contest decision-making

[dichroic]

I’ve been thinking more about the parameters of this poetry contest thing (see previous entry if you don’t know what I’m talking about). Honestly I had no idea there were so many decisions to make until I started considering them. I do have most of the main ones figured out:

• What’s eligible: This one was easy and instantaneous – all subgenres of speculative poetry will be welcome – science fiction, fantasy, mythic, horror, scifiaku… whatever. Villanelle, tanka, freeform, minimalist … also whatever.
• Addendum: to make it even ground for all entrants, no previously published poems – though I’m not about to go checking, so this is on the honor system.
• Judging: This one was forced by considerations of reality: I’d have preferred a panel of judges to vote on at least a short list, and I know who I’d like to ask to be on that panel, but I have an extremely strong hunch that all of them are too busy with their own work to commit the time. So I will be sole judge, which may mean the result is subjective, but hey, it’s my money anyhow I do actually like a wide range of poetry: not only the genres listed above but formal, freeform, imagist, minimalist….
• Theme: That decision was the fun part, actually.
• Timing: this decision was harder; I couldn’t decide how much time to allow people to write their poems until I turned it around: I will choose the due date and judging period to fit with our travel schedule, since we have a lot going on in the next couple of months.
• Length: since I have no idea how many submissions there will be, in self defense I will limit it to “short poems” by the definition used for the Rhysling contest: 0-49 lines.

There are at least two more decisions I need to make and haven’t yet:

• Who’s eligible: since the prize is an SFPA membership, it’s necessary to decide. Can current members get membership extended or should this only apply to new memberships?
• “Publication” and rights: Of course all poets will retain rights to any subsequent publication. But do I ask for poems to be submitted via email and publish only the winning poem (two, since there is a second prize of a Rhysling anthology) or do I ask for all poems to be submitted in comments here? The former has the advantage that poets who don’t win can then keep first publication rights; the latter probably means more entries and hopefully some “dialogue” as one poem inspires another. That sort of thing is a real joy to me, so right now I’m inclining to the latter approach, but haven’t decided.

Opinions on the undecided points are welcome. Reminders of any parameters I’ve missed will be received with extreme gratitude. Opinions on parameters already decided … are OK, but don’t expect to change my mind unless you have really good reasoning.

Mirrored from Dichroic Reflections.

Comments

[bronze_ribbons]

I had no idea there were so many decisions to make until I started considering them.

I hear you. It's partly why the Mycrofts of the Midway never quite got around to sponsoring a Sherlock Holmes essay contest for young'uns...

no previously published poem

These days, you'll need to define what this means for the purposes of the contest. Specifically which levels of online circulation count as "publication" - some markets consider any online presence = publication, some are okay with pieces previously posted to blogs or comments or forums, and some distinguish between locked circulation and open. (For what it's worth, unless given more specific guidelines, I personally consider a poem posted under friendslock or to a closed forum "unpublished," but one posted to an open journal entry or in comments "published" (at least in terms of not being eligible for first-publication in most markets, even though I also don't list those pieces in my bibliography). )

Eligibility: I'd vote for new memberships only, since my impression is your goal is to publicize the SFPA and nudge people to join who haven't given it a try (and I know of at least two Rhysling nominees who aren't members...).

Publication rights: If you go the enter-by-comment route, you may receive fewer entries from mid-tier poets who don't want to give up first publication rights for a poem they may well be able to sell elsewhere. (That said, your prize package is worth more in dollar value than what most markets pay for poems, so some poets may conclude it's worth the gamble. Also, some folks aren't crazy about making it public that they've entered a contest (I belong to a kukai group that allows users to stipulate whether they want to remain anonymous if their entries receive no votes during each monthly competition). That said, other folks may well enjoy the publicity/feedback potential of openly visible entries, especially newer writers or ones who are less focused on sales/credits. That said, how much time would you be willing to devote to (1) moderating the discussions that might result, and (2) debating afterwards why the winning poem is better in your eyes than the others posted? (You may well net pages of fruitful discussion, but you could also be opening a can of exceedingly wriggly worms. MMV.)

(FWIW, I have a life membership, so I don't have any stake in your decision-making on this. :-) )

[dichroic]

Thanks, I very much appreciate your feedback. I hadn't considered your point (2), and that could get very ugly, especially since poetry judging is so subjective anyway.

You were actually a factor in my decision about judging; if I'd asked a panel, I'd have wanted accomplished poets familiar with the speculative area who hadn't been embroiled in the recent discussions - sound familiar? And I was reasonably sure that you wouldn't have time to spare, and that what applied to you would also apply to the other people I'd want to ask.

[dichroic]

Also, my other goal was to help someone who might want to join and can't manage it easily - which come to think of it would favor new memberships. Though in the current economy I guess there could also be members who are now having trouble rejoining.