Format
Now that the PM feature is closed, all the judges are requested to PM me their Discord ID or IG ID.
Your categories will be assigned to you. The participants list is published and you'll have to read the books for your category.
Once you've read the books, you'll need to fill a Google form which I'll DM you for quick review of the book.
Then you'll be asked to nominate 5 books/3 books (according to your category) in the same Google form.
The nominees will be published and the results will be shown to judges. They can re-vote for the last time.
The winners and judges will be announced.
Contact
I've opted for Google forms because it's less messy and easy to copy-paste from. Also because a lot of judges are not on discord but on Instagram and it's difficult to copy paste from there. It's messy to count each vote, instead poll feature will automatically do it.
Google forms are also easy and quick. You'll not have to import rubrics in docx but you'll just need to answer in few words/select options/or write a short review.
You can contact me on the_niche_hub for queries. The username is for both Instagram and Discord. All judges must be DM me as soon as possible.
Guideline
You're requested to not use words like "cringe", "childish', 'toxic' etc. Your opinion must be backed by a solid reason.
You cannot point at the errors without giving suggestions.
You can't use terms like "overrated", "irritating", "cliche" etc as they do very little in explaining what the problem is and how the writer can solve it.
Instead use words that are formal which will point the errors and also help the writers improve.
Vote according to the rubrics published earlier.
Do not let personal opinion to hinder with professionalism. If your friend is also a participant then vote fairly as we won't accept half-cooked reviews.
You'll be asked to redo your review if I find any inconsistency, bias, bad analysis or overlooking of symbolic meaning and anything that indicates that you didn't read the book.
You'll need to be open to LGBTQ+ books. If you're uncomfortable in mature chapters then you can skip past the scene.
Do vote, comment nice things when you're reading participant's books but don't reveal that you're a judge.
The whole hide and seek thing isn't for gimmick but for fair judgement. I've seen a lot of books with unfair judging. A lot of the analysis are flawed in reviews, friends win, only one judge etc. So by not revealing your identity, you're not just preventing bribery but also biasness.
Word guide
Cringe - awkward
Irritating - off putting
Weird - unusual
Cliche - stereotypical
Terrible/bad/etc - unpleasant
Shallow - lack of nuance
Disappointing - falling short of expectations
Toxic - unhealthy dynamics
Do read all the books that are under your category.
Timeline
Categories with 5 participants are requested to submit within two weeks.
Categories with more than 5 participants and less than or equal to 10 participants are requested to submit within 3 weeks.
Categories with more than 10 participants are requested to submit within the end of this month.
Submission Form
It will be given by DMs
Here's the link of a rough form to give you an idea ➡
Mini Categories
In the submission form, you'll be asked to also vote for mini categories and genre specific categories from polls.
It will be quick through simple voting and you don't need to write review for mini categories and genre specific categories but the forms are designed in a way to automate mini/genre category reviews through option selection.
Major Change
Now every book that has been applied is applicable for grand and mini categories.
That means that even if you haven't applied for any grand or mini category, still it will be taken into consideration.
Also, I mentioned before that the books in grand categories has to written in 2023/24 but now it has changed. Books should be finished/recently updated in 2023/24.
This is because I couldn't afford having many judges for mini category and then other set of judges for grand categories.
Good luck! ❀