Be a Panelist

Panel submissions will close on Sunday, July 12, 2026. Please confirm your acceptance within 10 days of receiving your acceptance email.

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Interested in hosting a panel showcasing your unique talents or knowledge?

We here 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, so we encourage you to submit fresh new ideas to bring added variety and excitement to every Matsuricon!

Rules & Guidelines

  • Please keep an eye on your email and Eventeny (especially if you don’t have email notifications turned on for Eventeny) after you submit your application(s).
    • We will send your approval, waitlist, or denial decision through Eventeny as soon as possible. This may be shortly after your submission, or closer to the panel application deadline.
  • To ensure timely processing for all applicants, we request that you reply to confirm your continued interest in presenting your panel within 10 days of receiving your approval decision.
  • Waitlisted panels may be adjusted at the panelists’ discretion.
    • If you can have your panel ready, you may keep it on the waitlist, and we may reach out to ask you to fill a slot closer to the convention, as there are always last-minute cancellations.
    • If you need more preparation, or if the panel status determines whether you attend Matsuricon, you may still withdraw your panel at any time.
    • We will touch base with you regarding waitlisted panels after the first round of approvals is complete to verify if you’re still interested.
    • We added at least 15 waitlisted panels last year (2025) to the final schedule, so a waitlist is not a denial.
  • If you need to cancel an accepted panel, that’s okay! However, canceling after August 31, 2026 (except for case-by-case emergencies) will be considered a no-show and result in an automatic one-year ban from presenting panels. Panels cancelled before August 31, 2026 will incur no penalty.

  • We no longer accept “Ask a Character” panel submissions.
  • We encourage workshops, academic presentations, roundtables, game shows, fan panels, etc.
  • We encourage diverse content for all panel submissions. We received many duplicate submissions for similar game shows and fan panels in 2025, and we will only approve those that make sense for filling a diverse schedule.
  • Matsuricon WILL NOT supply any prizes or materials/devices for your panel; that is the panelists’ responsibility.
  • Workshop panels may charge an additional cost for providing materials; if you plan to do this, please add this information to your Panel Description! Please include the cost and accepted payment methods so attendees are not surprised upon arrival.
  • Please ensure you’ve accurately rated your panel. This helps everyone, regardless of age, decide what content is appropriate for them. Please refer to the Ratings and Guides page at https://matsuricon.org/policies-safety for additional information.

  • Presenting panelists must all be at least 15 years or older by the time of the convention.
    • Panelists under 18 may not present 18+ panels, even with parental consent, at this time. All attendees and panelists will have legal IDs checked at the door for 18+ panels.
  • ALL presenting panelist legal names and emails MUST be included on the submission form.
    • Important Note: We do not share your legal name with ANYONE. We will never post your legal name. We will never use it for anything other than verifying your identity with your legal ID, so please use the name on your ID to avoid any issues with reimbursements.
    • Any panelist changes may be made up to August 31, 2026. Any panelist changes made after this date are not guaranteed to be honored. Registration cannot add panelists, even if they purchase the panelist badge.
  • All panelists must be available through Eventeny (or email contact in extenuating circumstances) for communication. Life happens, and we try our best to be understanding. Please don’t ghost us.

Panel Logistics

  • The minimum panel time slot is 45 minutes, with a 15-minute changeover between panels. Panels under 45 minutes will not be accepted. Panels that end before 75% of their allotted time slot will not be reimbursed. Please run through your panel in advance to get an accurate estimate of your timing.
  • We will ask you for detailed timing in the panel submission form to give you enough time for your panel. If you have additional preferences, please list them on your application form. At the end time of your panel, a staff member will alert you to finish and clear the room for the next panelist.
  • 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.
  • We will ask you for your available dates and times. Please fill this information out accurately. If you select only one time slot and there are guest panels during that time, we will understand that you don’t want to present your panel if it isn’t in that time slot.
  • Preferred time slots can be specified in the “Additional information” section.

  • No food or beverages are allowed to be brought into or given out in the event rooms.
  • Most panel rooms are arranged as standard lecture hall rooms (stage, up to 4 chairs, up to 4 microphones, 1 projector, lecture seating). If you need a different room style, please specify this in the Room section of your panel application.
  • Panel rooms have a specific capacity. We will use your existing numbers, provided numbers, and estimations to assign you the best-suited room. Please provide accurate information to the best of your ability, so you have adequate space to present your panel.
  • GCCC/Hyatt does not allow standing room in panel rooms, and all attendees must be seated.

  • Matsuricon DOES NOT offer Wi-Fi, so please plan accordingly.
  • The best practice is to bring everything you need to hook your device up to a projector.
  • The projectors take full-sized HDMI cables, and some may be available, but it’s never bad to be prepared.
  • Please bring any necessary adapters, charging cables, etc., as we do not keep those on hand.
  • If there are any tech issues, please ask the door person for assistance.
  • Please note that any tech resolutions may take away from your presentation time, so please come prepared.

  • Each panelist must have a badge to present a panel.
  • You do not need to check in ahead of time for your panel.
  • Show up at your panel room at the assigned time to check in with the door person. They will ask you for your legal name, which can either be said aloud or a legal ID may be presented. Each panelist must be present for the entire panel for that panelist to receive reimbursement.
  • Panelist Badges are available for approved panelists only. Please purchase your badge through the link provided in your approval email to expedite your reimbursement.
  • Any badges purchased outside of the panelist badge link, except for premium badges, will be converted to Panelist Badges after confirmation to expedite this process.
  • The panelist badge is a set price, so it doesn’t increase with time. As long as there are approved panelists on your application without purchased badges, we will continue to remind you to purchase a badge. Each panelist must have a badge to present a panel.

Expectations of Conduct

Be gracious! Whether all or none of your panels get accepted, remember that this is something that we are all 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. When possible, we will inform you of changes that can be made to be accepted in the future or to modify the current year’s application. We are fortunate enough to get hundreds of panel submissions each year. Please be kind to one another.

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 [email protected]. This email is monitored only by leadership.
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.

Reimbursement

Panelist Badges are available for approved panelists only. Please purchase your badge through the link provided in your approval email to expedite your reimbursement.

At door badge purchases will unfortunately be non-refundable. Reimbursement will be confirmed by checking in with the panels staff and having them confirm completion of the appropriate panel(s).

When submitting, please use all panelists legal names the emails that they used for registration.

Please Note

Our primary form of contact is through the Lead Panelist. It is their responsibility to relay information regarding schedules and check-in procedures. However, we do require emails for all panelists. When submitting, please ensure you have properly and accurately filled out everyone’s contact information. If you did not fill it out correctly, we cannot guarantee reimbursement.

If filling out multiple submissions, please keep your information consistent and accurate. We require all panelists to put their legal name for the submissions. This is for registration’s records so we can match you accurately. We have had many panelists in the past who were not correctly accounted for due to misspellings of names/emails and panelists using multiple names and emails for the same name.

Contact

If you need to change any panel info, or believe your submission was lost please reach out to our email at [email protected] at any time.