My writing partner and collaborator Wile E. Young and I are delighted to remind you that we will be hosting the Gross-Out Contest this year at Scares That Care Authorcon 2026.
Please Note: You must pre-register if you wish to participate in the Gross-Out Contest. You can do so by emailing frenchpresspub (at) hotmail (dot) com after 12:01 am EST on Saturday, January 17.
Make sure you pre-register so we can keep the lineup fast, funny, and fair. Pre-registered intended contestants should show up at 9:50 pm EST on Saturday, February 28 so that we can confirm you are present and ready to present.
What about the other rules? Well, I'm glad you asked.
1. Contestants should prepare a five minute story. Every contestant will have three minutes to present, after which the audience will decide whether they can continue for another two minutes. After five minutes total, you will be stopped.
2. There will be no recording of any kind. This is an event for fans of extreme horror and splatterpunk and we want contestants to feel free to leave it all out there on the stage. If you don't want to be exposed to that, please don't attend.
3. Contestants will be judged on three criteria – grossness, crowd engagement, and performance.
4. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third place, as well as a special "Judge’s Choice” award.
5. YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE! Tell your friends, spread the word, but get us an email after midnight this Friday into Saturday evening.
So, now that you know the judging criteria and the basic rules, who will be the judges? Well, we are pleased to announce the following panel of horror luminaries:
R.J. Benetti
Eric Butler
Viggy Parr Hampton
Amanda Headlee
R.J. Joseph
Can't wait to see you there, everybody!
Amanda Headlee
R.J. Joseph
Can't wait to see you there, everybody!
FAQs (Updated as of 19 January 2026)
1. Is there a registration deadline?
No, there is no deadline. However, the longer you wait to register, the less likely you are to get a slot. Anyone who waits until the day of to register is very, very unlikely to go on stage. So make sure your friends know about pre-registration!
2. Are there guaranteed slots?
There are four, by which I mean, literally four people on the planet who are guaranteed slots. I don't care how funny or important you think you are, if you did not receive an e-mail from us last spring saying "you are guaranteed a slot in next year's contest as a consolation for being bumped for time" YOU ARE NOT GUARANTEED A SLOT!
3. Are there any topics or visuals that are off limits?
I would dearly like to say no, because the Gross-Out Contest is supposed to be a boundary-pushing exercise and I don't think it's appropriate for the hosts to decide what is or is not kosher. However! Contestants should use their best judgement and bear in mind two things:
- the audience will be large and diverse
- this is a charity event and we will not tolerate anything that negatively impacts Scares That Care
4. Are there any limitations to who can enter the contest?
No, any valid attendee of the convention can attend or enter the contest. I suppose people wandering in from off the street would not be welcome - supporting the charity always comes first.
No comments:
Post a Comment