On the issue of judging previously-completed vs. brand-new work, I agree with AnnN; it seems very unlikely to me that someone would write any story longer than a vignette only to hold it in order to send it to the Merriweathers before it goes "public." But I think that can effectively be handled by the individual authors. Since this is a contest that you have to submit things to, authors have total control over what stories, if any, they send in. Those who feel comfortable sending in previously-published stories can do so; those who don't, won't.
This is where, btw, it might come in handy to have a schedule of what categories are going to be handled in which month. If I'm writing a revelation story, and I see they'll be doing revelation stories next month, maybe I'll be motivated to finish it quicker, and possibly even to send it for an award (and anticipated improvements, after getting the critique) before posting it anywhere. Just a thought.
PJ
