Judges' Guidance
If you need to refer to it, here are the Judges' Notes for the Andrew Siderius Memorial FFF Competition, an edited version of those originally sent out as an email on the 6th August, 2020.
Thanks once again for agreeing to be judges for the FFF Competition. I promised that the job wouldn’t be onerous, and I’m sure that will prove to be the case.
Entries will be accepted from 13th February 2021 until the end of the day UK time on Friday 5th March 2021. I’ll weed out any stories and poems that are disqualified on grounds of length, poor English or (just possibly) poor taste, and the only ones you’ll have to consider will be those posted in the three week-long windows ending at midnight on Friday 5th March.
This time, all the writers have to state, as they enter, which theme(s) their story or poem relates to: travel, food or sport.
CLASSIC FLASH FICTION JUDGES
All you have to do is to choose around four or five stories from all of those on the website that you like. I’d actually prefer if you chose a couple of reserves, though, in case someone else chooses the same story as you. Once we’ve negotiated six stories, one from each of you, that becomes our Short List, but we also assemble a small group of ‘Commended’ entries, which will mainly consist of those “nearly” stories that appear on more than one judge's list.
We’ll then put that Short List out to our voters (you’ll get to vote yourself) and the winning story will be the one that gets the most votes.
To allow voters a little time to read the Short List and vote, I’d appreciate if you could let me know of your choice as soon as possible after the entries close on 5th March, ideally within 24 hours. Sometimes your choice will be obvious long before the closing date.
Your choice will be completely subjective of course. However, I also ask that our judges write a short 70-100 word statement saying why you chose that story. Some of you have done this sort of thing before, but others might find it a little daunting. So here are a few ideas for ways to fill up 75-100 words…
If all of this sounds demanding, I promise it won’t be. I certainly hope it won't be. And if your short critique saying why you chose the story that you did looks different in style from anyone else’s, so much the better. Your critiques will be published at the same time as the final results.
LONGER FLASH FICTION JUDGES
It's really the same story as above, except that there won't be any reader voting – you'll actually decide the winner and any runners-up yourself. You'll have a little longer to make up your minds, because the 100-word story voting process will be going on while you're making your judgement. However it's probably good for your sanity to keep on top of things and try to keep a list of potential winners as they go along, especially as I've no idea how many will come in. The longer stories also have to relate to one or more of the themes.
POETRY JUDGES
As for the longer stories, you'll have a few days longer. I've no idea how many poems will come in, but I'm setting a limit of 15 lines and 150 words, so the amount of reading shouldn't be too great. Once again, the poetry must relate to one of the themes.
Entries will be accepted from 13th February 2021 until the end of the day UK time on Friday 5th March 2021. I’ll weed out any stories and poems that are disqualified on grounds of length, poor English or (just possibly) poor taste, and the only ones you’ll have to consider will be those posted in the three week-long windows ending at midnight on Friday 5th March.
This time, all the writers have to state, as they enter, which theme(s) their story or poem relates to: travel, food or sport.
CLASSIC FLASH FICTION JUDGES
All you have to do is to choose around four or five stories from all of those on the website that you like. I’d actually prefer if you chose a couple of reserves, though, in case someone else chooses the same story as you. Once we’ve negotiated six stories, one from each of you, that becomes our Short List, but we also assemble a small group of ‘Commended’ entries, which will mainly consist of those “nearly” stories that appear on more than one judge's list.
We’ll then put that Short List out to our voters (you’ll get to vote yourself) and the winning story will be the one that gets the most votes.
To allow voters a little time to read the Short List and vote, I’d appreciate if you could let me know of your choice as soon as possible after the entries close on 5th March, ideally within 24 hours. Sometimes your choice will be obvious long before the closing date.
Your choice will be completely subjective of course. However, I also ask that our judges write a short 70-100 word statement saying why you chose that story. Some of you have done this sort of thing before, but others might find it a little daunting. So here are a few ideas for ways to fill up 75-100 words…
- Write about the plot, its conciseness, its ability to cover a lot of ground in 100 words;
- Write about how the story left you feeling after you’d read it;
- Write about characters that appealed;
- Write about language, including particular phrases that appealed to you (which of course you can then quote to help make up the 75-100 words);
- If appropriate, write about how the story used the ‘book festival’ theme (although of course using the theme isn’t a requirement).
If all of this sounds demanding, I promise it won’t be. I certainly hope it won't be. And if your short critique saying why you chose the story that you did looks different in style from anyone else’s, so much the better. Your critiques will be published at the same time as the final results.
LONGER FLASH FICTION JUDGES
It's really the same story as above, except that there won't be any reader voting – you'll actually decide the winner and any runners-up yourself. You'll have a little longer to make up your minds, because the 100-word story voting process will be going on while you're making your judgement. However it's probably good for your sanity to keep on top of things and try to keep a list of potential winners as they go along, especially as I've no idea how many will come in. The longer stories also have to relate to one or more of the themes.
POETRY JUDGES
As for the longer stories, you'll have a few days longer. I've no idea how many poems will come in, but I'm setting a limit of 15 lines and 150 words, so the amount of reading shouldn't be too great. Once again, the poetry must relate to one of the themes.
Best wishes
Gordon Lawrie, Editor
Please note: I'm away for a few days this weekend, so there might be a slight delay
in posting stories. Normal service will resume asap.
in posting stories. Normal service will resume asap.
