DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS:
March 16, 2026

It’s time to send your submissions for the Diana Jones Emerging Designer Program! The program provides both access and support to tabletop game designers in the early years of their careers, focusing on those who have historically been excluded from the larger industry conversations. While we recognize this program is only a first step, our organization is committed to pushing forward, learning from mistakes, and improving the industry we love.

We’d like to thank the program’s key sponsor for this year, Gen Con LLC. Designers who are selected receive a free badge and hotel room at Gen Con, up to $2,000 travel reimbursement for both domestic and international travel, a $75 per day food stipend, and a $2,000 honorarium for presenting their work. Designers are showcased at Gen Con and receive a package of game design resources and tools which vary each year, made possible by our sponsors. Prizes typically include: 1-year voting membership in GAMA, 1-year full membership in TTGDA, a hobby games eLibrary, prototyping credit at The Game Crafter, and a Protospiel Online badge.

Eligible designers should have released their first professional or commercial publication (including free, self-published, PWYW, and PDF releases) no more than three years before the selection year. A designer selected for 2026’s Diana Jones Emerging Designer Program should not have first published before 2023, for example. We interpret “designer” broadly to include practices of both narrative and game mechanics design.

Submissions must be sent through the Google form listed below and can be of either your own work or someone else’s. If you have questions, please reach out to the coordinators at edp@dianajonesaward.org.

All submissions must include:

• The designer’s email address.
• Links to the designer’s social media, if any.
• A paragraph about the designer (100 words minimum, 200 words maximum).
• 2–3 digital samples of work. When submitting written work, the sample must be at least one page and a maximum of five.
• Links to any additional work by the designer that you would like to share with the committee.

Submit the application materials here by March 13th, 2026

SPONSORS

We’d like to thank the program’s key sponsor for this year, Gen Con LLC

This year’s prize sponsors are:

Volunteers for the Emerging Designer Program include:

ABOUT THE EMERGING DESIGNER PROGRAM

This program of the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Gaming amplifies the voices of up-and-coming hobby game designers, with a focus on creators from marginalized communities, by featuring them during an expenses-paid trip to Gen Con. Its inaugural year was 2021, when Jeeyon Shim was our first Diana Jones Award Emerging Designer.

For more information about our previous winners and finalists, see the 2025 Emerging Designer page, 2024 Emerging Designer page, 2023 Emerging Designer page, 2022 Emerging Designer page, and 2021 Emerging Designer page.

CONTACTS

Questions? Please reach out to the program’s coordinators at edp@dianajonesaward.org. To contact the Diana Jones Award Committee, email committee@dianajonesaward.org.