So, the submission period for the contest is over. When the editors and I discussed the contest this time, we felt that the last few contests had had so many entries that they took too long and that this was starting to really take its toll both on the voters and on some of the authors. So we decided to experiment with a shorter submission window to see if it will make the contest a bit more manageable. We also shortened the lead time between contest announcement and the opening of the submission window, though that was less of a deliberate decision and more because of circumstances beyond our planning. The combination of these two factors meant that we are having a smaller contest than we are used to, though still a very respectable number of entries - 114.
I write this before I had a chance to look through the entries and there's a possibility that some will need to be disqualified for rule violations or technical issues (for instance if there are any accidental double submissions or anything). But I think we can all look forward to a slightly leaner, yet still substantial, contest.
I will post a proper contest schedule once I have had a chance to sort through the entries, but I think the voting period will start on Tuesday, 15 May Saturday, 12 May, which happens to be Escape Pod's 13th anniversary*.
*Disclaimer: date is still not final
