AVCon Competitions
AVCon competitions are a chance to share your creativity with the community, whether you write, draw, edit videos, build props, make manga, paint miniatures or create short-form content.
AVCon 2026 has a range of competitions open across the Festival, with additional 18+ competitions available for AVCon After Dark. Please read the entry form carefully before submitting, as each competition has its own rules, eligibility requirements and deadlines.
AVCon Competitions
Most AVCon 2026 competitions are open to general entrants and are designed for work suitable for the main Festival audience. This includes entries for fan art, fan fiction, manga, cosplay props, AMVs, short videos and Gunpla builds.
Please make sure you enter the correct competition for your work. Some competitions have specific format requirements, such as full-length AMVs, short-form videos or physical items that may need to be brought to AVCon.
Applications can be edited any time before the form closes. You may submit your application now, then return to update or finalise your entry before applications close on 1 July 2026 at 11:59PM Adelaide time.
Fan Fiction Competition
It is time to fire up your imagination and get to your keyboard for the AVCon Fan Fiction Competition, with a $200 cash prize. The Fan Fiction Competition is for writers who love creating stories inspired by anime, manga, games, and pop culture!
Key competition details:
- Open to all ages.
- Stories can be about anything, as long as they are related to anime, video games or tabletop gaming.
- Stories must be over 500 words and under 1,000 words.
- The winner will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
Fan Art Competition
It is time to whip out your drawing tablet or pencils and imagine the most amazing scenes you can. The AVCon Fan Art Competition is back, with up to $400 of cash prizes to be won!
Key competition details:
- Open to all ages.
- Art can be of anything, as long as it is related to anime, video games or tabletop gaming.
- We cannot accept original characters or art that is not from an existing anime, gaming or tabletop gaming franchise.
- The winners will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
Manga Competition
The art of manga is not just about the cool art. It’s also about the flow, storytelling, dialogue and telling a story panel by panel.
For the AVCon Manga Competition, we want to find the best aspiring manga artists and see their best short manga story, with a $200 CASH prize up for grabs!
Key competition details:
- Open to all ages.
- Entries can be submitted by an individual or duo, such as two people sharing art and writing duties.
- Manga must be in English, authentic Japanese is great and all…but we can’t read it!
- Manga can be read either left to right, or right to left, as long as you indicate which on the pages themselves.
- Manga stories must be original creations. They cannot be fan fiction or contain existing characters, settings or franchises. We want to see your original ideas and characters caught up in a story of your own imagination.
- The story can be any genre, but as this is a manga competition for an anime convention, entries should have an anime or manga-inspired art style, especially in character design.
- The winner will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
Cosplay Prop Competition
IThis is the AVCon Cosplay Prop Competition. We want you to submit your finest prop, whether it was made as part of a cosplay or as a standalone piece, and whether it was made this year or 10 years ago. As long as it has been crafted by you, we want to see it and you can be in the running to win up to $400 of cash prizes!
Key competition details:
- Open to all ages.
- This competition is open to all residents of Australia, but entry must be delivered to and picked up from AVCon either by the applicant themselves or to have delivery/pick up arranged by the applicant.
- Props can be anything, as long as the item appears in an anime, video game or tabletop gaming franchise. We cannot accept original creations or props that are not from an existing anime or gaming franchise.
- Props can generally be any size, as long as they are transportable and can be easily displayed for judging.
- The winners will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
AMV Competition
AVCon will host its first worldwide AMV Competition in 2026, inviting creators and AMV fans from any country to submit their entries to be viewed and voted on at AVCon with up to $400 AUD in prizes up for grabs!
AVCon AMV entries may use footage from anime, video games or the official AVCon pop song, “Shooting Star Story”.
This competition is for full-length AMVs. Entries must use only one song, run for the full length of the chosen song, and the song must not exceed 5 minutes. Short TikTok, Reel or Shorts-style videos will not be accepted in this competition. If you would like to enter a short-form video, check out our Keeping It REEL (Short Video) Competition here.
Key competition details:
- Open to all ages.
- Entries are open to creators from any country.
- All entries can be rated up to M for mature audiences. Some violence, sexually suggestive footage or mature song lyrics may be used in quick edits, but nothing excessive will be accepted.
- Entries can use any genre of song, such as country, metal or rap, and any anime or video game footage, such as romance, action or horror. Entries can be edited together in any way.
- The winners will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
Keeping It REEL (Short Video) Competition
ISo AVCon is launching its newest competition: Keeping it REEL! We want you to use the 20-second limit and classic 9:16 aspect ratio to make the most entertaining, funny or informative short video possible and wow the AVCon crowd!
Entries can be anything as long as they are themed around anime, gaming or tabletop in some way. This could be a skit about being a huge gamer, a scene from your D&D campaign, funny observations about games or fandoms, or a very short AMV.
Entries will be viewed and voted on at AVCon, with a $200.00 AUD prize up for grabs!
This competition is for short-form videos only. Entries must be 20 seconds or less and use a 9:16 vertical format, such as 1080 x 1920. Full-length AMVs will not be accepted in this competition. If you would like to enter a full-length AMV, check out our AVCon 2026 Anime Music Video (AMV) Competition here.
Key competition details:
- Open to all ages
- Entries must be related to anime, gaming or tabletop. This can include humorous observations about franchises, fandoms or fans, acting out your own scenarios, short AMVs, or anything else that fits the theme.
- All entries can be rated up to PG. Some very mild violence or mildly suggestive content may be accepted, but nothing excessive.
- Entries can be live action, animated or edited from other sources, such as AMVs or overdubbing.
- The winner will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
Gunpla Build Competition
The Gunpla Build Competition is for builders who want to share their model kits with the AVCon community. Whether your build focuses on clean assembly, custom painting, weathering, kitbashing or creative presentation, this is your chance to show your work.
We challenge Gunpla builders to use their skills to create their best Gunpla build and submit it to be judged at Shin Tokyo and AVCon, for a chance to win the title of best in South Australiam $200 cash and a Master Grade kit.
All entries will be displayed publicly at Shin Tokyo the week before AVCon and during the AVCon 2026 event.
Key competition details:
- Open to all ages.
- The Best in Show winner will receive $200 cash and a Master Grade kit. Runner up will receive a Master Grade kit.
- The winners will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
AVCon After Dark 2026 Competitions
AVCon After Dark includes competitions for adult entrants and adult-oriented creative work. These competitions are strictly for ages 18+.
You must be 18 or over to enter. Please read each form carefully before submitting, including rules around content, eligibility, identification, display and assessment.
Applications can be edited any time before the form closes. You may submit your application now, then return to update or finalise your entry before the deadline!
18+ Fan Art Competition
It is time to whip out your drawing tablet or pencils and set your imagination to SPICY! The AVCon After Dark 18+ Fan Art Competition is back, with up to $400 of cash prizes to be won!
This is the Fan Art Competition for AVCon After Dark. It is open to artist aged 18 years and over only.
Art may include 18+ content, including nudity, sexuality, gore, violence and horror, within reason. Please read the Terms and Policies carefully before entering.
Key competition details:
- Strictly 18+
- All entries will be displayed publicly during AVCon After Dark 2026.
- Entries must follow the content and submission rules listed in the form.
- The winners will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.
18+ Fan Fiction Competition
It is time to fire up your SPICY imaginations and get to your keyboards for the After Dark 18+ Fan Fiction Competition, with a $200 cash prize!
This is the Fan Fiction Competition for AVCon After Dark. It is open to writers aged 18 years and over only. Stories may include 18+ content, including descriptions of nudity, sexuality, gore, violence and horror, within reason. Please read the rules carefully before entering.
If you would like to enter the standard AVCon Fan Fiction Competition, you can find that form here!
Key competition details:
- Strictly 18+
- All entries will be printed out and available to read at AVCon After Dark 2026. Judging will take place during the week before AVCon 2026.
- Entries must follow the content and submission rules listed in the form.
- The winner will be announced at the AVCon Closing Ceremony and will be contacted one week after AVCon, on Sunday 12 July 2026.