Tuesday, December 9, 2008

The Savannah Contest


The finalists were announced for the Nola Stars Contest this week. And though I'm disappointed that I didn't final, duh, I was impressed by how well the contest was run, the quality of judging in general and the way the coordinator, Keri Ford, and others managed the contest.

An all electronic contest is a challenge in itself. This contest, once it was announced was run like a well oiled machine at least from where I stood. Behind the scenes contest forms and entries were distributed to judges who had clear guidelines as to what to include, and not to, in their assessments.

In the end, contest results were delivered ALMOST on time, something very difficult to deliver when you're dealing with so many judges and entries. And a bonus - an overview of each entrant's standing compared to finalists' scores.

The scoresheets seemed as if they worked as well for judges as for the entrants, allowing for the scoring and insertion of the actual manuscript for comments to be added.

No contest is perfect of course and I had a couple of obervations in general from the contests I entered this year.

First, judges who have personal agendas which conflict with an author's work, such as religious or political, should recuse themselves from that particular manuscript. Otherwise their scores should be thrown out.

Second, it is bad business for the leadership of a contest not to make sure the results get posted in the RWR or on the web in a timely manner. We're talking long months...

Third. Some of the scoresheets I saw were missing scores altogether. Maybe there should be a second verification process just for that issue. (this was the only thing I noticed in Nola Stars.)

Great job, guys! You should be proud.

1 comment:

Cora Zane said...

It was a wonderful contest wasn't it? I didn't final, but I was thrilled with the scores I received, and with the feedback.