Creator Information

MNCBA SpringCon 2025 Applications are now waitlist-only in the event of last-minute cancellations. Please do not submit an application unless you are willing and able to attend on short notice. In the event that a space becomes available for you, you will receive an invoice and have 24 hours to complete payment before the space is offered to the next eligible applicant.

Please read all of the information below before applying!

Are you interested in becoming a creator at the next MNCBA event? We are accepting applications for creators who are looking to break into, or who are already a part of, the comic book industry. Be aware that while we consider applications for other kinds of creators if spaces are available, the MNCBA hosts comics-focused events and cartoonist/comic book creator applications are given priority.

Attendees browsing a MNCBA FallCon 2024 creator and vendor booths. Photo by Buzz Meade.

Creator applications are intended for self-representation. Artisans, crafters/makers, 3D printers, gaming companies, publishers, and creative businesses representing others are not eligible for creator space and must apply for vendor space.

All creators must familiarize themselves with and be in compliance with MNCBA Event Policies. Note: The MNCBA prohibits at its events the display and/or sale of all art, merchandise, and other works created using generative AI.

To comply with MN State Fairgrounds policies, food vending is prohibited.

There are a limited number of spaces available for each MNCBA event. Be sure to include all required information for the timely processing of your application.

Creator space specifications:

• Each creator space for MNCBA SpringCon 2025 costs $75.00.

• Creators experiencing financial hardship may apply for a fee waiver.

• Each creator space will be provided with an 8-foot × 30-inch table, two chairs, and two Creator badges for event entry.

• Creators who wish to share a table must file their applications together and submit only one payment. Any general admissions needed beyond the included two are creators' responsibility.

• Complimentary lunch will be provided for creators.

• The creator selection process is done by a jury of volunteers.

• All creators accepted to exhibit at MNCBA SpringCon 2024 will be emailed a PayPal invoice. You will then have seven (7) days to make payment before your space is offered to the next in line. Failure to complete payment within seven (7) days of receiving your invoice may result in the loss of your creator space.

• All applications and promotional materials must be submitted electronically. We are no longer accepting handwritten and/or mailed applications. If you require assistance or need special accommodations, please contact us.

Required jurying/promotional materials for creator applicants:

• Promotion on the MNCBA social media accounts is not guaranteed, and is contingent upon promotional materials that meet MNCBA format and quality standards being submitted at the time of application. Even if these materials do not meet our specifications for public promotional materials, all creator applications must include them to move on to the jury process:

• website URL or primary online presence, if available
• copyedited, professional biography written in the third-person
• one (1) high-quality photo of yourself so attendees can identify you
• four (4) high-quality visual representations of your projects and/or work
• minimum 1000px short-side; JPG, JPEG, PNG files accepted

• To keep our promotional materials fresh and engaging for our online audience, we ask that you submit new and/or the most up-to-date materials possible each time you apply to an MNCBA event. Failure to provide the jurying materials listed above will result in your application being rejected as incomplete.

• Applications must be submitted by 26 April 2025 and paid in full by 5 May 2025 to be eligible for promotion on the MNCBA social media accounts.

MNCBA SpringCon 2025 Applications are now waitlist-only in the event of last-minute cancellations. Please do not submit an application unless you are willing and able to attend on short notice. In the event that a space becomes available for you, you will receive an invoice and have 24 hours to complete payment before the space is offered to the next eligible applicant.

HARDSHIP FEE WAIVER

To help provide opportunities for full-time students, emerging creators, and others unable to pay the fee for a standard creator space, the MNCBA has allocated a percentage of its creator spaces to be made available at no cost.

Fee-waived creator space specifications:

• Each fee-waived creator space will be provided with one half of an 8-foot × 30-inch table, one chair, and one Creator badge for event entry.

• Complimentary lunch will be provided for fee-waived creators.

• The creator fee waiver selection process is done by a jury of volunteers.

• Eligibility for fee waiver to be determined by qualifying factors listed on application such as, but not limited to, being a full-time student or receiving SSDI/SSI. Eligibility is not a guarantee of fee-waived creator space.

• To ensure availability for as many as possible, a creator may not be the recipient of a fee-waived space for more than three consecutive events unless there are not enough applications to fill all available fee-waived spaces.

• All promotional materials listed above for the standard creator spaces must be included with the Hardship Fee Waiver application for the jury process.

• Please review the Hardship Fee Waiver Application carefully for full details.

MNCBA SpringCon 2025 Applications are now waitlist-only in the event of last-minute cancellations. Please do not submit an application unless you are willing and able to attend on short notice. In the event that a space becomes available for you, you will receive an email and have 24 hours to confirm with us before the space is offered to the next eligible applicant.