Creator Information
Please read all of the information below before applying. Failure to follow the application process may result in your application being rejected.
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.
To host as many creators as possible, creators may only purchase one space at the lower rate posted here. If you require more than one space due to the volume of artwork and/or merchandise you are selling, you must apply as a vendor.
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 FallCon 2025 costs $135.00.
Creators experiencing financial hardship may apply for a fee waiver.
Each paid creator space will be provided with an 8-foot × 30-inch table, two chairs, and two creator badges for event entry. You will need to purchase regular admissions for any additional helpers beyond the included two badges.
Creators who wish to share a table/space must file their applications together and submit only one payment. All creators distributing materials or vending at MNCBA events must go through the review/jury process. Any creators found to be circumventing the review/jury process may be asked to leave and/or banned from future MNCBA events.
Banners and displays may not be taller than 10' high (including the height of the table for tabletop displays) and may not extend into aisles or others' space.
Complimentary lunch will be provided for creators.
All creators accepted to exhibit at MNCBA FallCon 2025 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 your invoice being cancelled and your space offered to the next in line.
- 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.
The creator selection process is done by a jury of volunteers.
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. Colourful, vertically-oriented images without any text that might be cropped are preferred. Show us what you've got!
Failure to provide the jurying materials as described above will result in your application being rejected as incomplete.
Deadlines and timeline information:
Applications must be submitted by 30 August 2025 and paid in full by 6 September 2025 to be eligible for promotion on our social media.
Invoices for comic creators begin going out on 1 July 2025.
Invoices for all other creators begin going out on 1 August 2025, and are limited to any spaces unfilled by comic book creators in the first phase of jurying. While we appreciate all creators, the MNCBA hosts comics-focused events and cartoonist/comic book creator applications are given priority.
Reminder: invoices must be paid within seven (7) days of receipt.
Setup instructions will be emailed one week before the event.
NICK POST FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION (FEE WAIVER)
Nick Post (Dominic Postiglione) was a larger-than-life and much loved figure who ran the MCBA (then Midwest Comic Book Association) from the late 1990s until his untimely passing in 2014. During Nick's tenure as leader of the organization, he subsidized many of its operations, making it financially able to offer free exhibitor space to all creators. We no longer have access to such resources.
The MNCBA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization staffed and run entirely by volunteers. Our MNCBA events at the MN State Fairgrounds cost tens of thousands of dollars to host and promote. To make the organization sustainable, we do our best to fairly distribute our expenses among everyone who participates. For this reason, we are no longer able to offer free exhibitor space to all creators.
In memory of Nick Post (Dominic Postiglione); to honour the organization's history; and to provide opportunities for full-time students, emerging creators, and others unable to pay the fee for a standard creator space; the MNCBA allocates a percentage of its creator spaces to be made available at no cost.
DISCLAIMER: The Postiglione family are not current financial contributors to the Minnesota Comic Book Association (MNCBA), and are not affiliated with the Nick Post Fellowship Application program or involved in the jurying process.
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.
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 Nick Post Fellowship Application for the jury process.
The creator fee waiver selection process is done by a jury of volunteers.
- Please review the Nick Post Fellowship Application carefully for full details.
