Do You Stand Out? We're Searching for The Best in Queer Comedy

We want to find the best up-and-coming LGBT comedians anywhere in the country and hand over the microphone. So we're partnering to launch "Stand Out: The National Queer Comedy Search."

Stand Out will give queer and queer-friendly comedians national exposure during an elimination round on Advocate.com and the best of the best will compete live on stage for $2,000.

The winner of Stand Out will be featured in The Advocate's comedy section. But videos for each of the 15 finalists will be included in our two-week elimination round on Advocate.com with readers encouraged to watch and vote for their favorites.

Submissions start now and continue through July 31. To enter, just send a YouTube link to a clip of between 4 and 6 minutes of continual comedy performance to OutLoudChicago@gmail.com. Please include a high-resolution photo and a bio between 100 and 300 words.

Please only submit if you are available to come to Chicago September 24 to compete at the live event. The live portion will be hosted by OutLoud Chicago creator Adam Guerino and judged by Zanies booker Bert Haas, The Advocate comedy editor Jami Smith and The Chicago Reader comedy critic Molly Adams.

All are welcome -- veterans and newbies. Stand Out isn't searching for the most experienced in queer and queer-friendly comedy, just the most hilarious.

Watch the contest announced from the Zanie's stage in Chicago: