From Beth Hudson Wheeler, 2013-11-20

PROGRAM BOOK

A caveat: this is the way I do the program book. It’s not the only way it can be done. It’s meant as a template, not a straitjacket.

The program book needs to be two things: it is both an informational booklet, and a keepsake. As such, it needs to be well-organized, informative, and clear, but also attractive.

Choosing programs

It’s important to use a program that has powerful desktop editing capabilities. This is not something that can be done in a word processing program like Microsoft Word or Open Office, because it requires being able to pick up discrete pieces of the book and shuffle them around to other places. The book is double-sided and folded – each physical sheet of paper is four pages. It is best to use a program that offers a format where an actual booklet has the correct pagination (in other words, one that Microsoft Publisher will work, and is very accessible to many people. I personally use a free open-source program called Scribus, which is (IMHO) a better program than Publisher. Its downside is that it does not allow text to be modified into bold or italics (meaning that one needs to have actual bold and italic fonts). Other than that, it is a very good program, and that particular problem isn’t that serious.

Printing Version of Program Book

When the program book gets translated from virtual to physical, there will be a border around the very edge of the book on every page, because the printers cannot print to the very edge of the page. Keep this in mind, and make sure you have a slight border on every page.

Table of Contents

I generally start with a Table of Contents, which needs to be near the front of the book. This helps me with my own organization, since I need to lay out almost everything in the book. I divide the Table of Contents into four sections: Guests of Honor (GoHs), Convention Information, Programming, and Other Notables.

GoHs includes everyone who is actually a guest of the convention, ie. Writer guest(s), Joe & Gay, toastmaster, artist guest(s), fan guest(s), anyone else who is officially invited.

Convention Information includes such things as (but not limited to) hours and locations for convention programming, benefit auction info, convention rules and sexual harassment policy, LARP info, room party info, dealer info, Trans-Iowa-Canal company info, Paradise ICON and Dreamcon info, staff list, and other programming such as other special gaming, blinkies, particular features and special events, etc.

Programming is a page list of the actual programming items. I usually divide this up into Programming at a Glance, Friday, Saturday morning, afternoon and evening, and Sunday morning and afternoon.

Other notables include professionals in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, and gaming fields who are not invited guests, but who are attending. This includes writers, editors, musicians, artists, gamers, etc.

I organize the Table of Contents by page number, not alphabetically. However, I do list the other notables alphabetically, so that there isn’t an issue about who is more important than whom.

Convention hours and locations

This includes hours and locations of Registration, Art Show, Dealer’s Room, Consuite, and Open Gaming. I tend to put this near the front of the book, because these are things everyone will want to know.

Guests of Honor

Guests of Honor need to be prominently featured – they are the reason many people attend ICON. Each guest needs a bio, preferably with both professional and some personal information. It’s possible to go through the concom or the guest him/herself. In extreme circumstances, the web can be scoured to find info, but it shouldn’t be the first choice for info. It is important to make sure that the guest has a good representation in the book. B&W photos of all the guests of honor should also be included. This is not a place to skimp if there is a space problem.

Convention rules and sexual harassment policy

These are essential to reducing liability of the convention, and should be prominently displayed and clearly labeled.

Staff

The staff list includes everyone who heads a department, or who deserves extra recognition for going above and beyond what they’ve been asked to do. This is important, both because it tells the attendees who is responsible for what department, and because this may be the only recognition some people will get for their hard work. People I flag on the staff page: Concom, Art Show, Consuite, Dance, Dealer Room, Event Coordinator, Gaming & Mindbridge Game Library, Game Show (DAGOBAH), Guest Liaisons (ie. People who drive the guests where they need to go and make sure they have everything they need), Hotel Liaisons, LARP, Masquerade & Costuming, Program Book, Program Book art, Programming, Publicity, Registration (at con and pre-reg), TICC director and writer, Treasurer, Volunteer Wranglers, and Web page. Particular departments may change from year to year, with old positions eliminated and new ones added, combined, or relegated to the less important – the list is a guideline.

Other Programming info

Info on Benefit auction, LARP, room parties, dealers, TICC, Paradise ICON, Dreamcon, blinkies, features and special events etc., I scatter throughout the program book so that if people leaf through the book they may find other things they might be interested in but didn’t really know anything about. A lot of times, if the info is a third or a half of the page, I’ll separate it off, either with frames or with darkening the background of just that item. This makes more of a contrast, and differentiates the material so that it is clearly seen at first glance.

Other Notables

You probably won’t end up with a complete list, but the concom or registration should have at least some list of professionals who are attending. Each should have a short bio. These can be obtained by a) the pro him/herself, the concom, the website, previous years’ program books, or in a pinch, the web. Be prepared to skim the web and write a short bio if you can’t get one in any other way. It doesn’t have to be complex, but should include at least an overview of their work. It is also good to include a website for the pro if you can find one. We want to acknowledge well-known professionals, and to promote lesser-known ones! If you know of a pro who is attending that the con isn’t listing, go ahead and add them.

Programming

This is, of course, the heart of the program book. This is where people can look up and see what’s available, when it is, who is running it, and whether it sounds interesting.

Programming at a Glance is the central grid or table where every event at the convention is visible. It is always at the center point of the book, because it means the attendee can open the book easily to that exact point, and find what they are looking for.

Programming items I list, first by time, then organize within that time by room, so that it is a predictable order and finding information is easy. I put headings on the programming of Friday, Saturday morning, afternoon, and night, and Sunday morning and afternoon. The programming should have clearly labeled what time the panel is, where it is, who runs it, and a short description of the programming. Ideally, the program coordinator will give you the description of the panel, but be prepared to write one in a pinch! I usually differentiate time, location, and panelists from programming descriptions with a careful use of bold, italic, and regular fonts, so the information is easy and clear to read. Be careful to use an easily readable font.

For example:

7:00 PM – Round Robin…………………………….Dogwood Room (bold)

                                   Joe & Gay Haldeman (bold italics)

A story premise is made up on the spot, then handed off to the next person. (regular)

I justify the type, but be careful not to leave big gaps in between words!

Center Programming Grid

This is in the form of a table. It should be evenly spread across the center section, should be easily readable even with very small print, and should be easy to follow. Ideally the time should go on both sides, because it will be easier to figure out. Since you will probably need two tables, one for each side, try to match the spacing so that it looks like a single table spread out. Information included should be time, location, and panel name.

Benefactors

The Benefactors list should be clearly displayed in the program book. It is part of what the Benefactors get for supporting ICON. Get the info from either the concom or the registration people.

Cover

The cover is in color. The front cover should have the artist guest’s artwork (usually on a t-shirt) along with ICON #?, the theme of the con, the dates, and the location of the convention. You can use color on outsides and insides of the cover if needed. If an ad is placed on one of the cover pages, it can be in color – otherwise it should be in b&w.

Map

I like to include a map of the hotel, but it can be deleted in the case of a space crunch.

Fonts

I usually pick about three fonts that are compatible with the theme of the convention. I use two of them for subject headings, and the third for fine detail. It is extremely important for all of them to be readable (it’s quite a temptation to use the weirdest fonts you can find!), especially in the actual programming sections, which may end up being very small. Readability is more important than artistic expression. However, if you can do both, go for it!

It is important to remember that your programming items will morph multiple times as you are working it out. It will probably keep changing up until your actual deadline (and even past it). You will be asked to change programming times, to add or subtract people to and from panels, to put in entire tracks that weren’t there before, to change panel names and locations, and to completely alter some descriptions.

Adding filler or adding space; font “cheating”

As a result of having to make massive changes as you go along, the spacing may change dramatically. Be prepared to change the size of the font and to spend a lot of time kerning the type. Ways to “cheat”: for instance, if one guest of honor has a long bio and one a short one, it is possible to give one a slightly different font size then the other. If they’re not too far off, the reader’s eye will be fooled, and chances are the reader will never notice.

It is also possible, when there are items that are separated by spaces, to add or subtract font size in the spaces without changing the fonts themselves. For example:

“font size 12”

“space font size 8”

“font size 12”

It is also possible to reduce the space between words. This can be trickier, but can help to fix large gaps between spaces if you justify your print. For example: “letterfont12 spacefont8 letterfont12”.

It is also possible to reduce the space between words. This can be trickier, but can help to fix large gaps between spaces if you justify your print. For example: “letterfont12 spacefont8 letterfont12”.

Occasionally I will edit something in a very minor way so that there are no big gaps between words when I justify. This may range from changing “3” to “three” or vice versa, to cutting out a couple of unnecessary words or adding a couple. The idea is to do it really subtly.

If you decide to change your font, you can’t do a simple replacement, because the spacing of the new font will almost certainly be different from the spacing of the previous font. This will take you quite a bit of work, so allow time!

You may have to pick up any information anywhere in the book and move it around in order to maximize your space. For instance, you might have to move dealer information from page 13 to page 26, if you can squeeze it into a smaller space and use the larger space for something larger.

Since the program book can only be increased or decreased by four pages at a time, it is possible to end up with large quantities of white space. These can be filled by a number of things: clip art, changes in font size, extra features the convention has but which normally wouldn’t be included, etc. You don’t want it to look like you don’t know what to put in the book!

Art and Clip art

The art on the cover should always be the art of the guest artist. At various times guest artists have allowed us to use other pieces of theirs for interior art, and that is preferable. Public domain or free clip art can also be used, though you may have to spend a bit of time looking for it. Art from other artists who contribute freely may also be used. Interior art should be b&w. Try to use it artistically, and plant it in the program book so that it enhances the information rather than overshadowing it.

Ads

You will be asked to place a number of ads in the program book. Some will be from Mindbridge projects, some will be exchanges from other conventions, and some may be paid ads for almost anything. If an ad is going on any of the cover pages, it can be in color, otherwise it must be in b&w. Depending on what program you’re using, you need to define the size and resolution of any picture/photo you put in. You need to figure out what you need for full-page, half-page, and quarter-page, and be sure to include a border when you give out the specs. High resolution is preferable, because you want the program book to be crisp and clear. It is preferable to interleaf the ads with the other information, so that people will see the ads rather than skipping them.

Pagination

Though I may work on the pagination as I work through the Table of Contents, I go through when I am done with the whole book and make sure all my pagination is correct. This is very important, because otherwise people will have trouble finding information.

Proofreading

Make sure the concom and anyone else you choose proofs your work. It is almost impossible to catch everything yourself!

Time Constraints

This will take a lot more time than you realize. Get started early, even if you don’t have all the information. Keep up with the work as you go along. And expect to spend a lot of time when it’s due, because a mass of changes will come in at the last minute.