Queen City Anime Con 2026

It all begins with passion. Passion is what drives our team of staff and volunteers to bring Queen City Anime Convention to life every year. You can transform your hobby into something more and forge connections in an inclusive space filled with acceptance, creativity, and love. Perhaps you'd like to support entertainers backstage, assist panelists, help attendees seeking ADA accommodations, lend a hand to busy artists and vendors, or maybe you have a creative idea to enhance the event. There are countless ways to contribute, and your passion could be the key to creating even more positive experiences for our attendees, guests, and staff. COMPENSATION: 2026 QCAC Staff Badge 2026 Staff t-shirt The option to stay in a shared hotel room during the event Breakfast each morning, and snacks throughout the event Monetary stipend, intended to aid in travel and meal expenses Complimentary badge(s) for family and/or friends Staff After-Party

Interested in being a panelist at QCAC 2026? Please complete all required fields and we will be in touch!

 

We're thrilled that you are interested in joining us for Queen City Anime Con 2026!

 

As our name implies, we are an Anime and Japanese culture convention, and while we appreciate western media, we prioritize panels that directly involve anime, manga, or other Japanese culture. Of course, we do have a certain amount of leniency and we will consider well-planned proposals if the fandom is large and in demand, and or overlaps with one of our core programming areas such as cosplay, and gaming.

 

Please note that our panel acceptance process is not first-come-first-served. Many received panel applications will be placed into our tentative list until we are sure we have space on the schedule. We will accept panels on a rolling basis instead of making all the decisions in one batch. While we strive to choose the best panel possible, submitting early may increase your odds of being chosen and allows us more time to plan for your panel’s needs.

 

 

Panel submissions that get approved:

• Are well-planned and have supporting materials. Because of limited space and scheduling we want to ensure the panels we offer are successful, the more details you can provide regarding your proposal the better. Please make sure your proposal is well-written and if possible include evidence that the panel will be successful. Remember that the proposal is our first glimpse of how you will communicate with our team and with our guests and what you want to do at QCAC.
• Are engaging and interactive. We value lectures, but proposals that offer creative audience interaction truly capture our attention.
• Are more than a come and discuss a fandom, or 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 evidence of your panel going well in the past, please provide that to us, we would like to see photos, videos, or any other feedback you have received.
• Keep safety in mind and limit physical involvement of panel attendees. We know that there are many fun games that involve movement around a panel room, but we do not have oversight to make sure they run safely, unfortunately. In order to offer the safest environment possible for our attendees we ask that all panels have a predominantly seated audience.

 

General Scheduling:

Please note that a 1 hour panel grants 40 minutes of actual presentation time, 10 minutes for arrival and set-up, and 10 minutes for clearing the room and cleaning up for the next group to enter. Therefore, any panelist who is late may still present, but will need to adjust to remain on schedule for those presenting after them. 

 

Please plan accordingly - don’t make us come ask you to leave the room. 

 

Setting Up: If you require technical assistance in setting up for your panel please inform a staff member or stop by Con-Ops for assistance. Please bring your own HDMI adapters, cables, or peripherals!**

Cleaning Up: Please be courteous to your fellow panelists, and remember, all trash must be removed and the room must be reset to the way you found it before you leave. 

Canceling: If you find that you cannot conduct your panel please inform us as soon as possible at info@queencityanimecon.org 

 

Content Rules
Please be sure that you are following all of our Content Rules, as well as our Code of Conduct, which can always be found on our website at queencityanimecon.com

 

The following will not be tolerated in any panel:

• Racial slurs
• Language (words, slang, or otherwise) that refers to members of racial and ethnic groups in a derogatory manner.
• Hate speech
• Abusive or threatening language that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

18+ Panels:

• 18+ content is anything that contains graphic, sexual, overly violent or obscene material which would be unsuitable for minors. Including, but not limited to: Gore/Extreme Violence, Adult language (if your content would be rated above PG-13, then it’s 18+), Sexual Content (of any sort), or Nudity.
• Even with an 18+ panel please be sure to warn your audience before any potentially triggering content.
• Queen City Anime Convention is a family friendly event. Therefore, panels containing 18+ content will be scheduled late in the evening, generally between the hours of 10PM and 2AM.
• If a panel submitted as 'not 18+' is found to contain 18+ material, Queen City Anime Con reserves the right to shut down the panel in progress. A panel shut down while in progress will not be considered successfully run, panelists will not be entitled to badge compensation, and may lead to denial of future panel submissions.
• Queen City Anime Con is committed to providing a safe environment for all our attendees, as such all 18+ panels will be screened by our team to ensure their content meets our guidelines. Panels at Queen City Anime Convention may not include discussion, depictions or jokes related to the following:
  • Sexual harassment
  • Sexual assault, Rape, or non-consensual sexual interactions of any kind.
  • Statutory Rape or any sexual content involving minors
  • Any 18+ panel that is screened and approved by our team that is later found to contain any of the above content during the event, Queen City Anime Con reserves the right to shut down the panel in progress. A panel shut down while in progress will not be considered successfully run, panelists will not be entitled to badge compensation, and may lead to denial of future panel submissions. Queen City Anime Con may allow, at our discretion, programming that discusses these themes in an appropriate and serious context with appropriate use of content warnings.

 

Panelist Compensation:
Badges must be purchased in advance but will be reimbursed at a rate of ⅓ per hour, therefore three one hour long panels would reimburse your full weekend badge purchase. VIP badges will be reimbursed based on the total cost of a standard full weekend badge purchase.

 

For panels that require multiple people please note that we only reimburse the leader of the group. However, if you have special circumstances that require you to have a larger group to successfully run your panel, then please reach out to us at programming@queencityanimecon.org so we can evaluate your specific situation.

 

Panelist groups that provide specialty content or a large catalog of panels are encouraged to reach out directly by email with proposals for convention programming.

 

**Equipment Rental Policy
To ensure our equipment remains available for all participants, we are introducing a new checkout system this year.

 

Panelists and exhibitors requiring the use of QCAC-owned equipment (such as HDMI adapters, cables, or peripherals) will be required to provide a refundable equipment deposit at the time of pickup.

 

 

If you have any questions regarding scheduling please email our Programming Team at programming@queencityanimecon.org 

For the fastest response on everything else, please email us at info@queencityanimecon.org

Interested in being a guest at QCAC 2026? Please complete all required fields and we will be in touch!

 

We're thrilled that you are interested in joining us for Queen City Anime Con 2026!

 

Performers: Performance arts have always been an integral part of QCAC and remain at the heart of what we're trying to bring to our community. If your type of performance art isn't typical at anime conventions, please don't let that deter you from applying, because we're not your typical anime convention. Musical acts, dancing, aerial acts, drag, burlesque, Improv, etc....we want to see what you've got!

 

Please note, because we get so many applications, providing detailed information in your initial submission is really important. The more specifics you include, the better we can understand your work and make a decision.

We have both daytime and late night (18+) events and performances every year. If your performance(s) would be 18+ please make sure to read the information below:

QCAC After Dark is our 18+ adult oriented variety show hosted by Queen City Anime Convention. These acts usually include drag, burlesque, aerial acts, etc. While these acts are adult oriented in nature, performers must comply with all local blue laws. If you have any questions about whether your act or attire is permissible please contact us at: programming@queencityanimecon.org

 

Performers are permitted to accept cash and contactless tips. QCAC staff will do our best to aid in promoting tipping options to attendees of QCAC After Dark. Queen City Anime Con is operated by volunteers. 

Interested in being a guest at QCAC 2026? Please complete all required fields and we will be in touch!

 

We're thrilled that you are interested in joining us for Queen City Anime Con 2026!

 

Industry Guests: We're looking for passionate cosplayers, animators, voice actors, and more! If you're interested in joining us, we'd love to learn about your talents and how you can enhance the experience for our attendees.

 

Please note, because we get so many applications, providing detailed information in your initial submission is really important. The more specifics you include, the better we can understand your work and make a decision.