quote:
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Sorry, but unless I know the credentials of the people judging my work, I can't place any value on the judgements they make.
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I'm sorry, but I had to laugh at this one. I suppose that makes everyone's Kerths completely worthless. A friend of mine won a RITA award last year (google it if you want to know what it is). That is done anonymously by published authors, some of whom are more published and more in-the-know about writing than others. I doubt seriously that Linda's gonna send her statuette back.
Seems to me that in this instance Linda
did know the credentials of the judges. She knew that the contest was supported by a reputable group (RWA is national and very well respected by the industry and the RITA Awards are well-known with some history standing behind them), and she knew that the judges were all published writers. I'm sure she would not feel as strongly about keeping her statuette if it had been awarded to her by an anonymous group of committee members who simply assured her that the judges had been chosen and voted for by those same committee members. Likewise, I would hope that Linda would not have been disheartened by a poor review of her story had it been given by a group of anonymous judges who might have known nothing about writing at all.
As for the winners of Kerth Awards, they are all very aware of the credentials of the voters. They know that the voters are those who read and enjoy LnC fanfic and, for the most part, are "experts" in this very specific genre. There are no secrets, and no one individual judge - or voter - is put forth as any kind of expert qualified to offer more than his or her own humble opinion and preferences.
If someone is qualified to judge and award points supposedly based on something deeper than his or her own personal likes and dislikes (
I like introspection - this story is good/I hate introspection - this story is bad), seems some sort of credential is in order.
I don't think anyone here expects the committee to put forth a resume on the judges to justify the reason the judges are qualified. But I don't see any reason why there has to be so much secrecy. In fact, based on this comment (and I've edited to make it apply in this fandom):
Because each judge is as different as each entry, we rely on your skill as a writer, your dedication as a reader and your professionalism...to evaluate each entry in a fair and consistent manner. Your scores should genuinely reflect where, IN YOUR OPINION, this entry lies in the pursuit of excellence...
that judges, if they are truly doing the best they can to be unbiased and fair, should have no problems putting forth their names as one of the judges. Yes, I understand that such a policy might invite unwanted backlash from disgruntled writers who disagree with an evaluation. Perhaps each judge does not have to divulge exactly what he/she said about a particular story, but there is no reason he/she should feel fear in having his/her name put on the list of judges.
There is something to be said for standing up for your opinion, something that an indivual should have no trouble doing if he/she feels it was given honestly and fairly. And if the Merriweather Committee has chosen its judges in the same manner - fairly and with certainty that the judges will remain unbiased - it should suffer no hesitation in divulging its methods for selection as well as the names of the committe members.
Lynn
