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John welcomes Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs to talk about the emotional and logistical process of closing out their five-season series, Hacks. Paul and Lucia also step up as guest readers for the Three Page Challenge, a segment where we look at the first three pages of a listener-submitted script and give honest feedback. […]
The post Wrapping It Up with Hacks first appeared on John August.
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In today’s edition of “How Would This Be a Movie?” John and Craig convert felonies into films. Together, they take a few crime-related news stories and decide how they might be adapted for the screen. They also discuss paracosms and the importance of daydreaming for budding screenwriters. In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, John […]
The post How Would This Be a Crime? first appeared on John August.
Hello, friends.
We are just about a month away from this year’s IFComp entries being released. We’re getting excited, and we hope you are as well!
While we eagerly await all the new stories, we’d like to ask for your help with the Colossal Fund. If you already know about the fund and are able to contribute, please head on over to ifcomp.org and donate.
Heads up that we’re using Zeffy for donations this year. Zeffy works for us as a nonprofit by not charging us any processing fees. That means more funds for authors and the other great work that IFTF does. Zeffy will ask you to make an (optional) additional payment to cover their costs. It’s completely optional, and you can easily reset that amount to whatever you’d like, including $0.
The Colossal Fund raises money for the cash prizes that are awarded to the top two-thirds of IFComp entries. We use 80% of the funds for that, and the remaining funds are used to provide support for the programs and projects of the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, including the Interactive Fiction Competition, the IF Archive, the IFDB, the forums at intfiction.org, and other projects.
We’re now accepting donations for 2026!
Head on over and donate at IFComp.org. See your name listed on our donor page (or listed as “anonymous” if you prefer)!
Our fundraising deadline is October 15th, the last day of competition voting. 80% of the proceeds (~$6.4K if we hit our goal) will be distributed among the top two-thirds of IFComp finishers.
What does this mean for authors?
Because we’re dividing the money among the top two-thirds of entries, the exact numbers depend on how many entries there are. If we have 75 entries, then we will divide the money among the top 50. If we hit our goal, that would mean that the winner of the competition will be offered a prize of $357, second place will be offered $343, third prize $329… and so on and so forth until 50th place, which will be offered $10. Our goal is to distribute prizes across a broad range of IF styles and ideas. Any entry which does even moderately well is offered a decent prize. (If you wanna get nerdy, there’s information about the formula, along with a link to a Python script, here.)
How do I donate?
Please go to https://ifcomp.org, enter an amount that works for you, and hit Continue. You’ll be asked a few optional questions about your interest in interactive fiction, make your donation, and then be sent a receipt.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, to the extent allowed by law. (Consult a tax professional.)
Does the Colossal Fund replace the usual IFComp prize list?
Nope! These cash prizes will be in addition to the usual IFComp prize list. We do need more of those non-cash prizes as well! Please visit our prize page to see what objects and services others have donated, get ideas from donations given in previous years, and see how you can contribute.
How will the cash prizes be distributed?
Via PayPal or Venmo. (The IFComp entry form has a field for your PayPal address.) If you can’t accept PayPal or Venmo, we can mail a US check to a US address. If that doesn’t work for you, or if you wish to decline the cash prize, we will roll the money into next year’s prize fund, which means it will continue to support authors and IFTF programs.
The Office of Management and Budget’s new proposed rules for the administration of federal grants have caused a storm.
Published on May 29 as the largest rewrite of federal grant rules since the Uniform Guidance was consolidated in 2013, the proposal drew tens of thousands of public comments before the July 13 deadline. We wrote in June about what the proposed rule would mean for scholarly publishing and open access specifically, and our post last week highlighted our comments to OMB on those issues.
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Buckle up! John and Craig discuss the elements that make up a classic road movie. They cover the quintessential scenes, common pitfalls, and the economic quandaries you’ll find in the genre. They also answer listener questions about editing novels (versus screenplays) and the aesthetics of outlines and breakdowns. In our bonus segment for premium subscribers, […]
The post Road Trip first appeared on John August.