The information below was available to presenters for their use in preparing proposals to be a part of the programming for Terminus. While no further proposals will be accepted for the conference, we hope it will give attendees an idea of what sorts of presentation styles will be featured during the conference.

Terminus’s programming comprises submissions by scholars, students, professionals, fans, and others with an interest in the Harry Potter series. This same diverse group makes up the audience for critical thought on the novels, films, related items and the overall phenomenon, as well as for the creative endeavors of the fan community. We hope that the information included below helps potential presenters for Artists and Authors Night and potential artists for the Terminus Gallery to prepare a proposal.

Booths

Four interactive, participatory booths will be open during Artists and Authors Night, scheduled for the evening of August 9, 2008. Booth staffers will be scheduled for a one-hour shift, and may be joined by other staffers at the same time, depending upon the number of applications received and accepted. At the time of application, potential booth staffers should be prepared to show their skills in a booth area, as noted below.

Art Critique Booth: Art critique booth applicants will be asked to view a selection of pieces and comment on features such as perspective, proportions, and overall technique in a way that could be shared with the artist to help him or her improve.

Beta Booth: Beta booth applicants will be asked to read a short passage and make comments on features such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, and overall story considerations in a way that could be shared with the author of the passage to help him or her improve.

Drabble Booth: Drabble booth applicants will be asked to upload a single file including up to 1,000 words demonstrating their ability to write drabbles or other very short works of fiction. (Traditionally, a "drabble" is 100 words.) Files may be formatted as .doc, .txt, .rtf, or .html.

Sketch Booth: Sketch booth applicants will be asked to upload up to three sample sketches that represent what they are able to draw in 15 minutes or less, and that might be drawn on the back of a name badge or on a small piece of paper (for example, a 3x4" card). Line art is welcome! Accepted file formats are .jpeg/.jpg, .png, and .gif.

Terminus will provide necessary materials for staffing each of the booths.

Fanfiction Readings

Fanfiction authors, as individuals or collaborative groups, may make a proposal to read fanfiction before an audience. Time blocks of either 25 or 50 minutes are available for reading and discussion. Authors may also select a 15-minute reading and, if accepted, will be scheduled as part of a fanfiction panel. Authors might choose to read a single work, several short works, or excerpts from one or more pieces. Authors should be prepared to make one proposal submission with a single file that includes all pieces or excerpts from which they wish to read; no substitutions to accepted material will be allowed. (In case of multiple proposals from a single author, the files will be combined and the time adjusted to the maximum allowable per author.) Files may be formatted as .doc, .txt, .rtf, or .html. Additionally, authors and collaborative groups should have ready all titles included in the file and a summary of the piece(s) of up to 100 words.

Collaboratively written fanfiction may be submitted under a joint program book name even if only a single author will be in attendance. Authors may participate in as multiple collaborative proposals, so long as the group makes only a single proposal for any unique combination of authors.

Fanart Portfolio

Fanartists, as individuals or collaborative groups, may make a proposal to show a collection of art before an audience. Time blocks of either 25 or 50 minutes are available for viewing and discussion. The portfolio submission should include all pieces that will be used for the showing; no substitutions to the accepted material will be allowed. Up to thirty pieces may be submitted as a portfolio, and artists may include up to 100 words of commentary about their submitted pieces. Accepted file formats are .jpeg/.jpg, .png, and .gif. It is understood that artists may submit pictures of 3-D works, or that they may reduce the size and/or quality of individual pieces in order to speed the uploading process.

At the time of submission, fanartists may choose to show their portfolio physically (for example, originals or printouts of digital work) or in a digital format. Collaborative fanart portfolios may be submitted under a joint program book name even if only a single artist will be in attendance, and artists may participate in multiple portfolio proposals, so long as the group makes only a single proposal for a unique combination of artists.

Gallery

Artists, both those who are able to attend the conference and those who are not, may submit up to five pieces per person or collaboration for consideration by the Terminus Gallery Committee. For example, Anna Artist may submit 5 pieces that are solely her own work, and submit a separate entry of 5 pieces that she has created with another artist. She might submit additional separate proposals that are collaborations with other artists as well.

All pieces will be automatically considered for Best in Show as part of the conference’s Pan-Magical Games. For information about the Terminus Gallery, which will be open all five days of the conference, please visit the Gallery page.

For information about proposing papers, lectures, panels, workshops, and roundtable discussions, please visit the Academic Programming Elements page.

If you have questions not answered here, please feel free to e-mail programming@terminus2008.org.