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It just seems like a lot of things aren't happening the way they're supposed to this year and not a lot of communication is happening. I hope this doesn't mean bad things for the convention itself. :/

Can we please get someone on staff to respond about this? There's a lot of uproar on the Facebook page. We were told a week ago that you were done reviewing all the applicants and that emails would start going out. Messages, pings and emails have been ignored. Who can we talk to? Can we get an explanation as to why seven weeks before the convention we haven't gotten any feedback at all about who's in and who's out at artist alley?

Hate to break it to you but no. Fanime has NOT posted a single guest anywhere else. I checked all the social media they're on and there has not bee a single guest announced. And I have a feeling there going to delay the guest announcements until MAY which is the month of the con. Fanime simply love's to do this now.

Oh wow. It's been awhile since I've been to Fanime (4 years or so) but I seem to remember guests being a pretty big draw. I went the year Haruko Momoi attended, and it totally made my con.

Has the focus of the con shifted then? With no guests announced at all two months before the convention, I'm just wondering why people are registering or why the hotels are all booked up. Is the primary focus of the convention the dances and the steampunk mini convention now?

Hey! I was checking out the website and it looks like the guests haven't been listed yet. Have they been listed elsewhere? Trying to get a feel for whose autographs I should schedule/plan for this year.

58 days until the convention, less than a week 'til the deadline for paying for our tables and no one knows who got in yet. If the point of this system was to allow the best variety/highest quality artists in, it's pretty sad to know that by the time the results go out a good chunk won't be able to attend. It gets really expensive to arrange this close to the date, and every other con around this time has already released their artist alley results.

No announcements have been made, and per the Facebook page they're refusing to release an ETA because they've already passed internal deadlines and basically have no idea when we'll find out at this point.

You're right Bryce Nakagawa, I did not want to provide an ETA without any basis. Due to the standstill cause by the technical issues, we already passed the internal deadlines we set for ourselves, and we did not have any way to project an even remotely accurate ETA for you guys.

And here's the last time we were communicated with by staff, on March 8:

Hello everyone. I know you guys are freaking out about the lack of updates. At this point, our technical difficulties have been addressed and we are over halfway through with reviews. We pushed the application site out early in hopes that we would be able to get decisions out earlier, however inevitable hiccups do happen and we will deal with them as they happen. Every year we continue to tweak our systems with the goal of one day having a smooth, timely process in place. I appreciate you guys for understanding that our staffers are all doing this as volunteer work on top of family, jobs, etc.

Any updates on this? It's almost March now, and it would suck to get in and then not have a hotel to stay in. I'm waiting on whether I'll attend this event or another one (which also has a cut-off time that's approaching) based on my Artist Alley application.

It's been a couple of years since I've sold at Fanime and now I'm looking at registering again. I'd heard the rule changed on the ratio of fan art to original work that you must sell -- I beleive it was 50/50 the last time I had a table. I did some searching and found an FAQ for last year's AA registration, but it didn't seem to discuss this point. Can anyone provide any clarification?

As registration is going up today, do we have any updated information on when to expect hotel registration to open?

Is there a specific time today that prereg opens? Or hotel?

I would like to believe that's true, too. I would also like to believe that no con attendees steal things off of Artist Alley tables and that everyone attending conventions are honest, straightforward and trustworthy-- but unfortunately this isn't the case. I can very easily envision a scenario in which someone asks for permission to display their material, someone declines, and the requesting artist is offended by the rejection. Either because they believe it's silly to reject the proposal, that the other person is being selfish, etc. It really doesn't matter.

The fact of the matter is the burden of that decision should be on the convention rules, not up to the individual artists.

The only problem I see with the whole "just ask your neighbors for permission" scenario is that I think a lot of people would feel pressured to agree to it. I mean, it's your table neighbor. You're going to be stuck next to them all weekend.  You might have to ask them to watch your booth, ask to borrow a print sleeve if you run out, all those sorts of things. Starting the weekend out on a sour note might not be something a lot of artists are willing to do.

I personally think it's easier if a clear rule is made against back displays in artists alleys. The front is plenty of space, and if it's not you can always purchase an additional table as many artists have before.

[Kappei Yamaguchi]

I'm really surprised that no one's requested Kappei Yamaguchi yet, of Ranma, Inuyasha, Gravitation, One Piece, Death Note and Eyeshield 21 fame. He's been doing US conventions for a few years now and I'd love to see Fanime reach out to him.

I have a question that's not related to the lottery! :) I completed all my paperwork, was accepted into the AA and was just wondering when we should expect table assignments? I think I got a notice when I signed up, something like "You should be receiving an email shortly with seating information," but I'm not sure I ever got that email.

Thanks for the tip! I'll go check it out. :)

These might have been answered already, not sure...

If I don't have my Permit right at this moment will this effect when I get the seating chart, or where I will be placed seating wise? (Not sure if we are still getting the chance to choose where we sit). I have already paid for the table.

This is my situation as well! I'm still waiting for my seller's permit. I was accepted, paid for my table-- I'm hoping this means I'm in!

So I'm looking to turn some of our art into badges for the artist alley. Buttons are easy for me-- I have a button press, had one for years, cinch to put together! Badges I'm having a hard time starting out on. Will a place like FedEx/Kinko's have the laminate and proper hole punch I need for this? Is it worth investing in machines that'll do this for me? What've been your experiences with this?

A "first timer" related question. I've been to fanime a few times before, but this'll be my first booth run. :) I'm working on coordinating my table layout and had a kind of silly question. For those of you who've done table covers before, about how much fabric did you end up needing to get to cover it?

I just got my approval as well! I was number 242, for anyone keeping track (though I'm not sure the numbers indicate any order in which we were registered in.)

Now to hassle with getting a sellers permit. Far more confusing when you don't even live in California!

Ah, great! Yes, I just saw that. I won't bother, then. Thanks for clearing everything up!