Becoming A Panelist
Norwescon typically begins inviting panelists and pros in the late summer (August-September) and solicits ideas for panels, presentations, and workshops in the fall (September-October). We set the schedule in November-December, and then send the whole ball of wax off to our Publications department so they have plenty of time to proofread, format, and print it up. If you’re interested in participating as a panelist, we recommend contacting us by August to make sure we get it in time.
If you would like to do a presentation or workshop at Norwescon: We ask for a title (no more than 8 words), a description of the panel (no more than 100 words), technical requirements (if any), and information about yourself and why you’re qualified to give this presentation or workshop.
If you’re interested in being a Norwescon panelist: Take the time to introduce yourself, tell us what you’re good for, and why. Programming gets lots of e-mails from people volunteering to be panelists, but what we really want to know is: What kinds of panels can we put you on? Why are you an expert? What qualifications do you have?
Norwescon has a whole new staff every year, fields interest from hundreds of qualified people who want to be panelists, and has space for just over 200, so it can be competitive. We’re always looking for a good balance of skills and specialties, and therefore might turn down impressively qualified people if their skill set overlaps too much with too many people we’ve already invited. Contrary to popular belief, there is no set list of pros who are automatically invited back every year — in fact, we are actively trying to cycle through the large number of highly qualified pros available to allow space for new points of view and to keep our content fresh.
What we’re truly looking for in an attending professional is someone who:
- Is a genuine expert in their field
- Is an engaging and charismatic speaker
- Shows up to their panels on time and prepared
- Conducts their business with the convention in a pleasant and professional manner, and
- Lets us know they’re interested!
Panelist slots for Norwescon 36 are now full, but feel free to start thinking ahead for Norwescon 37! You can always ask questions by sending a message to Programming through our contact page.
