Competitions

We're running several competitions as part of the convention. These include Art, Filking, and Costuming. Check the entry deadlines! We also ran Short Story and Drabble competitions - entries for those have now closed.

Art Competition

Judging

The Art Competition will be judged by the LexiCon convention committee, or a nominated judge to be confirmed.

Prizes

First Prize: $100 of art supplies vouchers
Second Prize: $50 of art supplies vouchers
Third Prize: $25 of art supplies vouchers

All prizes redeemable at http://www.tasart.co.nz, or in person at Takapuna Art Supplies.

Details

Entry is free, and open to all registered LexiCon members, and all people living in New Zealand, irrespective of membership.
As LexiCon will be taking place by a lake, in a volcanic area, works should be on a theme of fire or water (or both) and include an element of science fiction or fantasy.
Artists are welcome to submit up to a total of three entries.
Please keep your work appropriate for an all-ages environment (nudity is fine, graphic sex or extreme gore is not).
Works can be submitted either:
- electronically (for electronic art, or as a high quality photo of the artwork) to art@lexicon.cons.nz no later than 20 May 2017. Please include your email and contact details.
- in person, to the LexiCon registration desk on Friday 2nd or Saturday 3rd June. Please include a label with your name and contact details, and email us at art@lexicon.cons.nz no later than 20 May 2017 so we know to expect your entry.
By submitting, you give us the right to display your work during the convention.
Artwork submitted in person will be available for collection after the closing ceremony on Sunday 4th June. No responsibility will be taken for artwork not collected.
While we will do our best to take care of your artwork, we cannot take responsibility for any accidental loss or damage.
All winners will be announced at the LexiCon closing ceremony.

Filk Writing Competition

Write lyrics for an SF/F-themed song - ie, a filk. Your filk can be set to an existing tune, or you may compose your own. You don't need to be able to sing!

Judging

The Filk Writing Competition will be judged by our Guest of Honour, the Pegasus Award winning Seanan McGuire.

Prizes

There will be one overall winner, and possibly additional prizes awarded at the judge's discretion. Filks will be judged on effectiveness (is it funny, moving, or meaningful?) and technical competence (does it scan?).

Details

Entry is free, and open to all registered LexiCon members.
Submitted filks can address any theme providing it is speculative (science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any sub-genre is acceptable), or relates to SF fandom.
If your filk refers to a particular book, show, film, etc, please specify in your submission.
Please ensure that your filk is suitable to be performed for an all-ages audience. Innuendo is fine, but not graphic content.
Entries must not have been previously published or publicly performed.
If your filk is based on an existing song, please specify the title and artist of that song, and if possible provide a link to somewhere we can listen to it online.
If you have composed an original tune, you'll need to submit a recording of your filk being performed as well as a copy of the lyrics. You will not be judged on performance.
You may submit up to a total of three entries.
Please send your filk as a .txt, .doc, or .docx attachment to: filk@lexicon.cons.nz with “Submission: [Your Filk Title]” in the subject line. If you are submitting more than one entry, each should be sent in a separate email. If submitting an audio recording in addition to the lyrics, it should be attached as a .mp3 file.
Competition closes at midnight 31 May 2017. Entries received after this date will not be considered.
All winners will be announced at the LexiCon closing ceremony.

The Masquerade (Cosplay)

Cosplay is welcome throughout the convention, but the best opportunity to show off your costuming skills is the Masquerade on Saturday night. A long-running tradition at SF conventions, the Masquerade is not a dance, but more like a fashion show.

Judging

The Masquerade will be judged by the LexiCon convention committee, or nominated judges to be confirmed.

Prizes

There will be one overall winner, with additional prizes awarded at the judges' discretion. Costuming workmanship, accuracy (for replicas), creativity, aesthetics, humour, level of experience, and performance may all be taken into account.

Details

Entry is free, and open to all registered LexiCon members.
You may enter individually or as a group. Not all group members need to appear on stage - ie it is acceptable for one person to make a costume and another to wear it. Everyone in the group must be a LexiCon member.
Costumes may be replicas of or inspired by existing designs, or original creations. If based on an existing design, please specify when entering (eg the name of the character and the book/show/film/etc they appear in).
Please keep your costumes appropriate for an all-ages environment.
You may put on a short skit or other performance when showing off your costume. If you need more than two minutes on stage, please contact us to discuss.
To be eligible for the main prize, costumes must be primarily the work of the entrant(s), and must not have been entered in any previous costume competition.
You may wear a purchased or reused costume, but please let us know if you're doing so - you will only be judged on performance.
You may enter both as an individual and as part of a team, but let us know if you're doing so, and be aware that time for costume changes will be very limited.
If a team wins a prize, how you divide it amongst yourselves is up to you.
To enter you must sign up no later than 31 May 2017 so we know to expect your entry. On-the-night entries may or may not be accepted at the concom's discretion.

Short Story Competition (Closed)

In association with SpecFicNZ.

Judging

The winners will be selected from the shortlist by our Guest of Honour, Seanan McGuire. Pre-judging will be carried out by Andi Buchanan and Cassie Hart, the LexiCon co-chairs and editors of the Sir Julius Vogel Award winning anthology Tales for Canterbury.

Prizes

First Prize: $150, and publication in the LexiCon Convention Programme
Second Prize: $75, and a selection of print books to be awarded at LexiCon
Third Prize: $25, and a selection of print books to be awarded at LexiCon

All cash prizes kindly donated by SpecFicNZ, New Zealand’s national organisation for writers of speculative fiction.

Details

Entry is free, but entrants must be registered as members of LexiCon, or current members of SpecFicNZ or SFFANZ.
In honour of our Ghost of Honour, Orville, all stories should contain a reference to a rat. This can be central to your story, or simply a passing mention.
Aside from the above, submitted stories can address any theme providing it is speculative (science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any sub-genre is acceptable), and should have a word count of 3000 words or fewer.
Original stories only, no reprints or simultaneous submissions, please.
Writers are welcome to submit up to a total of three stories.
Standard formatting: Ariel or Times New Roman, 12pt, 1.5 spaced, indenting for paragraphs, with the story title and numbering included as page header. Submissions are anonymous, so your name should only appear in your cover email and NOT on the manuscript.
Stories for an adult audience are fine, but those with gratuitous sex, gore, and violence are unlikely to be shortlisted.
Please send your stories as a .doc or .docx attachment to: [submissions closed] with “Submission: [Your Story Title]” in the subject line. (Remember to ensure that your name or email address DO NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name.)
Stories with the author’s name on the manuscript, or sent as links to content hosted elsewhere (such as Google Docs) will be deleted unread.
Competition closed at midnight 31 March 2017. Entries received after this date will not be read. All participants will be notified of the results by mid-May 2017.

* Please note that entry to the competition automatically assumes that the winning entrant will allow first print publication of their story by LexiCon in its Convention Programme to be distributed to convention members (all other rights to be retained by the author).

Drabble Competition (Closed)

Never written fiction before? This is a great place to start.

Judging

The LexiCon Convention Committee, all of whom are experienced writers and/or editors.

Prizes

The authors of the top three drabbles will be awarded a selection of print books and publication in the LexiCon Convention Programme.

Details

Entry is free, but entrants must be registered as members of LexiCon.
Writers – especially writers of speculative fiction – often need to create their own lexicons. Each story must use a word made up by the author. This word (and only this word) should form the title of the drabble.
Aside from the above, submitted stories can address any theme providing it is speculative (science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any sub-genre is acceptable), and should have a word count of exactly 100 words.
The drabble may optionally be written in a poetic form if the author chooses.
Original stories only, no reprints or simultaneous submissions, please.
Writers are welcome to submit up to a total of three stories.
Standard formatting: Ariel or Times New Roman, 12pt, 1.5 spaced, indenting for paragraphs. Submissions are anonymous, so your name should only appear in your cover email and NOT on the manuscript.
Drabbles for an adult audience are fine, but those with gratuitous sex, gore, and violence are unlikely to be shortlisted.
Please send your stories as a .doc or .docx attachment to: [submissions closed] with “Submission: [Your Story Title]” in the subject line. (Remember to ensure that your name or email address DO NOT appear on the manuscript or in the file name.)
Drabbles with the author’s name on the manuscript, or sent as links to content hosted elsewhere (such as Google Docs) will be deleted unread.
Competition closed at midnight 31 March 2017. Entries received after this date will not be read. All participants will be notified of the results by mid-May 2017.

* Please note that entry to the competition assumes that the winning entrants will allow first print publication of their story by LexiCon in its Convention Programme to be distributed to convention members (all other rights to be retained by the author).