New Site! New Categories! Pre-Noms Open for 2020 AVN Awards

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—With Halloween displays popping up wherever you turn and the smell of pumpkin spice in the air, you can be sure that one other annual harbinger is upon us to officially signify the arrival of That Time of Year: The opening of pre-nominations for the AVN Awards. So with no further ado, AVN Media Network hereby welcomes any and all adult industry professionals to submit their productions, websites, retail products and other work of the past year to be considered for the 2020 AVN Awards, taking place January 25, 2020, with the support of presenting sponsor MyFreeCams, at The Joint inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In the spirit of this awards show coinciding with the dawn of a new decade, AVN went back to the drawing board to reassess, rethink and revamp each of the most basic compenents at the core of putting it all together, from eligibility requirements to the categories themselves to our pre-nom site. In regard to the latter, we have built an entirely new, more intuitive site for making submissions, with an easy-to-navigate layout, clear guidance and newly updated descriptions of every category. To request access to the new pre-nom site, fill out the application form here. Pre-nominations are also now open for the 2020 GayVN Awards, and industry members may request access to submit pre-nominations for that event in addition to or instead of the AVN Awards using the same application form. We encourage anybody applying to submit in either event section to view the instructional video at the following link: AVN Awards Pre-Nom Site 101. The pre-nom site will close at midnight on September 30, and there will be no extensions of the deadline. With the new site, a new submission rule has been implemented as well, of which every user must take note: There now is a maximum of FIVE (5) pre-nominations that may be submitted per account in any one category. With this in mind, we strongly urge all those participating in the pre-nomination process to take great care in what and whom they choose to submit for consideration, limiting it to the very best of the best selections within a given category.  As to those categories (listed in full below), people will notice a wide array of changes—some have been renamed, some old favorites are back, and a few brand new ones are being introduced. In particular, many should be excited to see AVN Award recognition being granted for the very first time to the self-explanatory fields of Best Blowbang Scene and Best Gangbang Scene. (In case you don't consider those—or any other cateogries—self-explanatory, however, be sure to mouse over the question marks beside each one in the pre-nom site for detailed descriptions.) Finally, be sure to carefully read through the following amended eligibility rules for the various types of categories in the Video & Web arena (Scene/Featurette, Full-Length Production, Series), as a number of changes have been put into place to better reflect how adult entertainment is delivered and consumed in the modern marketplace: Eligibility Term To be considered in any of the video categories, a production must be made available commercially between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019. If a sex scene or featurette is released both as a standalone work online and as part of a full-length production via DVD or VOD prior to or on the September 30 cutoff date, it will by default be considered part of the full-length production for attribution purposes. In turn, any sex scene or featurette submitted as its own standalone work must NOT be released as part of any larger production during the same timeframe. Any scene or featurette considered for a 2020 AVN Award will be void from future consideration thenceforth if included as part of any larger production released after September 30, 2019. Full-Length Production Eligibility To be considered for a nomination in any category recognizing full-length, multiple-scene productions, a work must be made available in its entirety by the end of the current eligibility term on a minimum of two qualifying platforms, with all content released under a unifying title on at least one of said platforms during the current term and originally released on any platform no earlier than the first date of the previous term. The two required platforms may consist of any combination of the following: • DVD (must be stocked with at least 100 retail outlets)• Membership website (i.e. site or network for a single studio or group of affiliated studios offering monthly paid memberships to access content)• VOD/streaming site (i.e. site carrying productions from at least 100 active studio labels and offering monthly paid memberships or a la carte purchases to access content)• Subscription broadcast network Scene/Featurette Eligibility To be considered for a nomination in any sex scene or featurette category, a work may be released either as a standalone segment on a membership or VOD/streaming site, or as part of a larger production released via any of the platforms listed above, in accordance with the following guidelines: • If submitted as a standalone segment, release through only one qualifying membership or VOD/streaming site is required, however the scene/featurette must be solely and originally released as its own self-contained work during the current eligibility term.• If submitted as part of a larger production, the scene/featurette must have been originally released no earlier than the first date of the prior eligibility term, and not previously considered for AVN Awards contention.• Scenes/featurettes released solely though indie clip sites are not eligible.    Series Eligibility To be considered for a nomination in any series category, a line must meet one of the following criteria: • Contains at least EIGHT (8) scenes/featurettes made available across two or more qualifying platforms by the end of the current eligibility term, with all released in the form of at least two volumes/productions on one or more of said platforms during the current term and originally released across all platforms no earlier than the first date of the previous term.• Contains at least 12 scenes/featurettes all originally released on a single qualifying platform during the current eligibility term.• If both criteria apply, all scenes/featurettes meeting either may be submitted for consideration. (Note that any collection of fewer than eight scenes/featurettes released under a unifying title/volume number on any qualifying platform will be considered a “production” for classification/attribution purposes; in turn, the eligibility criteria pertaining to full-length production categories must be met for consideration there. Additionally, any series as defined above released in the form of multiple volumes/productions on any qualifying platform will by default be attributed with the title and company credits under which said productions were released.) Record-Keeping Requirements Producers must maintain 2257 records for any content submitted for AVN Awards consideration. In addition, any online content submitted must have clearly marked post/release dates within the eligibility term on the qualifying website(s) carrying it. AVN asks producers to send two (2) copies of any productions they are submitting for consideration as DVD platform releases to the AVN office by September 30. Novelty companies should also provide two (2) samples of each product they would like considered. All items should be mailed or hand-delivered to: AVN Media NetworkAttn: Nominations9400 Penfield Ave.Chatsworth, CA 91311 The full list of categories for the 2020 AVN Awards follows (subject to change at AVN's discretion): VIDEO & WEB All-Girl Performer of the YearBest Action/ThrillerBest Actor – FeaturetteBest Actress – FeaturetteBest All-Girl Group Sex SceneBest All-Girl ProductionBest All-Girl SeriesBest Anal ProductionBest Anal SeriesBest Anal Sex SceneBest Anthology ProductionBest Anthology SeriesBest Art DirectionBest BDSM ProductionBest Big Bust ProductionBest Big Butt ProductionBest Blowbang SceneBest Boy/Girl Sex SceneBest CinematographyBest Comedy/ParodyBest Director – Narrative ProductionBest Director – Non-Narrative ProductionBest Director – Web Channel/SiteBest Double-Penetration Sex SceneBest DramaBest EditingBest Ethnic ProductionBest Ethnic/Interracial SeriesBest FeaturetteBest Female Mixed-Age ProductionBest Foreign Production – NarrativeBest Foreign Production – Non-NarrativeBest Foreign SeriesBest Foreign-Shot All-Girl Sex SceneBest Foreign-Shot Anal Sex SceneBest Foreign-Shot Boy/Girl Sex SceneBest Foreign-Shot Group Sex SceneBest Gangbang SceneBest Girl/Girl Sex SceneBest Gonzo ProductionBest Gonzo SeriesBest Group Sex ProductionBest Group Sex Scene – Multi-PairBest Ingénue ProductionBest Ingénue SeriesBest Interracial ProductionBest Leading ActorBest Leading ActressBest MakeupBest Male NewcomerBest MILF ProductionBest MILF/Female Mixed-Age SeriesBest New Production BannerBest New StarletBest Niche ProductionBest Niche SeriesBest Non-Sex PerformanceBest Oral ProductionBest Oral Sex SceneBest Polyamory ProductionBest POV Sex SceneBest Pro-Am/Exhibitionist ProductionBest RomanceBest ScreenplayBest Sexual Barter ProductionBest Solo/Tease PerformanceBest SoundtrackBest Special EffectsBest Squirting ProductionBest Star ShowcaseBest Supporting ActorBest Supporting ActressBest Taboo Relations ProductionBest Three-Way Sex Scene – B/B/GBest Three-Way Sex Scene – G/G/BBest Transgender ProductionBest Transgender SeriesBest Transgender Sex SceneBest Virtual Reality Product/SiteBest Virtual Reality Sex SceneClever Title of the YearDirector of the YearFemale Foreign Performer of the YearFemale Performer of the YearForeign Director of the YearMainstream Venture of the YearMale Foreign Performer of the YearMale Performer of the YearMILF Performer of the YearMost Outrageous Sex SceneNiche Performer of the YearTransgender Performer of the Year PLEASURE PRODUCTS Best Enhancement ManufacturerBest Fetish ManufacturerBest Lingerie or Apparel ManufacturerBest Lubricant ManufacturerBest Pleasure Product Manufacturer – SmallBest Pleasure Product Manufacturer – MediumBest Pleasure Product Manufacturer – Large RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION Best BoutiqueBest Retail Chain – SmallBest Retail Chain – MediumBest Retail Chain – LargeBest Web Retail Store