Just like last season, a few changes have been made. Please do read everything down below.
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1. If we send you back to follow some rules after you comment your form, and in the meantime another participant signs up, they will be added to the list of accepted participants first. This means that if, while you go back to follow the rules that you didn't, another participant signs up and takes the last slot for the genre you entered in, you will need to enter in another genre, or wait until next season.
2. We have added a new section in the forms, called 'Past Participation'. Please look in the FAQs section to find out exactly what you have to write in that blank.
3. Judges will have more time to judge (look at the timeline for the changes made) but will also be asked to judge 6 books instead of 5.
4. We will be a lot stricter with judges this season. 4/6 books will need to be scored and sent by November 5th, and the rest by November 20th. But if this is not done in time and you do not provide us with a good reason for this beforehand (schoolwork does not count— you will have plenty of time to send in the required books), then an emergency judge will be called in to judge in your place. We will also check in on the judges every 7 days (on Oct. 22nd, Oct. 29th, Nov. 5th, Nov. 12th, Nov. 19th). If at any point you do not reply to our message within 7 days, an emergency judge will be called in. This is all done because we've faced problems with ghosting before as well as results being turned in late/judges backing out, and one of our team members has had to step in on a last-minute notice. We are trying to avoid that happening, hence this new system that will be put in place. [This also means we are now hiring emergency judges! If you're interested, or want to see what other positions we offer, check out the hiring book on our profile.]
4. The audiobook recording prize has temporarily been taken out. This is because LKrahn is still working on the one from the spring contest, and after adding to that the one from the summer contest, having a third one to complete is too much. However, that does not mean this prize may not reappear in the future!
5. The Chick Lit and Action/Adventure genres have been removed. Chick Lit because those books can fit under Teen Fiction/YA and Action/Adventure because we have noticed it doesn't gain many participants. Plus, it cuts down on the amount of judges we need.
6. Scores will be sent in differently. On the day judging starts, we will share a pre-made Google Sheet. You will be asked to type in all the scores there.
7. The judging criteria has changed. All judges will be asked to look at the new chapter titled 'Judging Rubric' before starting to judge. Everything is explained there in-depth.
8. The word count has been changed again. At least 20K words must be published for you to be accepted. This is because judges will be asked to read more chapters this season, so they can give more accurate scores.