CONfabulation

Hello fellow fanpersons, your Programming Team here with some announcements!

Programming submission time is almost here! We will be accepting submissions starting on Saturday, February 4th, 2023 and closing on Saturday, February, 25th, 2023. We will be doing things a little differently for Virtual CONfab this year, since it's one of two cons for 2023. Instead of two days of panels, we will have a full day of panels on Saturday (and the vid show), and then a day of activities on Sunday.

We will be accepting submissions for two tracks of panels on Saturday and two tracks of activities on Sunday. After the submission period ends, all of Saturday's programming will be voted on and chosen by you, the attendees, as usual. Activities will not be voted on unless we receive a very large volume of submissions and need help narrowing them down. You will basically be signing up for time slots to host your activities (read more about this below!).

All Saturday panels will run in 45 minute time slots with 15 minute breaks in between. All panels can have multiple presenters, and the con will provide a volunteer to assist with modding, monitoring the chat, etc. Here's a handy guide to the types of panels we have to get you started:

• Multi-fandom Topics — Programming about a topic that applies to multiple fandoms (tropes, vintage fandoms, RPF, diversity in media, book recs/genre discussion, femslash, incest) or a more general fandom universe that has multiple smaller fandoms that fall under its umbrella (Star Wars, K-Dramas, Video Games, BL, the MCU/Marvel TV). Recent topics include aging characters, reading goals, monsterfucking, and finding community in modern fandom.



• Single-fandom Topics — Programming about a single fandom (like Stranger Things, Our Flag Means Death, Good Omens, The Last of Us, The Sandman, Critical Role, or Andor), or a niche topic within fandom.
   
• Workshops — Programming where attendees get a chance to learn something new or hone their skills. Past workshop topics have included things like live beta reading, cross-stitch, embroidery, fandom stitch 'n bitch, making fannish plushies, tabletop RPGs 101, and more, but they can be about anything you're interested in! If you submit a proposal for a workshop, you must be willing to run it. Workshop sessions also run for forty-five minutes, but if you feel like your workshop would benefit from more time, please let us know!

For Sunday activities, we will be providing a platform for you to organize and run group activities. Want to host a group watch of your favorite movie? Want to incept people into your TV fandom by showing the first couple episodes of the show? How about party games, like Gartic Phone, Codenames, Jackbox, Among Us, etc.? Or you could run a TTRPG one-shot! Or submit a themed vid show! The options are endless.

Activities will be allotted time slots based on the length of the activity, with breaks factored in. More details will be available when submissions open.

We look forward to hearing your amazing ideas for programming! Help make this year's Virtual CONfab an awesome experience! We will be accepting submissions for all types of panels from everyone, whether you have registered for the con yet or not. This is your chance to get the programming you want by submitting your ideas. What are you excited about? Share it with the group!

Comment on this post with your programming ideas and questions. Find friends and strangers to help you flesh out your ideas, or offer assistance in planning your presentation; just make sure you get your submissions in before February 25th!

The comments on this post will be open throughout the submission period, so feel free to use it as a resource and a sounding board for new ideas that you want a second opinion on before submitting. We can't wait to see what you come up with.

We also have a dedicated channel on our Discord to talk about programming ideas, so come join us there if you'd like!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment on this post, or email the Programming team at programming@confabcon.com. We're happy to be a sounding board!

The submission form and instructions on how to submit will be posted when programming submissions open on February 4th.

Happy 2023, CONfab friends!

We’re very excited to announce that after 3 years, we’ll be moving back to an IRL con this October! (Yes, definitely for real this time!) We’re headed back to our old home, the Springhill Suites Chicago O’Hare, on October 19-22. Registration, rooms, and COVID policies will be coming soon!

However, as much as we want to see your faces in October, we know that an IRL con is not possible for many of you for a multitude of reasons. That’s why we’ve decided to still continue putting on Virtual CONfab! Instead of occurring in October like the past few years, Virtual CONfab will be April 29-30. Registration opens January 16th, so start thinking about what programming you’d like to see!

Thank you for your support over the last few chaotic years. We as a con would not continue to exist today without the time, energy, and feedback that you have put into our virtual cons. If you have enjoyed your time at Virtual CONfab (or the IRL cons before!), we would greatly appreciate you spreading the word about us to a friend. With two cons, 2023 is shaping up to be our biggest year yet, and we can’t wait to have you all along for the ride!

Love,
CONfabulation Con Comm 2023

EDIT: We've adjusted the registration date for the con as Conline is doing some upgrading this weekend.