Judges Wanted for SPSFC 4

The spaceship has been moved to the launch pad and gantries shifted into place. Final preparations are underway for the fourth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), a contest where a large group of enthusiastic volunteer readers chooses the best work of self-published SF out of hundreds of entries.

Because some of our judges are returning to their own writing and others are taking a break, we need some new recruits to help us pick the book that will join S.A. Tholin's Iron Truth, Riley August's The Last Gifts of the Universe, and Dave Dobson's Kenai as the novel that rockets into our hearts and wins the competition.

Use this link to let us know you're interested in becoming a judge:

SPSFC 4 Judge Application Form

(The link uses Google Forms and requires a Google account. Let us know in the comments if that prevents you from applying.)

If you want to know more about what is asked of a judge, here are the details.

Each judge is assigned to a team that will all get the same books. Being on a team helps take some of the pressure off because all of the responsibilities are shared.

Before we start, judges look over the list of books to ensure they have no conflicts of interest that would affect their impartiality. If there are, a book is assigned to another team.

During the first round, teams use their own methods to go from the initial scout pile of 20-25 books to a smaller number of books that are read in full by the entire team. Each judge gives those a numeric score and the two highest-average books become that team's semifinalists. This round takes six months.

Next, teams are assigned four of the other teams' semifinalists to read in full over the next two months. They give these scores as well. The six books with the highest scores in the entire contest become the finalists.

For the finals, there is a gathering of the teams. During the next two months, every judge reads the finalists they haven't already read in a prior round. Books are finished, scores are given and there is another great read that has emerged victorious.

Throughout the year that this is taking place, judges share their opinions about contest books on social media, blogs, GoodReads and Amazon. It sometimes occurs that a judge likes a book as much or more than the eventual winner. Reading too many great books is a side effect of taking part in this contest.

So that's how this works. Hope you're interested!

Small print: Your mileage may vary. Batteries not included. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball. Offer not valid on Tralfamadore.

Science Fiction · Books · Spsfc · Spsfc4 · 2024/08/27 · 1 COMMENT · Link