SXSW Interactive Now Accepting Applications For 2015 Awards

The South By Southwest Interactive Festival (March 13-17) is now accepting applications for its 2015 Awards competitions including SXSW Accelerator, SXSW Gaming Awards and the re-branded SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards.

SXSW Interactive prizes creative innovation in the connected world.

As a platform to showcase the most innovative and forward-thinking ideas and projects, SXSW Interactive encourages digital creatives, agencies, startups and those in the gaming community to submit to one of these competitions.

SXSW Accelerator: SXSW Accelerator has served as a catalyst for over 200 incredible companies who have presented to a variety of esteemed Judges and Emcees over the past seven years. Of these presenting companies, 56% have received funding -- totaling over $587 million -- while 9% have been acquired by the likes of Google (WearDrobe, reMail and Apture Highlights), Apple (Siri), Opentable (Foodspotting) and Huffington Post (Localocracy). This year's competition will take place on March 14 and 15 within Startup Village at the Hilton Downtown.

On March 14, 48 finalists will present their ideas to a live audience and a panel of judges and emcees.

On Sunday, March 15, the field of 48 will be narrowed down to the top 18 companies who will return to present to a new set of emcees and judges that will select the grand prize winners for each category.

As SXSW Accelerator becomes increasingly competitive, we are seeking experimental and inventive companies that have launched no earlier than March 16, 2014 and not after June 16, 2015.

For more information on categories and rules, visit: http://sxsw.com/interactive/accelerator/entry-info

Deadline to Enter: November 7

SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards: Previously called the Interactive Awards, the re-branded SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards showcase the evolving and broadening scope of the digital industry by more fully embracing its ever-widening variety of platforms, software, apps and devices.

SXSW wants to honor the best and latest advancements in 2014 and the people who made them happen.

This year's ceremony will take place Tuesday, March 17 and feature 18 Awards including the ever-popular Breakout Digital Trend and Speaker of the Event.

The SXSW Interactive Hall of Fame inductee will also be honored. For more information on categories and eligibility, visit: http://sxsw.com/interactive/awards/categories

Early Entry Deadline: September 26
Deadline to Enter: November 7

SXSW Gaming Awards: The Second Annual Gaming Awards competition will honor the best major studio and indie game titles in 21 categories including the SXSW Gamer's Voice Award, recognizing the best independent developer-submitted game. The inaugural Gaming Awards hosted by YouTube sensations iJustine and SMOSH honored 15 of the best games in the industry.

The evening featured a never before seen performance by Cirque du Soleil and brand new videos from Rooster Teeth, WrentheReaper and Code Monkeys.

This year's awards show will take place Saturday, March 14 in Dell Hall at the Long Center. For more information on this year's new categories and rules, visit: http://sxsw.com/interactive/awards/gaming/categories
Deadline to Enter: December 12

SXSW Interactive previously announced 10 Featured Speakers to 2015 programming lineup including:

Genevieve Bell, Intel
Dr. Patricia Galloway, Hyperloop
Nicole Glaros, TechStars
Bill Gurley Benchmark
Josh Klein, Hacker
Elliot Kotek, Not Impossible Labs
Jessica Lawrence, NY Tech Meetup
Phil Libin, Evernote
Daniel Pink, danpink.com
Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla

More content will be announced in early September, along with the bulk of 2015 programming announced on October 20.

If you'd like a say in what types of programming or speakers you'd like to see at SXSW 2015, we want to hear from you. PanelPicker community voting is open now through September 5.