remove any or all portions of their costume, and are invited to sit in the audience to enjoy the halftime show, and to be present when the judges return from deliberation to announce the awards.

NEED MORE INFORMATION?

Questions? Suggestions? The sooner you contact us, the better. Please direct all masquerade-related correspondence to Jeannette Roth — your humble DemiCon 31 masquerade/cosplay director — at masquerade@demicon.org.

And once again, if you’ve decided to join us with an onstage presentation – and we hope you have – you can help yourself and help us to make things run more smoothly and efficiently by registering online.

For latest news and announcements please join our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/demiconmasqueradeandcosplay/.

To sign up head over to the Registration page.

These are your rules:

1. Entries are to be in the style of movie trailers (not entire short movies), 1 minute to 3 minutes in length.
2. Entries are to parody/mimic a trailer for a science fiction, fantasy, superhero, or horror movie. This is to be done without the use of professional costuming or special effects. The more low-budget, the better!!
3. Sticking with the DC31 theme, your movie trailer has to have a villain (or bad guy) in it.
4. All entries must be original work by the person(s) submitting the entry.
5. Entries must meet the criteria for previews approved for General Audiences.
6. Credits are not to be on the video entered. (This is a blind judging). When submitting entries, provide all credit information in an e-mail..
7. If an entry wins a prize, the prize will go to all individuals identified as Entrants, so be sure to specify Entrants in addition to any credit information in the submission e-mail.
8. A panel of local experts will judge the entries before DemiCon 31. Judging will be based on entertainment value, successful parody/homage to the movie’s genre, being low- (or no-) budget, and creativity. (E.g., does the trailer make a good “advertisement” for the movie?) Judges’ Choice and Fans’ Choice are to be awarded. (Fans’ Choice will be voted on during the showing at DemiCon 31.)
9. A maximum of three entries per person/group is permitted. All entries must be made separately.
10. Entries must be in MP4 format. Files are to be no larger than 500 MB.
11. Entries will be shown at DemiCon 31, possibly on the DemiCon Channel.
12. Deadline for entries is April 19, 2020. A confirmation will be sent when the entry is received.
13. Submit entries and any questions to Robert Uy at scrooge313@aol.com. You may send a link to the file on Google Drive or Dropbox.

This video contest is about having fun, trying something new in an encouraging environment, and exploring creativity. In other words, no experience necessary!

If you are not sure what a Sweded Movie Trailer is, “Be Kind Rewind” is a great movie to see for ideas. YouTube is also a good source for Sweded trailers. Good luck, villains and filmmakers!