ComicsDC: PR: Small Press Expo Addresses Impact of Coronavirus on SPX 2020

For Immediate Release

Contact: Warren Bernard

Small Press Expo Addresses Impact of Coronavirus on SPX 2020

Bethesda, Maryland – March 17, 2020

Media Release - SPX 2020 is scheduled to be held this coming September 12 - 13, with both Exhibitor Registration and Ignatz Submissions beginning this month. We are extremely concerned about the short- and long-term impacts of the coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis on the SPX community.

While developing this course of action, our goal was to prioritize the physical and financial well-being of the community.

The following is how SPX will be handling the coronavirus issue going forward:

SPX will review the status of our 2020 event in late May/early June
Exhibitor invitations and the lottery will proceed the weekend of March 22
Table payments will be deferred until more clarity about the show emerges late May/early June
Ignatz Award submissions will temporarily shift to a digital format, details will be released the weekend of March 29, after which we will then accept submissions
SPX will provide online resources to help the comics community cope with financial and other impacts of the outbreak.

In response, SPX will take several immediate steps out of a desire to, as best we are able, protect our exhibitors and our volunteer staff. The SPX planning committee will continue to monitor the national and international impact of the spread of the coronavirus/COVID-19 and act accordingly.

General Status of SPX 2020

SPX does not expect to make a determination about proceeding with, postponing, or, in the worst case, canceling this September's SPX 2020 until late May/early June. In the interim, SPX will proceed with our regular schedule for exhibitor registration, including the annual exhibitor lottery. SPX 2020 invitation and lottery information will be released the weekend of March 22.

Deferred Exhibitor Payments

While exhibitor registration will take place as normal in the coming weeks, SPX will defer table and badge payment until at least the late May/early June timeframe. We understand that the many event and freelance job cancellations currently taking place have placed a substantial and unexpected burden on creators and publishers.

By shifting our payment schedule by several months, SPX hopes to help alleviate, where we can, the short-term burden of this crisis upon the indie comics community by not tying up crucial funds at this sensitive time and not requesting any payment until the status of the 2020 Expo is confirmed.

Digital Submissions for the Ignatz Awards

Full details on the Ignatz submission process will be made available the weekend of March 29.

Prior to this information being made available, please do not send any Ignatz submissions to SPX.

Given the recently reported likelihood that coronavirus/COVID-19 can remain active on cardboard and other surfaces for several days at a time and in order to protect our volunteer staff, who in a typical year process hundreds of submissions from all over the world, SPX will be moving temporarily to a digital submission process.

In previous years, potential Ignatz nominees were asked to submit six physical copies of their works to be distributed to the Ignatz Jurors, with one copy being preserved in the SPX permanent collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. For the 2020 Ignatz awards, SPX will request digital copies of all submissions, along with an optional single physical copy earmarked for the Library of Congress.

Along with curtailing the potential spread of infection, the shift to digital submission will, we hope, also reduce the financial burden during this uncertain time on individual creators who wish to submit their works for consideration.

Online Resources for the SPX Community

Part of the Small Press Expo's mission is to help, as best we can, the SPX Community in uncertain times such as these. To that end, SPX has identified some online resources that contain information about various grants, relief funds and other mechanisms to hopefully aid the SPX Community in weathering the current circumstances:

Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.

The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning, with the winners chosen by attendees at the show.