MATSURI NO HANASHI

The theme of this zine is “festivals”. This covers all contexts relating to festivals e.g. music festivals, summer festivals etc.

This project will comprise of artists, writers, merch artists and cosplayers depending on interest and applicants. The number of participants will be revealed in due course and will depend on interest.

During application, applicants may let us know if they’d be open to be a pinch-hitter for the zine.

During application for contributor spots, you will have the chance to submit 3 rough pitches, all relating to the theme of “festivals”. Each pitch should be different.

A rough pitch is described as a short summary describing a general idea of what contributors will produce for the zine. If accepted, moderators will choose which pitch to take forward. We will do this so that there is an even spread of characters/plots throughout the zine. There will be an opportunity to change or flesh out the chosen pitch before the creation phase.

This zine is meant to be inclusive to all adult Given fans, and therefore we ask all supporters/contributors to abide by a simple anti-harassment policy, covering anyone affiliated with this zine project.

Harassment of other members of this zine project will not be tolerated.

Our moderator team takes accusations and formal evidence of harassment very seriously. If a zine affiliate is found to have harassed another zine affiliate, then the offending affiliate will be removed from the event. If the accuser is found to have lied to our mod team, the accuser will be removed. In either event, a pinch-hitter will then be contacted to fill the required role in the zine.

The content strictly forbidden from being depicted in our zine is as follows: Loli/Shota Content; work depicting minor/adult sexual and/or romantic relationships; work explicitly depicting non-consensual sexual themes; current real-world mass tragedies; explicit sexual content involving minors.

Contributors who have created work of this nature outside of this zine will not be penalized nor will they be turned away from creating in this space.

If there is enough interest from contributors, we may also look to create a side zine, or an extension of the zine, featuring NSFW/DD contents.

NSFW (Not Safe For Work) content is defined as content that is heavily associated with things not suitable for viewing at a place of employment, such as heavy nudity, sexual themes, heavy profanity, and pornographic content.

Dead Dove content is a warning tag on works that can be considered reprehensible. Not all Dead Dove works are considered reprehensible, and some are simply heavy topics (ex: eating disorders). The tag states that "this work is exactly what it was tagged as".

Dead Dove content will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to be sure that it meets our overall guidelines should there be a NSFW/DD side-zine.

All content in this zine will be tagged by page in the work and/or a general disclaimer at the beginning of our zine for safety reasons.

Any and all AI-generated content (including ChatGPT and generative AI art) is strictly prohibited from being affiliated with this zine project in any way. If any zine affiliate has been found to use it in their works, even outside of the zine, they will be removed from the event pending investigation into the matter.

Be age 18 or older at the time of application, with no exceptions. If you are found to have lied about your age, you will be blacklisted from this project and any subsequent projects thereafter.

A Discord account is required. This will be where we primarily communicate for zine creation and production. Please be able to check it at least once a day so you do not miss anything.

All applicants must submit 3-5 samples.

At least one sample should relate to Given.

Please ensure all viewing permissions are granted, we will not reach out to applicants to rectify.

Applicants can apply for more than one role.

All applications featuring AI generated works will be automatically rejected.

At least one sample must be fully coloured and rendered (exceptions will be made if your style is black and white).

For merch artists, digital merch samples are not required but are encouraged if available.

There will be an opportunity to submit a link to a full portfolio to support your application, separate to your main samples.

UPDATE: We are now accepting artist applications from figurine photographers (e.g. high quality photos of Given nendos/figurines/dolls etc. in poses, illustrating a situation or story). Application requirements will be largely the same as artists where we will require three samples of your work plus an optional portfolio that you are happy to share.

All samples must be between 2k-4k words, with a leeway of 200 words.

At least one sample must be a completed work.

Threadfics will not be accepted as samples.

See "General" section above.

3-5 different pictures, the more variety in terms of pose, style and costume the better.

Cosplayers will have the opportunity to submit a portfolio with more samples if applicants have complete shoots they would like to share.

Because of the nature of this specific medium, no NSFW content will be allowed. Suggestive content (as long as all clothes are on and no obscene gestures) is ok.

All created works must be original. Works should be created from scratch and/or never have been posted before.

All works must be related to the festival theme.

Please do not post WIPs of your work for this zine until advised by the team.

A completed work of Fanfiction that spans anywhere between 1,500 - 4,000 words in total.

We will review this limit on a case-by-case basis, but please be aware of the word count when you are creating.

A completed artwork in your style on a size A4 or A3 canvas

Your work may be easier to consume through any zine medium if the canvas is vertical, though you may create a horizontal piece at your own discretion.

For figurine photographers, a selection of high quality photographs of your Given figurines will be required.

Create at least one marketable item to complement the zine project. Examples below.

The below may be refined based on the results of the interest check.

Profile Pictures/Icons: 2000 x 2000 px (High Res to be scaled down) - (2 minimum)

Desktop backgrounds: 1920 x 1080 px (Originally drawn at print quality and able to be scaled down for desktop usage).

Phone backgrounds: 1413 x 2935 px

Banner: 2048 x 1152 px

Emoji/Emotes: 128 x 128 px - (4 minimum)

Digital Stickers: 320 x 320 px - (4 minimum)

Printable merchandise (such as stationary, dress-up dolls, bookmarks, etc) sizes will vary depending on the product.

A completed shoot with 5-10 different pictures and poses submitted.

You may have another friend in your shoot as another character (with their credit and social media given to us). This character should be a Given character.

Because of this medium, this shoot should have no NSFW content in it.