Before You Apply

We thank you for your interest in contributing to Dragon Age Annual! Please take the time to read the information below carefully before you apply.

General Information #

DAA is a not-for-profit project and all contributions are done on a voluntary basis. There is no monetary or physical product compensation for contributors. Contributors are entitled to a free copy of the pdf of the calendar and zine(s). In past years, we have also been pleased to be able to allow contributors to purchase one physical copy of the calendar or merch bundle (their choice) at cost.

Please note: since DAA’s primary goal is to raise money for charity, we cannot guarantee that an “at cost” copy will be available for purchase and cannot extend this offer to more than one copy. All profits will be donated to the chosen charity for the year.

We do not accept any applications of AI-generated works or where others’ creations have been traced or used as “bases”. All works should be your own.

As always if you have any questions about the application process, please reach out to us via social media or email dragonageannual@gmail.com.

Code of Conduct #

DAA has a strict anti-harassment stance including harassment of other fans and BioWare personnel. As part of our application process, we review applicants’ social media to ensure alignment with this core value. Harassment may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: dogpiling, making intentionally inflammatory posts/hot takes, suicide-baiting, participating in call-outs, etc.
We ask that all contributors conduct themselves with professionalism and kindness throughout their involvement with the Annual. We are grateful to attract a diverse team and ask that you treat your fellow contributors and moderators with respect.
Because a calendar has a fixed minimum number of pages that must be produced, each piece is critical to production. Therefore, we ask that you only apply if you are confident in your ability to deliver your assigned piece(s) within the project’s deadline.

Should we become aware of any breach in our code of conduct we may take action up to and including removal from the project or barring from future participation.

Expectations #

If you are accepted as a contributor, you will receive additional guidelines, templates, and information during the production process. However, please keep these minimum expectations in mind when deciding whether or not DAA is a good fit for you!

All forms of AI-generated content are strictly prohibited within the project. All works must be previously unpublished, original, and created for DAA by you.
All contributors (including moderators) are expected to adhere to the Code of Conduct.
Contributors are expected to be flexible. This applies to:
- the selection of subject matter for your piece(s)
- understanding when production changes must be made
- working with moderators for revisions
In exchange, moderators also pledge to be flexible. Although we do have final say, we promise to be understanding of real life setbacks which might impact your ability to check in and will always give weight to contributors’ artistic ideas.
Contributors are expected to meet check-in requirements and production deadlines. In the event an extension is needed or you have to drop out of the project, you are expected to contact a moderator as soon as possible.
All contributors must be open to review and feedback on their work from moderators.
Contributors will need to complete works in 2-4 months to meet production deadlines. Detailed timelines are provided upon acceptance.

Artists #

Wall Calendar: Artists are expected to produce one landscape-oriented, A4-sized piece adhering to guidelines and theme.
- We select the calendar cover artist from among other artist applications. The cover artist will be expected to create two landscape-oriented, A4-sized pieces (one for the front and one for the back) fitting the theme or one large piece spanning both covers.
Merch: Guidelines for merch will vary based on the items being produced. We are very happy to consider your creative requests for items!
Zine: Artists are expected to produce one portrait-oriented A5-sized piece or one short (2-3 pages) comic, adhering to guidelines and theme. Depending on space in the zine(s), artists may be allowed to produce more than one piece, if they so choose.
- We select zine cover artists from among other artist applications. The physical cover artist will be expected to create two portrait-oriented, A5-sized pieces (one for the front and one for the back) fitting the theme, or one large piece spanning both covers. The digital cover artist will be expected to create at least one portrait-oriented, A5-sized piece that fits the theme for the front cover.
Artists may apply for wall calendar, zine(s), and/or merch roles. If an artist is selected for multiple roles, they are encouraged to work with moderators if they find they will need flexibility in meeting deadlines for all their pieces.
Detailed concepts will be reviewed and approved by the mod team during the earliest stages of production. Please do not begin earnest work on your piece until your concept has been approved.

Writers #

Pieces:
- Calendar Writers will produce two works related to two different art pieces. Pieces will vary from approximately 200 words to approximately 600 words depending on calendar space and layout.
- Zine Writers will produce one work based on the theme. The piece will vary from approximately 1000 words to 2000 words depending on zine space. Zine writers may also voluntarily write for comics produced by Zine Artists.
Editing: In addition to receiving feedback from moderators, writers will receive feedback from betas. This does NOT mean that all suggestions from betas MUST be followed, but writers should be open to considering them seriously.
Due to space constraints, writers must be flexible concerning their pieces’ length and formatting to ensure proper printing.
The matching of calendar writers to artists will take place after the artists’ concepts have been approved during the earliest stages of production.
Writers may apply for both the wall calendar and zine(s) roles. However, applicants will only be selected for one role.

Production Support Roles #

Betas: Review and verify accuracy of all copy produced for the Annual. This can include but is not limited to: writer’s stories, cover copy, website text, contributor spotlights, and credits pages. We also ask that Betas be available at peak production times to review final production copies.
Prospective Writers may also apply as Betas.
Graphic Designers: Create graphics for use in advertising on social media, including but not limited to announcement banners, contributor spotlight & preview templates, and product preview cards. Graphic designers will also assist the production team with typesetting for the calendar and zine(s), prep merch for final print, and may be asked to create text-based merchandise items, depending on interest.

Portfolio Reviews #

As always we welcome repeat applications from prior years’ successful contributors, but in the interest of fairness the application and judging process will be the same for all applicants. We have no set quota for returning contributors.

All applicants’ information will be treated with the utmost confidence.

We give preference to Dragon Age fans when choosing between two contributors with similar scoring during our reviews. If your portfolio is of your non-DA professional work, but you have a presence in DA under a different username, please let us know in your application!

Artists #

We can no longer accept portfolios that are hosted solely on Twitter/X because they cannot be accessed without an account.
If your portfolio is hosted on a social media site, you must link to a hashtag or feed of ONLY your art. It is not acceptable to link to a feed that includes reblogs/reposts of others’ art intermixed with your own.
Please provide a sampling of your work (minimum 5 pieces) which shows the various skills and styles you are capable of and which presents your art at its best.
For your portfolios, we do not have a preference for style.
Scoring will be based on overall composition, color choices, strong backgrounds, and technique.
Merchandise artists do not need to have created similar merch before; however, if you have designed similar merch (even in other fandoms) for projects or for your own shops, please do include those samples (even if they are from another fandom!).
Overall, the best plan is to show us your individual style as an artist, and we’ll do our best to figure out how we can play to your strengths.

Writers #

Please provide a sampling of your work (minimum 3) that shows the various skills and styles you are capable of and presents your writing at its best.
WWe do not have a preference for style. However, keep in mind that writing flash fic with tight word counts is a different skill set than writing long fic. For calendar writers, he more samples you have of 700 word or less writing, the better! Zine writer samples should be between 1000 - 2000 words. If you have mostly written fic longer than these caps, you are welcome to submit excerpts from longer pieces.
We judge on grammar, technique, and characterization. We cannot guarantee all three mods will be able to judge characterization for non-Dragon Age characters or OCs. Please try to include samples with multiple canon Dragon Age characters and with unique forms (for example, an in universe codex, a character piece, and a descriptive piece).

Production Support Roles #

Please provide a few examples of your work whether completed professionally or in a fandom setting.
- Betas: Samples may include—pieces you’ve written, pieces you’ve beta’d, compilations of screenshots of comments you’ve left while doing beta work.
- Graphics: Samples may include prior graphics work for school, work, or fandom. Graphic art may also be used as samples. Prior experience with professional printing/production is helpful!
It is also helpful if you’re able to describe a little about your practical experience.