Parsec Eligiblity Criteria

• Material submitted in samples must have been released as podcasts within May 1, 2010 – April 30, 2011.
• All samples must be of mp3, wmv, or mov format.
• The entry must have appeared as part of an RSS feed or similar syndication distribution system over the Internet.
• Podcast material must be released free of charge.
• Only 1 sample should be submitted for each nominated podcast for a given length.
• A podcast can compete in a maximum of 2 categories regardless of the number of categories for which the podcast has been nominated. It is strongly recommended that podcasts compete in only one category.
• The submitted work must be the original work of the nominee or those associated with the production of the content. Material that infringes upon copyright or trademarked characters, stories or worlds, other than as parody, will not be considered.
• No one working or contributing to the podcast may have been involved in the selection process for that podcast in any way.
• For works of a syndicated nature, i.e., reoccurring, non-story-based podcasts (e.g. magazine, fan & news, comedy podcasts): the nominee must have podcast at least 10 episodes within the eligibility year (unless otherwise specified in the category description). These podcasts are eligible for nomination and judging each year they meet the award qualifications.
• For podcasts of a non-syndicated nature: fiction stories, video or audio dramas, these works can only be nominated and judged for a single Parsec Award Year. When the broadcast/distribution window of a non-syndicated work extends across two or more Parsec Award Years, the work will be eligible during the year of completion.
• For the Best New Pocaster or Team category: The new podcaster or team must have released more than 1 episode.
• The fiction nominees must include elements of speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc.)
• For purposes of award consideration, the submitted sample may be engineered with audio fade-in, fade-out or cross-fades but no additional enhancement to the originally presented work is allowed. Remixing, re-editing or producing of new content for award consideration, except for the introduction disqualifies the nominee.
• Steering Committee member ineligibility: Members of the Steering Committee do not make the final selection of award winners and are ineligible to receive an award in any year in which they are members of the committee. Podcasts to which they have contributed are eligible for award but the board member must recuse themselves from any involvement in either the nomination or selection process.

Samples for all categories may include an original 30 second introduction to the podcast and, or materials being submitted. Length of the specific samples should be as follows:

• Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form): 30 second introduction + 1 hour & Full Sample
  Can contain 1 Parsec-specific introduction and up to 6 sample segments
• Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form): 30 second introduction + 30 Minutes & Full Sample
  Can contain 1 Parsec-specific introduction and up to 4 sample segments
• Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form): 30 second introduction + 10 minute sample & Full Sample (< 2 hours)
  Can contain 1 Parsec-specific introduction and up to 3 sample segments
• Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Short Form): 30 second introduction + Full episode(s) totaling no more than 30 Minutes
  Can contain 1 Parsec-specific introduction and up to 4 sample segments
• Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form): 30 second introduction + Full episode(s) totaling no more than 1 hour
  Can contain 1 Parsec-specific introduction and up to 6 sample segments
• Speculative Fiction Video Story: 30 second introduction + 30 Minutes
  Can contain 1 Parsec-specific introduction and up to 4 sample segments
• All other submissions must not exceed 10 minutes

The sample segments can be collected from any materials that are permissible by the submission criteria. For purposes of award consideration, the submitted sample may be engineered with audio fade-in, fade-out or cross-fades but no additional enhancement to the originally presented work is allowed. Remixing, re-editing or producing of new content for award consideration, except for the introduction disqualifies the nominee.