FanCons.com Guest Listing FAQ


FanCons.com Guest Listing Questions and Answers

Why don't you list every guest?
We have 8,647 guests in our guest database and are always adding more. Unfortunately, it's by no means a complete list...and unless a guest is in our database, we aren't able to list them as a guest at a con. At this time, we're busy adding more and more conventions and don't have the available time to also add every guest.

If a guest is in our database but not listed as being a guest at a convention yet, then it's likely we haven't noticed yet. (There's literally hundreds of conventions each month, so we can't check all of them constantly.) You can submit an update to the convention's listing and we'll take care of that for you.

What are the requirements to be listed as a guest on FanCons.com?
There are two simple requirements for us to consider adding a guest to our database and list them as a guest at a convention:

  • The guest must be listed as a guest on the convention's web site or in the convention's program guide. If the convention has a "performers" list for guests such as bands, that will also qualify the guest to be listed.
  • We only list individual people or specific groups (such as bands).
Some costuming groups are treated as a single group rather than listing local chapters. For example, the 501st Legion will be listed as a guest at conventions that have any local garrison rather than listing the garrison by name.

Who cannot be listed?
We do not list the following as guests:

  • Artists' Alley Participants. Even if the "artists' alley" list is in the "Guests" section of the web site, we will not list all the artists as guests of the convention unless some of them have specifically been billed as guests.
  • Companies. A convention might have a company (such as an anime distributor or comic publisher) on the guest list, but we will not list it. However, if they have listed a particular representative from that company, we will list that individual. (In the early days of AnimeCons.com, we used to list companies...so if you run across one in our database, it's been grandfathered in, but we stopped adding companies in the mid-2000s.)
  • Panelists. Not everyone that has organized and presented a panel would be considered a guest even if the "panelists" list is in the "Guests" section of the web site unless some of them have specifically been billed as guests.
  • Podcasts. We would list individual podcast hosts as guests if they are billed as such, but we will not list the podcast itself as a guest.
  • Vehicles. Doc Brown's DeLorean, the Supernatural car, or a TARDIS at one con may not be the same car or TARDIS at another con. We're simply not going to go down this rabbit hole of listing inanimate objects. These may be attractions at a convention, but we will not consider them "guests".
  • Vendors. Some conventions put vendors on their guest list. We consider these to be companies and will not list them.
  • Web Comics. We will happily list the people who made the web comic, but we will not list the comic itself as a guest.

A guest announced they'll be at a certain con. Why don't you have that listed?
We will not list conventions based on a guest's own announcement and will only list a guest after the convention itself has announced the guest. If the con has announced the guest and we don't have it listed, it's likely that we didn't see the announcement. Please feel free to submit an update for that convention and include all the new guests they announced. (We recommend submitting an update via the convention update form and including all the new guests rather than using the guest update form to add that convention to the guest's list.)

I was guest at a con. How can I get added?
Contact us with your name and the name and year of the convention where you were a guest. Please submit any links to help us verify this information. (Do not include your own social media posts. We're looking for where the convention has announced your appearance or promoted you as a guest.) We'll check various archives (including an archived copy of the convention's guest list) to verify the information. If it checks out, we'll add your name and guest appearance to the database. You'll then be able to submit an update to add your biography text and any social media links you want to include. Please be patient as it takes a while for all the information to be verified by someone (along all the other work we're doing maintaining the site)...and if you're repeatedly submitting requests, that's not going to motivate us to do this any faster. We're only human and none of us do this as our primary job.

I'm a guest. How can I update my information?
Every guest has a button on their bio page that says "Add or Update Information for [Name]". Click that, fill out the form with any updates, and submit the form.

I'm a guest. How can I add or update my photo?
Submit the guest update form with any updates. In the comment section (which does not get posted), let us know you would like to update your photo. We will reply and you can reply back and attach the image. We accept GIF, JPEG, and PNG images. (JPEG format is recommended for photos.) Sorry, we cannot use PDF, PSD, SVG, WebP, TIFF, or BMP images.

Should "City", "State/Province", and "Country" be where the guest was born or where they live now?
The location fields are intended for the guest's current location, not their place of birth. (For privacy reasons, it's fine to not be too specific, such as listing "Los Angeles, CA" instead of "Glendale, CA".) Having a general idea of where the guest is located can help small convention organizers find local guests or let them know where someone may be flying in from.

How can I remove my deadname?
Every guest has a button on their bio page that says "Add or Update Information for [Name]". Click that, enter your new name, and submit the form. We'll get that updated for you no problem!

Why don't you list all the actors I saw at San Diego Comic Con?
Comic-Con International: San Diego (aka San Diego Comic Con) actually only lists a dozen or so people as the convention's guests of honor each year. They're usually comic artists. The A-list actors you might see at a movie announcement were never actually listed as guests of honor for the convention, so we don't list them. The same thing happens at Anime Expo when an anime company might bring in some panelists of its own that aren't actually guests of the convention.

Why did you only list some of the cons I submitted?
Every submission is verified by an actual human. Sometimes it takes longer to verify some convention appearances than others and it might be taking us longer to verify some of the data you sent. It's also possible that we were unable to verify some of the conventions you submitted. For example, we occasionally have some guests submitting themselves as guests at conventions where they were only a panelist and not a guest or at literally every convention they ever attended as a fan. Also, sometimes some people who are usually billed as guests were brought in by a company to present at a panel and were not listed as guests and therefore we do not list those people as guests. (An example of this would be Marvel movie announcements with cast members at San Diego Comic Con.) Please remember that we will only list you as a guest at conventions where you were actually listed by the conventionas a guest.

I was a guest at a con you don't have listed. What do I do?
You can let us know we're missing a convention by submitting it using our New Convention Submission Form.

How can I get my guest bio taken down?
FanCons.com is considered a historical record of conventions and their guests. We cannot change the past and undo your guest appearance at a convention. We can't go back in time and ask the convention to remove your name from their program guides which were distributed to all attendees. If requested, we'll clear your biography text from the site and remove your photo and social media links, but your name will remain. In our experience, this makes it much less likely for your page on our site to show up in search results. We're not trying to be jerks, but it is our policy not to try and alter or cover-up our record of the past by removing you from a convention's guest history. This policy complies with the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and existing consumer protection laws. (We checked with an attorney to be certain.)