Good day folks,

Piquo Pie here, returning as head of the 2015 EFNW Writing Track. I'm currently working some behind the scenes items that will benefit the Writing Track both at the con and here on fimfiction. Part of this will be recruiting new Writing Track staff members for 2015 and beyond. Currently Xepher is returning with a promotion to second in charge after performing well last year as Writing Track staff. Please give him a warm round of applause.

If you are local or in the area this Sunday, 9/28, you can meet up with me during the later half of a local fanfiction meetup, around 4PM compared to the 2PM start. Find out more information here. Please note that this is not an officially sponsored EFNW event, just someplace to hang out and talk fanfiction so feel free to join.

As for the open positions note that we do have positions open to those who won't be able to attend the convention which is taking place on May 29-31st of 2015 and I can see about getting you a thank you for helping in lieu of a comped badge. If you are under 18 we can work something out but 18+ is preferred. If you are unsure if you will be able to help and cannot commit right at this moment we would still like you to submit an application. We will follow up if we think your assistance will be useful or you can follow up when you know if you are or are not available.

So what are we looking for for new EFNW Writing Track staff? We are looking for people interested in performing the following duties.
1) Voice acting. While this is the most tentative position we are entertaining we like the idea of having a readings of fanfiction for children as well as readings of some fics for adults that are still family friendly. Finding out if we have the talent to accomplish this is one of the things we need to consider. You would be expected to help identify stories to read, practice, and perhaps record prior to the con for media purposes. You would need to be able to attend the con and might be asked to read some or all of the winners of the at con Iron Authors Competition. Depending on how this evolves there is a possibility you would end up under a different department but right now these plans fall under fanfiction.

2) Fanfiction Reviewing. Last year we started a weekly fic recommendation post. We hope to continue it this year and have it run all year round with occasional one or two week breaks. Right now the plan is to have three people contribute one recommendation a week for three weeks out of the month. The fourth week will probably be a re-post with people voting on their favorite fic from each of the other three weeks. Thus the most popular fic from each week will be recommended again and our reviewers get a week off. We do try and focus on lesser known fics, might consider recommendations from the community, and will allow reviews to be written in advance.

3) Contest Judging. I am hoping to do two pre-con and one at con writing contests. If you are willing to help judge entries you will not be allowed to enter yourself or assist another. It might be possible to assist the con judging without being at the con. More on that in the months to come.

4) Editing fimfiction posts. While both Xepher and Horizon were a great help last year both have slightly less time to help edit site posts. Add to this editing reviews and some as of yet undisclosed plans on fimfiction and we might need as many as 2 regular editors who can contribute 10-40 minutes a week, sometimes on short notice (1-3 days).

5) Volunteers who are willing to help run panels or events at the convention. If you are experienced with paneling we are more likely to ask you to lead a panel and if you are less experienced we are more likely to have you participate as a back up with an opportunity later in the weekend to lead the panel. There might also be opportunities for experience during pre-con panels run online.

6) General staffing. From year to year there is no guarantee that we will always have the same staff. People move away, move on, move up, and even burn out. By expanding our pool of staff to draw on we will be better able to compensate for expected and unexpected changes in staff in the near and distant future and can ensure a strong writing track for years to come. Someone signing up to be general Writing Track staff would be involved with almost everything myself or Xepher would be involved in, including some of the above duties, and would be expected to step up should something tragic happen to myself or Xepher. Morbid, yes. Prepared, like an eagle scout.

Obviously we don’t need a different person for every position, a single person interested in being general staff and an editor or a fic reviewer might be enough. What we are looking for is a good combination of people capable of performing the above tasks. If it’s two people that’s fine, if we feel like six people would be better than that is what we will go with. It depends on the talents of those who apply.

If you are interested in helping please send us a message on fimfiction including
- A quick description of yourself.
- What you want to help with.
- A quick description of your strengths and weaknesses in relation to what you would like to help with.
- Links to relevant information such as videos of panels you were on, posts, stories, or other relevant information.
- How often you will be available prior to con, how much time you can commit, and if you are planning to attend the convention.
- For voice acting please include a link to you reading a few paragraphs or a story with multiple characters. We are primarily looking for someone who can read a story pleasantly but good interpretations of show characters are encouraged. Also please list the characters from the show you feel comfortable imitating, we might ask for more later or might approach you about other voice acting opportunities that EFNW might end up doing.

Please keep information short and concise but don’t limit yourself too much, after all we want to learn about who you are and how you do things, not just what skills you have and your accomplishments. I believe in forming a team that can work together but thinks independently.

Keep in mind that we are a family friendly con and are happy to encourage and even work with other cons if the event arrises. We expect you to play nice with and respect others, even if you feel like they are having trouble doing so.

If you have already signed up as a volunteer that is fine. Everyone here will eventually need to fill out a volunteer form anyway.

I plan on having the application open until October 11th 11:59 PM. While we will respond that we got your message in a few days, different positions will hear back at different times. It might be a few weeks to a few months for voice acting as that opening is tentative. General staffing, fic reviewing, and editing, will be a priority and won’t take longer than a few weeks. Judging and event staff will likely be somewhere in between.

I’m looking forward to having a fantastic con this year. We have a lot of cool things in the works both in and outside of the writing track and we want new friends to join us on this grand adventure.

-Piquo Pie