Panelist Application

Please complete this form to be considered for our panelist application process. If you’re interested in submitting proposals for multiple panels, please complete a separate form for each one.

Panel submissions will close on Monday, June 30, 2025.

We’ll let you know if your panel has been accepted or waitlisted on Eventeny by Friday, July 11, 2025. You can also check the status of your application in Eventeny at any time after submission.

Please confirm your acceptance by Monday, July 21, 2025.

Before you get started, make sure to check out our Panel Rules and Guidelines for 2025.

We at Matsuricon take our panel selection as a point of pride. We receive hundreds of hours of submitted content, which we must narrow down to what will be best for our show. We are always looking to expand our panel content and bring the best of the best to each convention year. For those of you who are looking to join our panel lineup, here are a few things we are looking for as we move into the panel selection process.

The Panel submission form: no matter what your panel is about or how you plan to present it, your submission form is the first and most important impression we have of you. Please take the time to ensure that you have read and responded to all of the questions we have asked, and check your spelling, grammar, and capitalization.

Presenting panelists must be at least 15 years or older by the time of the convention.
 

No food or beverages are allowed to be brought into or given out in the event room(s). 

ALL presenting panelists MUST be included on the submission form.
 

The lead panelist MUST be available through Eventeny (or email contact in extenuating circumstances).
 

Panel slots are typically 45 minutes each, with a 15-minute changeover between panels. We will ask you for detailed timing in the panel submission form to get you enough time for your panel.
 

We are asking for new panels and ideas this year. However, we will no longer accept “Ask a Character” panel submissions. We encourage workshops, academic presentations, roundtables, game shows, fan panels, etc.

Matsuricon WILL NOT supply any prizes or materials/devices for your panel; that is the panelists’ responsibility.

NOTE: Workshop panels may charge an additional cost for providing materials; if you plan to do this, please add this information to your Panel Description!!

Matsuricon DOES NOT offer Wi-Fi, so please plan accordingly.
 

The panel rooms are standard lecture hall rooms (stage, 4 chairs, 4 microphones, 1 projector, lecture seating). We will have limited HDMI cables available, so it's best to be prepared and bring your own. If you need a different room style, please specify this in the Room section of your panel application.
 

Failure to show up to your panel within 10 minutes of its start time is an automatic ban for one year from presenting panels. Emergencies (evaluated on a case-by-case basis) are the only exception.
 

If you need to cancel an accepted panel, that’s okay! However, canceling after the convention has begun (case-by-case emergencies aside) will be considered a no-show and result in an automatic one-year ban.
 

Please ensure you’ve accurately rated your panel. We have a ratings guide to help you place it where it needs to be. This helps everyone of all ages decide what content is appropriate for them! Please check out the Ratings and Guides page at https://matsuricon.org/policies-safety!
 

Be gracious! Whether all or none of your panels get accepted, remember that this is something that we all are part of and enjoy. Just because something you submitted didn’t get accepted doesn’t mean we don’t value you or your content; it simply didn’t fit our goals and needs this year. We are fortunate enough to get hundreds of panel submissions each year. Please be kind to the panelists who did get approved.

We will not tolerate any bullying or shaming within our panel community. We reserve the right to remove your panel from our schedule for any reason, at any time. Please report any incidents to panels@matsuricon.org

The panels leadership team also reserves the right to withdraw and remove any panels and/or panelists seen breaking Matsuricon’s Code of Conduct at any time.

Submitting this application means you’ve read and will abide by these terms and conditions or risk no longer running panels with Matsuricon.