Black Lives Matter

Ahoy!

We’ve been hard at work on FujoCon, but we wanted to take a moment to discuss a very serious situation going on in our world today.

BL Garden of DFW & FujoCon unequivocally stand with #BlackLivesMatter.

As a group of diverse fujoshi, we are passionate about equality and representation in fandom and beyond. We strongly oppose all forms of racial violence and refuse to be silent, and thus complicit, in that violence. We promise to elevate BIPOC voices and work to ensure the communities we love are anti-racist.

We’re already taking steps to insure diversity at FujoCon.

These past two weeks we’ve welcomed KingKitsu and Cristal Marie, both guests who are people of color and specifically use their positions to advocate for inclusiveness in their communities. BL is a global fandom so we’re super thankful for the work of these two for helping elevate BL and showing the diversity of fujoshi, fudanshi, and fujin everywhere.

Our Artist Alley directory will help highlight shops owned by black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) as well as those owned by people in the queer community. We know that customers want to shop equitably and felt this was just one of the ways we could help elevate these artists.

In an effort to take a firm stance against racism, BL Garden of DFW has pulled out of the San Japan anime convention. We 100% condemn the racist remarks made by the founder and ex-chair of the con and will not be participating at San Japan until they have made meaningful changes to their guest policies and recognizes and values EVERY anime fan. We believe anime is for everyone.

We know from our own research that the fujoshi community is incredibly diverse, so we hope that you’ll stand with us as we work to expell racism and fight for justice in BL, anime, and the world at large.

Black Lives Matter, today and every day.

SPONSOR ANNOUNCEMENT: TAPAS

Ahoy!

We are happy to announce our partnership with Tapas, who will be sponsoring both FujoCon and our parent group BL Garden of DFW. We are eternally grateful to Tapas for this opportunity and can’t wait to bring you more exciting content in conjunction with Tapas even when FujoCon is over!

Tapas is an online comic and novels platform home to a creator community that has published 79,000 stories. Their catalog, ranging from Korean manhwa to Western webcomics, has a large BL collection, including mature titles. We’re sure you’re going to find a story just for you on Tapas!

If you’re like some of us and didn’t want to dive into the deep end right away, Tapas has a curated list of titles that are perfect for fujoshi like us.

- Breathless

- Player<3Player

- Dirty Vibration (18+)

- Oh! My Assistant

- Born Sexy Tomorrow

You can read these “bite-sized stories on the go” and more on their site tapas.io.

Big thanks again to Tapas for sponsoring the con and donating prizes so you can win codes to win these awesome BL titles! Y’all are helping us keep the lights on and the AC running!

Guest Announcement: Cristal Marie

Ahoy!

FujoCon has been announcing guests left and right! We’ve got everything from cosplayers and BL mangaka to industry sponsors and even some academics (more coming soon!). This is why someone like Cristal Marie is such a good fit. Part entertainer, part entrepreneur, part influencer, Cristal is a fresh voice in the global fujoshi community and is doing great work to elevate BL and anime in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cristal Marie is an anime, BL culture, and video game expert by day and an award-winning recording artist by night! Best known for singing the theme song of the NBC/Telemundo telenovela Pecados Ajenos and creating the first anime convention in her native Dominican Republic (CONANIME), Cristal Marie also wrote the silent manga Justicia (Justice), and has always been a lover of all things geek. She recently released her new single “Anime Girl” and is currently working on bringing more visibility to Latinx in geek culture.

She is one of the faces of anime YouTube channel Get in the Robot.

For fans looking for more Latinx and Spanish BL content, sponsor Ertal Games produces visual novels in Spanish and we even have a Mo Dao Zu Shi fan meet in Spanish at FujoCon!

SPONSOR ANNOUNCEMENT: JAST BLUE & Ertal Games

Ahoy!

FujoCon just keeps onboarding guests! This time we’re happy to announce JAST BLUE and Ertal Games for all your BL gaming fantasies!

JAST BLUE is the BL imprint of the visual novel publisher JAST USA, and is dedicated to localizing some of Japan's most stellar BL titles. So far they have released English-language versions of the Nitro+CHiRAL classics sweet pool and Togainu no Chi - Lost Blood. Find out more at their website.

JAST BLUE will be bringing translator Molly Lee. She is a professional Japanese-English translator and outspoken advocate of otome and BL localization. Her works include the cult classic sweet pool as well as the fan-favorite BL light novel Yes, No, or Maybe.

Ertal Games is a one-person indie developer who is fond of manga, anime, literature and hot 2D boys. Their finished BL visual novels include A Hand in the Darkness, Chasing the Stars, Blood and Lust, and My Burning Heart. They are currently developing the new visual novels, Lurkers and Night and Day. Ertal Game’s work is English and Spanish-friendly. Let’s say that a little louder for the people in the back: Ertal Game’s work is English AND Spanish-friendly. BL truly is borderless.

Shop their games and find out more about their work at ertalgames.com

Both JASTBLUE and Ertal Games have generously donated some game codes as prizes so when you play a game at FujoCon, you might just win one of these spicy visual novels 🔥

Sponsor Announcement: Funimation

Ahoy!

FujoCon is happy to announce another sponsor, Funimation Entertainment! American fujoshi will recognize Funimation as one of the great titans of the US anime industry. What started out as a company dubbing Dragon Ball Z has grown into a real powerhouse streaming service bringing you the hottest new anime from Japan every week.

For over 25 years, Funimation has been the market leader for anime in English (both subbed and dubbed), serving a passionate fan community whenever, and wherever, they want it. They deliver the best that anime has to offer across their home video releases, streaming app, conventions, and shop.

Fujoshi can watch anime ranging from BL and sports anime to male idols, men in suits, and otome. All your favorites like Gravitation, Junjou Romantica, Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi, and even recent guilty pleasures like DAKAICHI are streaming on Funimation. For collectors, Funimation is always bringing you the best on Blu-ray, including the history-making Yuri!!! on ICE, classic gay sports anime like Free!, and even some fujoshi surprises like Super Lovers (SOME of us were very excited).

Funimation has generously donated digital copies of some hot new anime as prizes. Play some of our games and you just might win!

You should be watching: funimation.com

*Disclaimer, some members of FujoCon staff are employed by Funimation but were not involved in our sponsorship deal (it was news to them, too!)

Guest Announcement: BL mangaka Ayu Yamane, Hana, Kobuchi, Nacolat, and Tachibana

Ahoy!

When we started this con, we only had a few goals in mind and most of them were securing sponsorships from some BL publishers. I don’t think in our wildest dreams we thought they’d want to bring BL mangaka as guest artists, but here we are!

Fujocon is over the moon to announce our first round of BL mangaka: Ayu Yamane, Hana, Kobuchi, Nacolat, and Tachibana. All are appearing courtesy of our sponsor, futekiya BL library, and will be participating in our Artist Alley. That’s right, you’ll be able to shop and buy directly from these amazing artists to support their work.

AYU YAMANE: Ayu Yamane is a yaoi / BL doujin comic artist living in Kanagawa prefecture (next to Tokyo) in Japan. Yamane-san loves cats, birds, and age-different couple’s stories. Ayu Yamane will be participating in our Artist Alley as well as participating in a panel courtesy of futekiya. Find out more about Ayu Yamane by checking out their official website. You can read their manga on futekiya. Follow their art on Twitter | Instagram | DeviantArt

HANA: “ＢＬ漫画描きです。エロが軽いものからディープなものまで自由気ままになんでも描きます。いつか生まれ変わりモノのＢＬを描いてみたいと最近思ってます＾＾I'm a BL manga artist. Erotic-wise, I draw anything I like from light to deep. I've been recently thinking about it wanting to draw a BL work on reincarnation someday.^^”You can follow Hana on Twitter as well as read their works on Futekiya.

KOBUCHI: “BLが好きで日本で同人活動しています。日本人です。創作メインですが二次も描きます。宜しくお願いします。I’m from Japan. I like BL and I'm working as an independent creator in Japan. I mainly create original works, but I also draw fan works. Looking forward to meeting you all!” You can follow Kobuchi on Twitter as well as read their works on Futekiya.

NACOLAT: “BLマンガを描いています。futekiyaさんで電子配信もしていますので、良かったら読んでください！I draw BL manga. My manga is also available digitally on futekiya, so please read it!” You can follow Nacolat on Twitter as well as read their works on Futekiya.

TACHIBANA: “創作BLを描いています。よろしくお願いいたします！I create original BL works. Looking forward to FujoCon!” You can follow Tachibana on Twitter as well as read their works on Futekiya.

Those of us running FujoCon might be based in little ol’ Dallas, Texas but this con is so much bigger than DFW or even America. We’re truly in awe of the international support everyone is giving to FujoCon and we are very thankful for futekiya for promoting these artists in their library and at FujoCon. Stay tuned for even more news~

Guest Announcement: Cosplayers KingKitsu, Toastie, and Velours Requiem

Ahoy!

It’s been a minute, but we’ve been hard at work at FujoCon to add even more guests to our lineup. Over the last few weeks we’ve been pleased to welcome the cosplayers KingKitsu, Toastie, and Velours Requiem to our lineup 🙌

Representation matters to us at FujoCon, so with that, we are super excited to have an advocate like KingKitsu. Kitsu is a trans cosplayer of color who has been cosplaying since late 2012. He loves to show his support to those who are minorities in the cosplay community and cheer them on and try to uplift their spirits when they get discouraged in the cosplay community. He enjoys multiple areas of creativity in creating cosplay including wig styling, armor building, and sewing. He mostly enjoys entertaining people with his content of things to make them smile or laugh. I know when we got his info in several of us gushed over his Innosuke cosplay. You can follow KingKitsu on Instagram or Facebook.

We’re also so happy to have some local representation for North Texas with the dynamic duo of Toastie & Velours Requiem. Staples of the local con scene, Toastie and Velours are bringing some bishie realness to our lineup and we are living for it. (Still not over that Victor cosplay, y’all)

Toastie is a North Texas cosplayer who enjoys using her craft as a way to build friendships and to channel her inner creativity. She has been cosplaying since 2011 and enjoys using cosplay as a way to share her favorite character interactions with her community, whether they be canon or not. Toastie often likes to cosplay various character types with her partner in crime, VeloursRequiem. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, drinking boba tea and snuggling her cat, Kleenex.

Velours Requiem is a self taught Texas cosplayer who has created over 100 costumes. Her craftsmanship has landed her several awards and even the opportunity to have worked as a promotional model for the BL Webcomic series Teahouse. These days, you can find her working on her fashion brand as well as cosplaying with her partner in crime, Toastie. In her spare time she enjoys figure skating, playing mobile phone games, and being ferocious.

You can follow Toastie & Velours on their Instagrams. We can’t wait for those new cosplays, they’re going to be 🔥

You can view all our guests at fujocon.com/guests and remember to follow us on Twitter for updates about the con!

Guest Announcement: Adrienne Wilder

Ahoy!

Today is a day of announcements! We’re excited to bring MM romance author Adrienne Wilder on board!

Adrienne is an internationally bestselling writer of contemporary and speculative fiction and artist of all things monster. He lives to create new worlds and the people in them. He was a finalist in the LAMDA awards, the "Oscars" of gay literary works. 

Adrienne writes original stories with powerful characters and emotion as well as a fast-paced plot. His goal isn't just to deliver a good story but to take the reader into the story and let them experience the characters as if they are right there with them. While almost all his books have a romantic element, he will be the first to admit, they are not traditional romance. In fact, there is nothing traditional about them and the stories he paints are done so way outside the lines of traditional genres. 

One of his favorite things to do as a writer is push the boundaries of what makes a story and to deliver the unexpected–maybe even change the perspective of the reader! His characters are more often than not, beautifully flawed: they’re not always the good guy and make mistakes. Their stories will take dark turns which, in the end, make the light at the end of the tunnel all the brighter.

If you're looking for something different, exciting, and unique, Adrienne Wilder’s books are for you. Check out his website for updates and how to contact him. Adrienne loves hearing from fans. 

Guest Announcement: Maz Maddox

Ahoy!

We’ve been hard at work to bring you even more guests, so stay tuned this week as we announce our biggest lineup yet! Today we’ve brought another MM romance author on board, Maz Maddox!

Maz Maddox is the author of the Stallion Ridge series, Rainbow Award winner, yaoi fanatic and general weirdo. She is the odd lovechild between a unicorn, dinosaur and vampire. The outcome is a human-like figure who inherited aspects of all three.  She is a champion of logic and science, adores beauty and whimsy, and has a slight streak of darkness that dances the line of genius and insanity. 

Residing in the wild land of cowboy boots and Shiner beer, Maz spends her time with her two dogs and a husband who she adores, and is constantly demanding that science gives her a pocket sized triceratops. The efforts of these demands have yet to be fulfilled.

When she’s not pining over the lack of chihuahua sized ornithischia, she’s a writer who loves crafting adventures tales sprinkled with humor, a hefty helping of romance, and topped with a happy ending.

You can check out the Stallion Ridge series and other shorts at her website.

Welcome aboard!

SPONSOR ANNOUNCEMENT: FUTEKIYA

Ahoy!

It’s been a busy week at FujoCon. We hit 100 followers on Twitter and futekiya has jumped on board! We’re big fans of futekiya so we kinda freaked out when it happened 💙futekiya is a newer player in the legal-BL-in-English space, but for us older fujoshi, it’s a dream come true. So what is futekiya?

futekiya Library is a convenient and straightforward online manga subscription service for officially licensed Boysʼ Love manga. Pay a monthly fee, and you can read futekiyaʼs entire library of BL manga anywhere and anytime. Every time you read through futekiya Library, you support creators and the manga industry. futekiya Library is steadily growing and has frequent updates to the BL manga collection.

One of the best parts about futekiya is the affordability. There are a range of subscription plans to fit your budget and they all come with access to a seriously impressive library (size matters, y’all) of the absolute hottest BL from Japan. If you, like us at BL Garden, love following the Yabai List every year, futekiya is a must.

Now is the perfect time to check out futekiya with their #readmangatogether campaign. For the entire month of May, futekiya is free! That’s right. 100% free, legal BL!

Support the industry and your wallet by checking out futekiya at read.futekiya.com and be sure to follow them on Twitter for more fujoshi fun.