tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-911385636741912624.post2806759151709041469..comments2023-07-08T02:44:21.258-07:00Comments on Writers & Illustrators of the Future Blog: 2nd Quarter Finalists, Semi-Finalists and Honorable MentionsJoni Labaquihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15491880722760778097noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-911385636741912624.post-67718858168566197522009-07-01T14:26:24.005-07:002009-07-01T14:26:24.005-07:00Anonymous,
Here is how it works:
1) All manuscri...Anonymous,<br /><br />Here is how it works:<br /><br />1) All manuscripts go to Joni Labaqui in Los Angeles. She is the contest administrator. There they are removed from their envelopes and Joni does a basic check to be sure each manuscript is in the requested format, per contest rules. Those not in line with the rules, get rejected accordingly. That's the first cut.<br /><br />2) Everything else gets mailed to K.D. Wentworth, who then reads each manuscript. She is the "editor" and first judge, and it's she who ultimately parses the slush into rejections, Honorable Mention, Semi-Finalist, and Finalist. This process takes months, because she has to look at thousands of manuscripts per quarter. They tend to arrive at her house in chunks, and they tend to leave in chunks. This is why the HM list tends to be posted in chunks -- Joni doesn't have all the names at one time. That's the second cut.<br /><br />3) All manuscripts -- be they rejections or HM or Semi or Finalist -- go back to Joni when K.D. is done with the quarter. Joni has to re-parse, based on category, and mail out all the rejection letters, HM, and then get the Final Eight ready to be sent to the four quarterly judges. Again, this is a time-consuming process due to the large number of submissions being handled. Joni posts results as she goes, wading through the pile. Often she'll know who the Finalists and Semi-Finalists are before she's done plucking out all the HM, so there is usually a final batch of HM even after the names of the Finalists and Semi-Finalists have been posted.<br /><br />4) Joni gets the Finalists duplicated and mailed to the four quarterly judges who have been selected for that particular quarter. K.D. prepares critiques on the Semis. Judging takes still more time, during which the judges cull the Final 8 down to the three Placing manuscripts; which is done by a scoring/sum method.<br /><br />Don't worry. All manuscripts get read before the Final Eight have been chosen. I don't know specifics, but I believe K.D. has her own scoring system, so that when she's all done with EVERYTHING, she takes everything that is HM quality and parses it down to sixteen that are Semi quality, then parses those down to eight that are the Finalists.<br /><br />Hope this makes sense.Brad R. Torgersenhttp://home.comcast.net/~brad.r.torgersen/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-911385636741912624.post-43162250674842014662009-06-24T19:06:37.088-07:002009-06-24T19:06:37.088-07:00Thanks very much for the honorable mention. It is ...Thanks very much for the honorable mention. It is indeed an honor for me to be in such great company.Lucien E. G. Spelmanhttp://www.lucienegspelman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-911385636741912624.post-89559616566129343552009-06-23T11:42:24.145-07:002009-06-23T11:42:24.145-07:00I was just curious as to how it is that more honor...I was just curious as to how it is that more honorable mentions can come in after the finalists and semi-finalists have been picked. To pick finalists and semi-finalists, all the stories had to have been read, correct? And presumably by multiple judges. What is the process for picking honorable mentions?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com