Podfication

Dear Podfication,

Due to information that has recently come to light about bessyboo's personal conduct, I have asked her to step down from Podfication leadership. She has agreed and will not be in attendance at future events.

Podfication will continue and I hope to keep serving you all well as its chair. If you have questions or concerns about this change, I encourage you to contact me via any channel you feel comfortable with (reply, dm, email, etc.) I am the sole administrator Podfication's various accounts so your messages will not viewed by anyone else unless you make them publicly.

At this time I ask that you bear with us with regard to the scheduling of future events. Between organizational change and the ongoing pandemic, I'm assessing our options to determine what the best and safest path forward will be. Please look for an official statement in the coming months.

Thank you so much to everyone for making Podfication what it is. I truly appreciate it and will keep working hard to make it both a welcoming environment to all and the best event it possibly can be for our community.

Sincerely,
revolutionaryjo

Hi friends, we hope your return travels and post-Podfication wind-downs were all excellent and good this year! We've got a very important question for you about the future of Podfication. Nothing bad, we just want to get a community temperature reading on this topic before making any decisions. If you have attended Podfication before or are considering attending Podfication in the future, we'd like to hear from you on this!

So here it is: Which of the following would you prefer?

• Podfication continue to run every year as a two day convention.


• Podfication moves to an every other year schedule and becomes a three day convention. (2020 being an off year and 2021 being the first year of the new con cycle.)

We're considering this because 1) most our attendees are traveling in from out of town, and we understand that's a big financial ask for those folks every year. And 2) given our usual attendance numbers, right now we can financially support an annual 2 day con, but by spreading that out to every other year it becomes feasible to expand to a 3 day con without taking a big hit, especially if the every other year model results in increased attendance.

Please note that as much as we would like to, with the average number of registrations we have at present, a 3 day con every year is not financially possible.

We'll be leaving this poll open through the end of 2019 and will make an announcement early in 2020 so no one's travel plans are adversely impacted.

So anyway, click the link below that will take you to a google form you can use to let us know your thoughts. It's anonymous unless you'd like to tell us who you are in the comments field.

CLICK HERE TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Live performance sign-ups for 2019 are now open!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

This event is a chance for anyone who'd like to do a reading for a live audience at the convention. It's a lot of fun!

You can do something new, something you've recorded before, an excerpt from a longer work (give us a heads up on that please), arrange or join a multi-voice performance, or whatever you like so long as it abides by the rules below.

While this is mostly an event that's performance for performance's sake, we'll be recording it. After the con, we'll post it to AO3 for everyone's enjoyment. There is an opt out if you'd rather not have your performance included and/or if you don't have author permission.

To make sure we can fit in everybody who wants to read:

• Performances should not run longer than 15 minutes total.


• 1 sign-up per individual.


• In addition to a solo performance, you can participate in up to 2 multi-voice performances.

The form will remain open through Saturday, September 28, 2019 at 11:59pm CST.

Any questions, just let us know! Drop us a comment, tweet (podfication), ask (podfication.tumblr.com), or email (podfication at gmail).

CLICK TO REGISTER FOR PODFICATION! - OCT. 19-20, 2019

What is Podfication?
An informal, two day convention for podfic creators and listeners! Join us in Minneapolis for hanging out, discussion, and recording.

When and where will it happen?
October 19th & 20th, 2019 at the Geek Partnership Society's Event Horizon community center, rooms 106 & 107 within the Waterbury Building which is large, red and hard to miss. (1121 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413)

Where can I stay if this isn't at a hotel?
The Event Horizon center is a convenient bus ride from downtown Minneapolis, which has many hotels. There may also be locals who can accommodate a few people, at their discretion. We encourage finding roommates and renting some local Airbnb's within walking distance of the venue, which has worked out wonderfully in past years! Visit the Lodgings Finder post to connect with people looking for roommates for the weekend.

What's the Event Horizon center like?
We have access to three rooms, one that has some comfy couch seating for hanging out and chatting, one for recording that's as sound isolated as is possible, and one for panels. We also have access to a small kitchenette. Public restrooms are just down the hall and parking is free.

I have a question about accessibility.
We want to accommodate any accessibility needs that we can. You can find our accessibility guide here. If you have any concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Do I have to be over 18 to attend?
Yes, since discussions can be of a mature nature, we ask that attendees are 18 years of age or older. Children under age 1 are welcome in the con space as long as they are attended by their parent/guardian.

Who's running this show?
revolutionaryjo and bessyboo are your co-chairs, but it takes a village. If you're interested in helping us staff this thing believe us we're interested in your help. Get in touch. If you're not up for that much responsibility, but still want to help we'll be calling for volunteers closer to October. Keep an eye out!

How do I register?
You can register using a variety of payment types here for $50.00 + $3.08 Eventbrite fee (USD). This is an unavoidable increase over prior years due to increasing costs associated with our venue. Everybody wants to live in NE Minneapolis, what can I tell you.

Can I purchase a supporting membership or donate?
We don't have a lot to offer you beyond endless thanks, but we'll happily mail you a copy of the programming guide after the convention if you chip in at least $25.00 USD. The best means of payment is via PayPal to podfication at gmail dot com. (If you'd like us to mail you that programming guide, please include your postal address in the notes!) If PayPal is a no-go, reach out and we'll figure out another way.

Do you have a scholarship program I can donate to?
You are a world class human being, friend. If you'd like to donate to cover the cost of registration for someone, the best way is to PayPal $50 per donated registration to podfication at gmail dot com. Be sure to note for us that what you're sending is a scholarship, or we'll assume it to be a general donation. If you can't do PayPal, reach out to us and we'll figure another way.

Do you have a scholarship program I can apply for?
Yes! We have one scholarship we're accepting applications for through August 31, 2019. Check this post for details and how to apply. If any additional scholarship donations are received, we'll make an additional post and update this FAQ.

More questions?
We'll be periodically updating this community as time goes on with more information. In the meantime, if you want to ask us a question directly, send over an email (podfication at gmail), a tweet (@podfication), an ask at podfication.tumblr.com, or drop us a comment here. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Podfication 2018 schedule of events is here!



Open in Google Docs Here

( Panel and Event Descriptions )

For folks not in easy driving distance of the Twin Cities, you can use this post to find roommates to share a hotel room/Airbnb with, or connect up with locals who are able to host some attendees for the weekend!

The GPS Community Center is located at 1121 NE Jackson St., Minneapolis MN 55413. There are quite a few hotels in downtown Minneapolis that are an easy bus ride away. Google Maps should be able to give you the logistical lowdown on that, depending on which hotel you're looking up. Metro Transit also has your back for planning your bus route.

Many people in previous years have stayed in groups in Airbnbs near the venue, which has worked out really well, and we highly recommend! While we'll leave actual rental & group organization up to you, we definitely encourage you to use this option. :)

As always: You may be tempted to stay at the University Inn off of 4th St as it's the closest hotel to the center, but trust me and do not do the thing. Maybe something has changed in the last decade since I lived in that area, but I know it as a place to avoid and am thus passing on this important info.

Locals, if you have some guest rooms or couch space you're able to spare, please post to let folks know! Any space available at an individual's home is at their discretion, of course.

Live performance sign-ups for 2017 are now open!

This event is a chance for anyone who'd like to do a reading for a live audience at the convention. We should have enough time for 10-11 performances. It's a lot of fun!

You can do something new, something you've recorded before, an excerpt from a longer work (give us a heads up on that please), arrange or join a multi-voice performance, or whatever you like so long as it abides by the rules below!

While this is mostly an event that's performance for performance's sake, we'll be recording it. After the con, we'll post it to AO3 for everyone's enjoyment. There is an opt out if you'd rather not have your performance included and/or if you don't have author permission.

To make sure we can fit in everybody who wants to read:

• Performances should not run longer than 20 minutes total.


• 1 sign-up per individual.


• In addition to a solo performance, you can participate in up to 2 multi-voice performances.

The form will remain open through September 23 30*, 2017 at 11:59pm CST.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

Any questions, just let us know! Drop us a comment, tweet (@podfication), or email us (podfication at gmail).

*Belated realization that the submission form was listing a cutoff date of Sep. 30th while this post had the 23rd. Going with the later of the two in case anyone was banking on that. Sorry for the mixup!

So now that we've got the schedule out there and y'all can make some informed decisions, we're looking for some volunteers! Our needs are small, but we definitely can't do this thing without you.

10/13 Update: We appear to have all our volunteer jobs filled! You guys are amazing! :D

Here's a rundown of the various things we need help with:

Saturday Morning Setup (9:00-9:30am)
There are a lot of chairs. They mostly need to be in theater style in rooms 107 and 106A. If chair moving is your passion or even just your "Eh, I could do that" let us know! We'll also need some help setting up the soundproofing equipment in room 106A, the AV equipment in 107, and putting up signage around the Waterbury building directing Podfication attendees to our rooms.
10/13 Update: We are now good on volunteers for this. Thanks!

Saturday Sandwich Lunch (~11:30am-1:30pm)
We'll provide food and plates and such, but we need a few people who can set it all out just before noon on Saturday and put it all away afterward! Or hey, if you're local and have a real knack for buying lunch meat, tubs of peanut butter, and paper plates, we'd love to let someone spearhead the pre-con portion of this endeavor too so we can stay focused on organizing everything else.
10/8 Update: We are good on this for both the pre-con organization and the setup! Thanks, volunteers!

Saturday End of Day Cleanup (~9:30pm)
Just some basic cleanup and storage duties before we leave the premises on Saturday night.
10/4 Update: We are now good on volunteers for this. Thanks!

Sunday Live Performances Door Duty (1:00-3:00pm)
We'll need 3 people who can each take an hour shift each at the door during Live Performances to let people in and out of the room between the readings.
10/8 Update: We are now good on volunteers for this. Thanks!

Sunday Evening Teardown (5:30pm)
All the chairs that were set out will need to be stacked up again and the soundproofing in 106A and other equipment taken down and loaded into cars before we go, plus any last minute cleaning so we can leave the nice people at GPS the rooms just as we found them.
10/13 Update: We are now good on volunteers for this. Thanks!

Assorted Chair Moving at Various Intervals
We may need some folks to help us move chairs between 107 and 106A for things like the Not!Fic Extravaganza and the Live Performances on Sunday, depending on if there are enough for both rooms or not. Keep an ear out if you're available during those times because we might ask whoever's around if they can help.

We may append this post if other things come up, so check back periodically!

If you're able to step up to do any of these things, please let us know! Drop us a comment, tweet (@podfication), or email us (podfication at gmail).