Random House Audio is taking submissions for the best fan-fic to be recorded and read at San Diego Comic-Con in about 10 days.
There are a number of fandoms eligible, including Star Wars, Artemis Fowl, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
At this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA, Random House Audio will be recreating an audiobook studio right on the convention floor–inviting authors of fan fiction to record a sample of their work for a chance to have their story recorded and released as a digital audiobook.
Stories from the following fandoms are eligible for the contest:
Star Wars®
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Aspiring authors (who must be legal residents of the U.S. and 18 years or older) can sign up for a time slot to record their five-minute sample during the convention, July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. Random House Audio producers will listen to the entries (no mashups, please) and select one to be professionally recorded and mixed by Random House Audio for streaming at www.randomhouseaudio.com. The grand prize winner and five runner-ups will have clips from their stories featured on the Random House Audio weekly podcast.
Sessions will be available Thursday through Saturday, July 12-14, from 10am-12pm and 1pm to 4pm at the Random House Audio booth #1515. Registration for morning slots is open now through July 10 at www.randomhouseaudio.com, and afternoon slots will be available for same-day sign ups beginning at 9am the first day of the con on a first-come, first-served basis.
Don’t see your fandom included on the list above? Sunday, July 15 is Open Mic Day! Fans of other series will get their chance to record their stories as well from 11am to 3pm and enter to win a collection of audiobooks.
Even if you’re not a writer, be sure to stop by the Random House Audio booth (#1515) for exclusive Comic-Con giveaways, including buttons, posters, headphones and mini microphone recorders.
For complete contest rules, click here.
This seems puzzling and surprising to me, but stranger things have happened.
Since I’ll be there, I’ll try to stop by and get a quote or two about what their long term plans for incorporating fan fiction into their sales strategy are.
UPDATE: I’ll be meeting up with Random House Audio at SDCC, but I talked briefly by email to their point person on this project. The fan fic element of this is not the primary goal of this. Random House Audio is interested in providing a perspective for readers and writers about the audiobook format. They want to provide an experience that will illustrate the work that goes into creating an audiobook and hope that those participating will have a new appreciation for the medium.
It’s also important to note that this is Random House Audio, not Del Rey. They are entirely separate departments. The function of Random House Audio is to promote audiobooks and this isn’t the first time they’ve set up a booth at a con setting.
Here’s a video they made at the annual American Library Association conference where they more than 300 readers each read a half a page of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
I think by opening this to fanfic, they’ve opened a door here that Del Rey may or may not have wanted open, but it’s going to be, at the very least, ajar after this.