The Quidditch Pitch :: Let Your ImaginationTake Flight

Announcing a New Challenge

Announcing The Quidditch Pitch's....
Inspiration Challenge

In this challenge, we have MANY pieces of fanart to inspire your writing and your job is to write a drabble or ficlet to accompany the piece. Here are the details:

Pick a piece of art from the selection below.
Write a piece of fanfic between 100 and 750 words based upon the art. No art is NC-17 but fic ratings can be any rating.
Submit the fic to thecaptains@thequidditchpitch.org by July 30th.
Read and review the drabbles and ficlets when they are posted on July 31st.

Excited, huh, huh?

Well then what are you waiting for? Go shopping for that inspirational piece of Harry Potter fanart and get writing!

THANK YOU to the wonderful artists! LeelaStarsky, DianaWeasley, LillyWMW, GlockGal, LizardSpots, Mudblood428, Odella, ElspethElf and Reallycorking.

Links to art....

Draco/Hermione---Draco/Ginny---Draco/Pansy---Gen Art---Gen Harry---Harry/Draco---Harry/Ginny---Harry/Hermione---Harry/Luna
Femme Slash---Ron/Hermione---Harry/Ron---Harry/Snape---James/Lily---James/Sirius---Lucius/Narcissa---Neville/Ginny---Remus/Tonks
Ron/Draco---Snape/Hermione---Sirius/Remus---Trio---Snape/Remus---Snape/James---Snape/Lucius---Sirius/Snape---Bill/Draco---Bill/Fleur

When submitting your drabble to the Captains, please include the following information:

Author (TQP Penname):
Piece of art used:
Rating:
Pairing:
Summary:

Please remember that drabbles are due to the Captains by July 30th.

If you have any questions, please contact Captain DeenaS at deenas@thequidditchpitch.org.

--The Captains on 06/14/2009 09:49 PM 0 Comments

Important Please Read

To All Members and Authors:

If you have submitted a multi-chaptered story in the past few months and have not been contacted by a Quidditch Assistant (Aka) Beta Reader. Please take a moment and resubmit your story or contact thecaptains@thequidditchpitch.org.

Due to a technical glitch in our beta queue several multi-chapter stories have vanished. We strongly feel this is either the work of Voldemort or Bellatrix but can't be sure.

Thanks!

The Captains

--The Captains on 05/15/2009 08:18 AM 0 Comments

Featured Stories

Hi All-As we said before we are doing something slightly different this year for featured stories. We are doing them quarterly instead of each month. In addition normally there will be a poll for everyone to vote but this month we decided to allow the entire Quidditch Pitch Staff to pick their featured story.

Click on the banner to see them all

--The Captains on 04/12/2009 12:33 PM 0 Comments

SpellCast Azkatraz Podcast Play Sweepstakes Spectacularrr!

http://www.spellcastpodcast.com/images/SpellCast_%20The%20Harry%20Potter%20Fan%20Fiction%20Podcast.bmp

While our Podcast is on hold we thought we would take a moment to pimp SpellCast Azkatraz Podcast Play Sweepstakes Spectacularrr!

FictionAlley announces the SpellCast Azkatraz Podcast Play Sweepstakes Spectacularrr! SpellCast is producing a live podcast play during Azkatraz’s Podcast Palooza and this year we are hosting a contest for the featured plays. We will select three short plays to be performed live by conference attendees during the podcast.

The nitty gritty:

- The play, when performed, should be between ten and fifteen minutes in length.
- There will be one winner from each category: drama, comedy and romance.
- The script should in some way incorporate the wizard prison Azkaban, whether it be the setting, the topic of discussion, or a parody of a pop culture prison show (such as Prison Break or Arrested Development).
- The play is required to have a narrator.
- The content of the play should be rated the equivalent of PG-13 or lower.
- Keep in mind that while this play will be performed live at the conference, the intention is to be a “radio play” in which all action is heard, not seen. The stage directions should be sounds that can be made by either the actors or the audience. Remember, an active audience is a happy audience!

The contest is open from March 15th through May 31st. Submit your original script to contest@spellcastpodcast.com. Questions may also be directed to this e-mail address. Winners will be announced June 15th.

--The Captains on 04/06/2009 12:18 PM 0 Comments

For your review

Did you know that The Quidditch Pitch has, at its core, four Captains who run the site day-to-day? There are two Auxiliary Captains, two Captain's Assistants, 7 Quidditch Coordinators and 20 Quidditch Assistants as well, but just four who run it day in, day out.

In the past year, those four Captains have attended school, lost three jobs, gained two jobs, and moved four times. There has been turnover in the QA staff, and a smaller turnover in the QC staff. Our Gallery broke. Our forums were hacked. Our podcasts have disappeared. And that's just for starters. 2008 was not a good year.

Despite this, and with the extraordinary assistance of our staff, we've made it work with as little inconvenience to you, the members, as possible. It has meant long nights for some of the Captains (including lots of drinking), but we've done it.

However, the Captains have looked ahead to 2009 and foresee many changes again, the least of which are major moves for three of the Captains, and one who will be finishing school. Because of these things, and after many long discussions, we have decided we're going to scale back the scope of our operations for The Quidditch Pitch in 2009.

We are not closing. Let us say that again: we are not closing.

We will not, however, be scheduling podcasts for this year, or regular polls, as in years past. Featured Stories and Challenges will become quarterly through the remainder of 2009. We will continue to respond to emails from staff and members. We will continue to keep the site running. We will continue with the digest, though it may be as infrequent as once a month or as frequent as weekly.

However, we want your input! Are there things you’d like to see us drop completely? Do we need to be more visible in fandom so that you know we’re still out there, still Harry Potter fans, and still active members of this wonderful community?

We are hopeful that, in 2010, we will be able to ramp operations up once again, to bring back some of the features we've had to put on hold. We would love to be back full force to attend the convention in Orlando that will coincide with the new Harry Potter Theme Park opening.

Sincerely,
The Captains of The Quidditch Pitch
- Captain Annie, the Captain who thinks Ron looks hot in Quidditch Gear.
- Captain Deena, the Stable Captain in charge of the Betas and Stable Boys
- Captain Minnie, the Crazy College-student-again Captain
- Captain Trisha, the Captain most trying to emulate Hermione
- Captain Kerry, Auxiliary Captain

--The Captains on 03/28/2009 05:06 PM 5 Comments

Twittering-Help a Cuzzy Out

As those of you who follow any of the Harry Potter news sites have learned that Matthew Lewis has a Twitter account.

He and his mate Cuzzy are apparently very, very competitive and their first challenge was a bit unfair to Cuzzy.

The challenge is:

"Hello and welcome to the first ever Lewis vs. Cuzzy challenge. Beginning on Sunday 15.03.09. The challenge is as follows:

Who can get the most followers on Twitter (www.twitter.com) by Sunday the 22.03.09. We both have exactly one week to get as many followers as possible by any means necessary.

Matt’s Twitter http://twitter.com/Mattdavelewis
Cuzzy’s Twitter http://twitter.com/chriscuzzy

Pick a side and let the games begin..!"

That's a direct quote from the The Lewis Vs Cuzzy Blog

The Captains do love the underdog--well, except for Voldemort--okay, we liked Voldemort a little bit...no, we're not comparing Matt Lewis to Voldemort! Matt's much nicer and has a sense of humor...although Voldemort had a twisted sense of humor and we liked that--but that's not the point! It's not that we don't love Matt Lewis--we just feel that Cuzzy could use TQP's support.

So, we would love for you to join us in following Cuzzy on Twitter!

The bonus in this is that there are going to be videos! We don't know what the loser of the first challenge has to do--it may be videotaped and who doesn't like to watch videos? Voldemort wouldn't enjoy videos but we believe that Bellatrix might. (That is so not the point, Annie!)

As a side note, you can also follow the Captains on Twitter if you'd like!

simons_flower: You didn't give them our Twitter info, Annie. |

tqpannie: Our members are smart, they'll figure it out. |

madam_minnie: You think Voldemort would Twitter? "Lucius: Atck Potter. Pick up dry clng. AK Bella." |

almond_joyz: I disclaim all knowledge of all of you.

--The Captains on 03/17/2009 06:42 PM 0 Comments

Hermione Big Bang Pimp-Participate even if you don't have an LJ.

Hermione Big Bang is a community fest running a 6-month event during which authors write novella- and novel-length stories of any type centered on Hermione Granger, and artists illustrate them with art, graphics, videos, and/or music. The archive will go live on September 19, 2009, to celebrate Hermione's birthday.

Two of the Captains are participating and we would love to see everyone who writes Hermione participate. You don't have to have a Live Journal to participate. Check it out and, if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask the mods! They are great and really supportive.

There are loads of cheerleader openings, too, so if you aren't a writer, why don't you come cheerlead?

--The Captains on 03/11/2009 01:02 PM 0 Comments

Featured Story and Artist of the Year

Click on the banner to see/read!

Featured Artist of the Year 2008

Featured Stories of the Year 2008

Something Missing at the End by mapleandmahogany

Five Times Luna Acted Wildly Inappropriate and Dean Loved Her For It by Attila

--The Captains on 01/21/2009 05:26 PM 0 Comments

Queue is reopened and Year-End Polls News

Announcements:

TQP Queue The Queue is now reopened, but please give us a day or two to process the stories currently within the queue. If your story has not been processed by Wednesday, please let The Captains know. Additionally, if a story of yours has languished in the beta queue, please let us know. We're doing our best to keep on top of things, but the holidays, illness, and job changes among the Captains have really distracted our attention.

Year End Polls We had hoped to announce the winner, but have encountered technical difficulties with the polls. We are trying to decide how to resolve them and hope to made a decision tomorrow night. Please stay tuned and thank you for your patience.

--The Captains on 01/04/2009 02:08 PM 0 Comments

The Queue and Hotmail

+ Queue: Beginning Saturday 13 December 2008 through Saturday 3 January 2009, our submission queue will be closed for the holidays. This is to allow our entire staff to finish their current stories and prepare for the holidays with their families and friends. The staff of the Quidditch Pitch will returned energized after the holiday to fulfill all your fanfiction needs.

+ Hotmail accounts: If you currently have a Hotmail account, your emails are bouncing back to us as non-deliverable. Please add us to your spam settings as an allowed sender or use an alternate mail service.

--The Captains on 12/09/2008 07:12 PM 0 Comments

Editor's Choice for November and December 2008

Congratulations to

kerryblaze for having her story Bloody Mary...Bloody Mary...Bloody Mary... as Editor's Choice for November and December 2008.

Click on the banner to read story!

--The Captains on 11/23/2008 02:07 PM 0 Comments

It's Our Birthday--Where are the Quidditch Strippers?

2008 State of the Pitch

To quote the famous Albus Dumbledore: "Another Year Gone"…

First, we once again would like to thank you, our members, authors, and artists, for making The Quidditch Pitch a fun, happy, and exciting place to be. The site would be nothing without the support of you all!

As Captains, we’ve slowed down this year. Each of us have gone through major life events, including moves, starting school, health issues, and other life changes, all of which have distracted us from our most important thing: The Quidditch Pitch. However, we are all slowly getting back on track and we’re looking forward to offering up several new features in the future.

For the upcoming year, we have updated our servers with several new programs and will be rolling them out early in 2009. We will resume our podcasts in the near future and we will be reorganizing our story categories to make things simpler and easier for our members and readers.

We are currently featuring a Christmas fic exchange – those stories will be posted at Christmas – and our current challenge That's Frightening Challenge, will be the last before the New Year.

In December, you will see Featured Story of the Year and Challenge Story of the Year polls.

We thank you again for taking the time to ogle the Quidditch Players with us and, as always, we value your feedback. If you have any suggestions please feel free to email The Captains.

Most importantly we want to thank our staff of Quidditch Assistants and Quidditch Coordinators. Without them the site would not run as smoothly as it does. We appreciate and love each one of you more than you could possibly imagine! Also to

leelastarsky who is our wonderful story reader—we love to listen to you and appreciate how hard you work when we request it! To our two ~~Ass~~ Captain Assistants Emily and

tjwritter we will be buying you a drink soon. Thank you for all your help!

Much love and one Harry for each of you,

Annie, Simon’s Flower, Kerryblaze, Deenas, Madam Minnie, Dream Wia Dream, and Redblaze

--The Captains on 10/31/2008 08:40 AM 0 Comments