Alright ladies and gentlemen, the stories have been counted, vetted, posted, and sorted. October 1st is nigh and these stories are pushing at the gates,
and they're hungry.
We have a
lot to kill. In total, there are
212 stories from 152 separate authors to get through. This is incredible, more than any contest has ever received since the split of the general Escape Pod contest into three distinct contests. We've got quite a lot of newcomers, some familiar names, and even some returning champions. This should be a lot of fun!
That said, since the story volume is so high, and voting fatigue is yet another demon we have to fight, the schedule of story releases will be a bit different this time around.
The stories have been split into 18 groups: 14 groups of 12 stories and 4 groups of 11 stories. These groups are also in two subdivisions, which ensures that no single author's story will be pitted against itself until the final round, should they make it that far.
In each group, pick up to 3 favorite stories to vote on. You are perfectly allowed to vote for less than 3. The first round of the contest will consist of all 18 groups, 212 stories. The second round will pit the winners of 3 groups together in 6 second-round polls. So the winners of groups 1, 2, and 3 will be in Round 2A; the winners of groups 4, 5, and 6 will be in Round 2B; etc.
Looks something like this:
I will be releasing two groups every other day. This is subject to change, if it seems either too much or too little. Three story groups at a time every three days makes some sense, but is most likely too many to tackle at a time. But, tentatively:
Oct 1: Groups 1 and 2
Oct 3: Groups 3 and 4
Oct 5: Groups 5 and 6
Oct 7: Groups 7 and 8
Oct 9: Groups 9 and 10
Oct 11: Groups 11 and 12
Oct 13: Groups 13 and 14
Oct 15: Groups 15 and 16
Oct 17: Groups 17 and 18
Each group's poll will run for a week. To keep things flowing a bit faster, Round 2A will start once Group 3 finishes, Round 2B as Group 6 finishes, etc. That means, tentatively:
Oct 11: Round 2A
Oct 13: Round 2B
Oct 17: Round 2C
Oct 19: Round 2D
Oct 23: Round 2E
Oct 25: Round 2F
This puts the Semifinals starting on November 2nd, the day after Round 2F finishes. The Semifinal polls will last another week, leaving the Final Poll of 6 stories to duke it out from November 10 to 17. Finalists will be announced on November 18.
This is all somewhat tentative, because we often get
tiebreaker runoff polls in the event there is a tie for 3rd place in any one group.
Runoff polls will last for 3 days. If the runoff poll ties as well, I will cast a vote to break the tie. That will be the only time I vote in this contest.
Moving on, here's the main rules to follow taken from the last contest, because if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
GENERAL RULES:1. This contest is being run by me, Bdoomed, the Pseudopod forum moderator. If needed, other forum moderators may be brought in, and that will be announced. No one involved in the running of the contest will be allowed to submit entries.
2. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners (and perhaps some editor's choices such as what happened over at the Escape Pod contest) will receive a contract to be bought and produced as flash fiction pieces at pro rates. Contact will be established with the winning authors at the conclusion of the contest.
3. Stories will be posted anonymously. Authors will be revealed after their story either loses or wins the contest. Please do not try to guess at the authors, at least publicly. Those posts will be deleted and the poster will be warned. As an author, please do not try to garner outside support through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. We cannot stop you, but I urge you to just link to the contest in general, not your story. That said, please do tell your friends about this contest and about Escape Artists! I will be keeping an eye on any fishy business, and if I think something is up, I will take action. It is easy to find cheaters.
If we discover that an author has revealed their authorship of a story before it is allowed (in the contest threads or elsewhere), that is grounds for disqualification of the story. The contest is to be won on the merits of the story, not the popularity of the author.
4. As always, constructive discussion is encouraged about all stories posted in this contest. The key word here is constructive. Normal forum rules remain in place. Be civil and respectful. That's our
one rule. Rude and unconstructive negativity will be deleted or edited, and the offending poster will be warned. This goes for authors as well. You are free to comment on any story, including your own, but keep it civil and respectful. I reserve the right to kick any author and their stories out of the contest should there be ample reason.
5. Creating multiple accounts to vote for a story will get you banned from the forums and your story kicked from the contest. If you are sharing a computer, living space, or router with someone else who will be voting or creating an account, make sure to message me. Failure to do so may result in various adverse effects such as account deletion and/or banning.
6. In order to encourage more people to participate, the contest forum is currently visible to everyone, including non-forum members. However, once the submissions are closed the contest forum will be hidden and available only to registered members of the forum, and will remain so. This will ensure that the entries are not available to a general audience and prevent them as being considered as published by most markets. If needed for outside publishing purposes, an author can request a story to be deleted. Simply message me on the forums or at Brian@escapeartists.net with your concerns.
Again, always remember our
one rule. We want to keep this contest fun, constructive, and inviting. Criticism can be tough to take and tough to dish out. You can be harsh in your criticisms, but remain respectful to the author and other forumites and there won't be any problems.
Please read and re-read these rules before asking questions. That all said, any questions, comments, concerns?