CON.TXT

If you have a panel or con report you'd like to share, please link it in a comment on this post.

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As discussed at the Dead Duck panel, there is now a discussion comm for CON.TXT: contxt_lounge

(Please note: this comm is not owned or moderated by any of the CON.TXT con comm members.)

We have a small but awesome group of dealers this year, so be sure to bring your checkbooks, credit cards and cash so you can shop for some slashy and fannish goodies!

Circlet Press & Cecilia Tan: Circlet Press celebrates its 20th anniversary of publishing erotic sf/fantasy books this year! Circlet publishes many sexualities: gay, bi, pan, het, kinky & trans, in all genres, high fantasy, space opera, steampunk, paranormal, etc. The table will also feature other books by Cecilia Tan, & some Harry Potter erotic slash zines.

Janet Kofoed: Janet Kofoed creates unique pieces in silver, gold, and semiprecious stones. Her work reflects the influences of the many countries where she has lived, as well as her love of nature, science, and fantasy. She often uses natural objects and textures in her work. She has studied jewelry making at the Smithsonian Institution and lives near Philadelphia with her artist/writer husband.

JMS Books LLC: JMS Books is a small press publishing GLBT fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, including erotica, romance, and young adult (through our YA imprint, Queerteen Press).

Spacial Anomaly Gallery: Handmade, sterling silver and celtic jewelry. Also a selection of beautiful fannish, fantasy and scifi art and collectibles.

Torquere Press, Inc., Romance for the Rest of Us (tm): Torquere Press has been a royalty-paying GLBT romance publisher since 2003, publishing traditional romance and YA manuscripts in both print and ebook. Please see our book catalog at torquerebooks.com or see our writer's guidelines at torquerepress.com.

Vincent Diamond: Romantic smut for the discerning reader. Diamond's work has been published by Cleis Press, Alyson Publications, Torquere Press, JMS Books, and many others. With stories ranging from the sweetly romantic to the sexily gritty, diamonds can be boy -- or a girl's -- best friend!

YOU MAY WANT TO BRING

- Directions to the hotel (and the hotel phone number, just in case)
- Fannish t-shirts, tote bags, and hats (this is a fashionable crowd!)
- Fannish stickers, buttons and pins -- there's a lot of real estate on our badges and badge holders
- Fun and outrageous outfits for the Disco Duck -- anything goes, as long as it can be worn in public
- Cos-play gear/costumes -- most of the con comm is playing dress-up on Friday, but the whole weekend is fair game; this year's theme is COMICS
- Your laptop -- the hotel has free wireless internet throughout
- A bathing suit -- the hotel has an outdoor pool, and the (current) forecast is for mostly sunny skies and very warm temps
- A sweater -- the panel rooms and ConSweet are chilly, especially early in the day (We're not kidding about this -- if you get cold easily, BRING A SWEATER!)
- A refillable water bottle -- we will not be offering bottled water this year, but there will be pitchers of filtered water, ice and glasses available

YOU WON'T WANT TO BRING

- VCRs or DVD players -- we aren't allowed to hook them up to the televisions in our rooms. There will be a TV and DVD player at the pimping table in the ConSweet.
- Pets -- the only animals allowed in the hotel are service animals.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Those who have attended previous CON.TXTs might be surprised by the state of the lobby: it's under construction, and pretty unrecognizable. Where they used to have lobby seating, a coffee shop, an ATM, a restaurant, a bar, and comfy gathering space, now there are only UNFINISHED SPACES full of people making construction noises. While we can keep our eye on the beautiful space it will be for CON.TXT 2014, it's not there yet.

However - our Thursday night reception will go on bravely at location to be announced. You'll be able to register for the con between 7 and 10 pm, and you'll even be able to get a drink. So, come meet, greet, and hang out with your fellow con-goers!

You can also play Find-a-Fan Bingo! Yes, fine, it's a typical icebreaker, but how many of those need you to find someone who cosplays, prefers Android, or has written for a kink meme? Complete your card and get a sparkly sticker for your badge. And even if you don't arrive Thursday, folks will still be playing throughout the weekend.

Also, don't forget that Crafty Ducks are Crafty! Starting Thursday evening, we'll be set up to walk small groups of fans through the steps to make a CON.TXT buttonbadge - and then let you customize the final product for yourself! We'll have all the fixin's, but feel free to bring your icon or a photo that fits in a 2 1/8 circle if you have something particular in mind.

PARKING: If you arrive by car, you'll need to leave it somewhere. You can unload all your gear and extra passengers at the front of the hotel. Parking in the hotel garage costs $14 a day, with in and out privileges. The county lot (Lot 2) behind the hotel offers free parking Thursday and Friday after 7 pm and all day Saturday and Sunday. During the day, short-term (two- and three-hour) meters cost about 60 cents an hour. The county garage (Garage 2) behind the hotel has long-term meters (nine hours) at 45 cents an hour. You also can take your chances on the street -- but read the signs very carefully.

ATM: There is an ATM in the hotel lobby; the surcharge is $3.50. There are also several bank ATMs near the hotel on Georgia Ave, including a Bank of America and a Suntrust.

HOTEL CHECK-IN: Because a lot of fans will be arriving on Thursday right around check-in time, the lobby may be crowded from 3:00 until 5:00 pm, and check-in will be slow. PLEASE BE PATIENT, and prepare to spend some time in the lobby or out in front of the hotel, chatting with other fen waiting to make their way to the Con. We have warned the hotel to expect a crowd at check-in on both Thursday and Friday afternoon, and have asked them to staff the hotel registration desk accordingly. Still, the lobby may be crowded at those times, and check-in could be slow.

REGISTRATION: You can pick up your registration packages on Thursday (see above), or you can wait until the following day: registration will be open in the hallway outside the Con Sweet from 8:00am to 5:00pm, and again outside the LINCOLN BALLROOM from 7:30 to 11:00pm. Saturday registration hours are 8:00am to 6:00pm in front of the Con Sweet; pre-registration for CON.TXT 2014 will be from 9:00am to 3:00pm on Sunday, again, in front of the Con Sweet.

IDENTIFICATION: You'll receive a badge holder and name tag that is your pass to all CON.TXT events. It will be checked at all Con events, so please don't lose it or leave it in your room! It is not replaceable, and you must wear it at all times while in the con space. Please note that badges are not shareable or transferable.

Anyone attending the Disco Duck on Friday will be required to wear a wristband -- please note that wristbands are not shareable or transferable. There will be more info about the wristbands at the CON.TXT Context panel on Friday morning.

VOLUNTEERS: At registration, attendees who indicated availability will receive their volunteer schedule. You should double-check the shifts indicated; if there is a problem, please let meri_oddities know as soon as possible, so that we can straighten out any issues. If you find you have time while at the con, and wish to volunteer, please let us know.

PROGRAMMING: At registration, you'll also receive a CON.TXT program describing all of the panels, special events, workshops and services. We suggest you take some time to read through the program as soon as possible after your arrival; in addition to con programming, there will also be information on local restaurants and shopping on a handout in the packet.

GETTING AROUND: The hotel operates a free shuttle within a 3-mile radius of the hotel. You can use the shuttle to get to or from the Metro station, for example, or to get to the movie theater, restaurants, grocery store, etc.

If you need to be picked up from the Metro or elsewhere within the area the shuttle serves, call the main hotel number: 301-589-0800. They will connect you to the shuttle. If you have some idea when you'll need to be picked up (e.g., if you're coming from the airport), it's a good idea to call in advance to reserve the shuttle.

The Silver Spring Metro station is about 1/4 mile south of the hotel on Georgia Ave, if you're in the mood for a short walk.

THE FORECAST

Wednesday, June 13: partly cloudy, 20% chance of rain; high of 83° // low of 64°

Thursday, June 14: cloudy, 20% chance of rain; high of 80° // low of 64°

Friday, June 15: mostly sunny, 10% chance of rain; high of 82°F // low of 61°F

Saturday, June 16: partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain; high of 82° // low of 62°

Sunday, June 17: partly cloudy, 10% chance of rain; high of 84° // low of 64°

Monday, June 18: PM thunderstorms, 40% chance of rain; high of 84° // low of 66°

The CON.TXT 2012 Schedule is live! Go, see what we're offering, and start planning!

~!@#@!~

Our Cosplay theme this year is COMICS! On Friday, come dressed as your favorite character from comic books, comic strips, webcomics or comic book themed movies.... We already know more than a few of you like to cosplay, and that a fair number of you like comics, so get creative, and let us see those costumes!

(Yes, this is a fairly broad category, but we feel like it gives people more room to play and express themselves -- we're looking forward to seeing everyone all dressed up!)

Hotel Block: The hotel block closes this Friday, May 25th. If you have not reserved a room for the con, and still want to, please do so before the block closes.

Registration: Registration officially closes at midnight, May 31st. If you've been trying to decide whether or not to attend, now is the time to say yes, and register! (Please keep in mind that CON.TXT policy requires all payments be made via PayPal at this time.)

Ducks Deluxe: We're still looking for submissions for this year's Ducks Deluxe Arts & Crafts Show and Auction; if you're planning to bring items, your check-in will go faster if you've already filled out the submission form.

Orphan Sales: There's still plenty of room on the Orphan Sales Table, and again, item check-in will be quicker if you've already filled out the submission form.

Twitter Hashtag: When tweeting about CON.TXT, be sure to use #contxt, and spread the word!

And last but not least, we want to remind everyone of CON.TXT's Safety Policy:

We want CON.TXT to be a safe space for all attendees. If you see activities you think are inconsistent with this goal, the con com is ready to help. Please note that CON.TXT is a private event, and we reserve the right to refuse admission to any participant at any time for any reason, with no refund of registration fees.

TODAY is the last day to register for CON.TXT at the $100 rate; at midnight the rate will go up to $115. Today is also the last day you may pay for memeberships using a check or money order.

* * * * *

We are pleased to announce that this year's Minotaur Scholarship has been awarded to luciazephyr -- she's a CON.TXT virgin, so please give her a big welcome when you see her at the con!

Due to the generosity of our members, we were able to award an additional full scholarship; we've awarded that one to staranise.

We also awarded two half price scholarships -- one to tazlet and another to kinetikatrue.

Congratulations! We're looking forward to seeing all of you next month!

If you are not coming to the con but would like to sell your zines or other fannish items (with the exception of art and art resales, which must be submitted to Ducks Deluxe), or if you have only a small number of items and don't want to have your own table, we can host your things for you on the Orphan Sales Table. The con will take 15% of the proceeds of sales of items off the Orphan table.

What kinds of items can be sold on the Orphan Sales table?

* New and used zines
* Song vid collections
* DVDs of movies and TV series
* Licensed t-shirts and memorabilia
* Autographed items, including photos & posters
* Calendars and stationery items
* Comic books, graphic novels and manga
* Gay-themed novels & published slash

(If you have something not on this list, email us and we'll help you classify it!)

To Get Your Items on the Orphan Sales Table

* First, set your prices (in increments of $.25) and label your items. You must set the price for each item you want to sell on the Orphan Sales Table. Every item must have a post-it note or other attached label with the item name, your display name, and the price. We will verify this against the information from your Orphan Sales Form.

Unlabeled items will not be placed on the table until you arrive at the con and label them yourself; if you are not attending, any unlabeled items will be left off the table and returned!

* Next, go to the Orphan Sales page and click the button to fill out the Orphan Sales Form. After you submit the form, a page with the form information will appear. Print out the form page after you have submitted it and be sure to include it with your items. The form information will automatically be emailed to us, and a copy will be emailed to you for your records.

This is very important! This is how the information about you and your items gets into the database. The form is checked against the items you send. And this is how we'll ensure you are paid for the items that are sold, and that the items that are not are returned to you.

* Then you must decide how to get your items to the con.

You may mail items in advance. The address will appear on the form page after you submit the Orphan Sales Form, or you can contact us. MAILED ITEMS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, JUNE 8th, 2012, IN ORDER TO BE OFFERED ON THE ORPHAN SALES TABLE. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this policy, so be certain to mail your things with plenty of time for them to arrive by this date.

You may also deliver items directly to the hotel yourself, from Friday morning to Saturday evening.

After the con, we will mail a check (minus the con's percentage and postage) and any unsold items to the return address you specify (via US Priority Mail with Insurance); alternatively you may pick up your check and unsold items on Sunday.

Please contact us with questions or if you need more information.

~!@#@!~

If you don't want to deal with selling items, we will again have a Swap Table (proceeds to benefit the CON.TXT 2012 charities, Medecins sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders (http://www.msf.org/) and The Trevor Project (http://www.thetrevorproject.org).

How it works: Bring any fannish goodies you are willing to part with, and put them on the table. Peruse the goodies others have left, and if you find something you'd like, please leave an appropriate donation for the con charity.

Any fannish memorabilia, including stickers, action figures, notebooks, DVDs, books, magnets, zines, (and pretty much anything else you can think of) will be welcome. If you think someone else would love it, this is the spot! Our only exception: please do not bring/leave video tapes, as we have had to dispose of too many in the past.

The small print: If for some reason the stuff you bring is not snapped up by someone else, and you'd like it back, please retrieve it before the end of the Dead Duck panel on Sunday. Anything left at that point will either be tossed, hoarded by Con Comm members, or donated to a local charity.

We’ve taken a first pass through our panel poll and we found a few panels which everyone seems to want to attend but which no one has yet volunteered to lead! Please let us know at panels@con-txt.net if you might be interested in moderating any of the following panels:

* Bringing Diversity to Fanfiction Through Minor Characters
* Fandom and the Law
* Hot Girl-on-Girl Action
* Old Fandoms Never Die

Please also let us know if you find this the perfect summation of our con. :)

We’re also looking for a co-moderator for the following panel:

* Gender and Sexuality Across Cultures (with Dee Laundry)

As a reminder, the panel poll will stay open through May 5th! There are about 15 more panel slots where the votes are not yet decisive, so vote if you haven’t yet!

(If you’re signed up to moderate already, please keep an eye on your email address(es) for information from us!)

We've heard from several CON.TXT attendees who've had a hard time booking a room at the con rate.

If you run into problems, just go ahead and book a room at the next best rate. Then email your confirmation number, the name under which you made the reservation, and your contact info (a phone number or email address) to hotel@con-txt.net.

With that information, our meeting rep at the hotel can go into the booking system, manually fix your reservation, and contact you directly to confirm -- most likely on the next business day.