Submit a Panel

Hosting a panel at Yama-Con is a fun way to get involved with the convention, put those thousands of hours of anime watching to use, make new friends, and even get a discounted or free badge to Yama-Con!

• We recommend the panelist and co-host to be at least 16 years old by 12/6/2024.
  • For 18+ Adult Track panels, panelists must be at least 18 years old by 12/6/2024.
• Panels at the LeConte Center cannot have outside food or drink, including alcohol.
• Please do not alter the panel room set up.
  • No tape or stickers on the walls or floor.
  • Please do not rearrange the tables or chairs without permission.
  • For arts and crafts/workshops please use the provided table coverings. If more protective equipment is needed, please provide your own.

• Panels that are well-planned and have supporting materials. The proposal is our first glimpse of how you communicate and what you want to do at Yama-Con. Make sure it’s well-written and try to include evidence that the panel will be successful. If you want to add something that can’t be included in the online form (such as a picture or document) or something changes after you submit, email it to Programming Director Ben Knight at ben.knight@yamacon.org. (make sure to include your name and the panel name for reference).
• Panels that are engaging and interactive. We like lectures, too, but a proposal that introduces a creative way to communicate with the audience really catches our eyes.
• Panels should be more than dressing in character and showing up. You can certainly submit “in-character” panels, but we’d like to see more than, “come ask your favorite character a question” in the description. If you have support for your panel going well in the past, such as videos, we’d like to see that, too.
  • If you plan to submit an Ask-a-Character panel, we require a video audition of your panel/characters acting in-character. If you are unable to provide a video link in the application, please email your video audition as an attachment to Programming Director Ben Knight at ben.knight@yamacon.org immediately after completing your panel application. If you do not submit an audition video unprompted, your application will not be considered.
• Panels should not involve aggressive physicality. We know that “battle chess” and other such games are super fun, but we don’t have the room or oversight to make sure they run safely, unfortunately. However, panels that are yoga based, or dance workshops are completely okay, and we welcome them, and we might even join in! If you are unsure if your panel is physically aggressive, then please email Programming Director Ben Knight at ben.knight@yamacon.org.
• We don’t recommend speed or blind date style panels. You can definitely submit a proposal, but please know that we’re rather strict with planning these sorts of events. We have to make sure that all our guests are comfortable and safe, after all. That being said, Yama-Con is a huge gathering of people with interests just like yours – any event could be the place you meet your new best friend!
• Panels for all audience age groups are welcome, just make sure to let us know your panel is 18+ if it is for more adult audiences!
• If you have any other questions about this information or the panelist proposal form, please send an email to Programming Director Ben Knight at ben.knight@yamacon.org.

• projector and screen
• HDMI cord
  • If your computer is not HDMI compatible you must bring your own adapter. We only provide an HDMI cord.
• 2 tables
• 2 microphones

You will need to bring your own laptop for displaying your PowerPoint or viewing your presentation. We will not provide a laptop for panelist use.

Internet is not always reliable at our venue, so we recommend have your presentation downloaded or available offline.

If you need additional equipment please request it in your application. Additional equipment is not guaranteed but we will do our best to provide it if we know ahead of time

We appreciate you and all the work you do coming up with cool topics to host and putting together a presentation, and we want to make sure you’re taken care of! We offer two discount options for those approved for less than 6 hours of panels, and a free 3-day badge for those approved to present 6 or more hours!