Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Merriweather Awards

Thanks for getting back to us, Katrinalee!

What criteria were used by the committee to select the judges? Surely being a GE or BR would be a factor to consider? I believe that the judges need to have had experience in dealing with many different authors and writing styles. Reading alone does not give you that experience. Are the judges familiar with different styles of English – US/UK/Australian/Canadian?

If people have the experience and interest why can’t they apply? This would give writers a great range of opinions and feedback.

Like Laura, I can understand the reasons for the judges to be anonymous. But unfortunately I have major problems with the fact that the committee chooses to be so secretive.

Tricia

Perhaps I can shed some light on the matter. I'm not on the committee. The first I heard of the awards was here, like the rest of you. However, I do have some memories that may help.

Every year for the past few years, a small group of FoLCs has made complaints and accusations about the Kerths. They claim the awards are unfair and that Kcomm is biased and that the quizzes are biased and similar things.

This group includes LauraBF, Cindy Leuch (who, for reasons of her own, and despite publically revealing her boards ID, continues to post here as "Ann Nonymous" and sign her messages "Ann N"), Marilyn (aka SuperMom), and Lote.

I'll skip most of the details of the protests and accusations, as they aren't especially relevant beyond their simple existence.

Now, two years ago, a group of anonymous FoLCs posted to the boards claiming that the Kerth quizzes were biased, focusing on fics written by the quiz writers and their friends, and artificially raising the chances for those stories to win. The new group, calling themselves the "Independant Kerth Committee," proposed to add new quizzes of their own. These quizzes would be fairer and would make up for the bias of the regular quizzes. The IKC had a webpage on geocities which had, on its front page, a message which subtly insulted the Kerth Committee and the Kerth quiz writers, and which stated that the IKC, in contrast, stood for Truth and Justice. (Sadly, this page has since been taken down, and I don't have an archived copy available.)

A couple days later, Cindy and LauraBF began to post a series of 3 quizzes, on behalf of the IKC. These quizzes, ironically, focused heavily on stories written by Cindy, Laura, and a few of their friends. (As it happens, a few of these stories had been included in the other Kerth quizzes. More would probably have been included, but the regular Kerth quizzes, unlike the IKC's quizzes, generally have a rule that only allows one story per author per quiz.)

Last year, as I recall, after more protests, the FoLCs in question decided to give up on the Kerths, and had their stories pulled from the list.

Now, this year, we have the Merriweathers suddenly appearing at the beginning of "Kerth season." The Merriweathers are run by a group of anonymous FoLCs with a strangely familiar geocities webpage (with a different URL). While many FoLCs have had questions about these new awards, a few have simply come in to post in support of them. These few are, as it happens, Cindy, Laura, and Marilyn. (And I see that Lote recently signed up with these boards, but has yet to post.)

For various reasons, those particular FoLCs rarely, if ever, post to these boards. Yet, suddenly, they have all appeared in a single thread, with the message that the Merriweathers look very interesting and that we should stop questioning the need for the committee's anonimity. As it happens, Laura and Marilyn are among the very short list of FoLCs who claim to have any experience with Merriweather-type competitions. In fact, they claim to have extensive experience with these types of competitions.

Also, as it happens, these are the very FoLCs who, in previous years, have had a lot of trouble with the Kerth Committee counting votes in secret. They claim that anything short of full disclosure allows room for shady practices. Strange, then, to see that they now have no problem with an anonymous committee chosing anonymous judges who will score fics entirely at their own discretion.

Now, I don't know about you, but given all this, it seems to me not unlikely that Cindy, Laura, Marilyn, and possibly Lote (who has, by the way, been more active on Zoomway's message boards) are on the Merriweather Committee, are Merriweather judges, or both.

If that's the case, then I have a problem. The Merriweather Committee claims to stand for Truth and Justice. They also claim that their judges are fair and reliable. Yet, if I'm right and things add up the way they seem to, then they've hidden behind a shield of anonymity, snuck around back, and then walked back in the metaphorical front door to support themsleves, sometimes with posts which seem to me to be rude and/or insulting. This, to me, seems rather underhanded.

I've got a story that I'm ready to submit to this month's awards, but before I do, I have to ask myself... If I'm right, and if the committee has done what it seems to have done... Can I actually trust their integrity?

I'm sure this post will, regretfully, be the subject of some heated contravercy. (In fact, I have the nagging feeling that if I'd seriously discussed this post with others before making it, they would have tried to talk me out of it for that very reason.) I feel, though, that it raises important issues which I, personally, would very much like to see addressed. I expect these issues will also be of interest to others.

If I am wrong in any of this, then I sincerely apologize. If anyone can correct me, please do.

Paul

Maybe we can go about this by process of elimination?<g>

I'm not on the committee. Paul, you aren't. So, that's two down.

I read through Paul's post- much of which was unknown to me before now- and I can see how he reached his conclusions. But LauraBF said very early in the thread- had to go back and fish it out: Could she really say that and still be on secret committee? That would throw a big, fat shadow of doubt over MCom, so I tend to think it's very unlikely. Why work so hard on something and then sabotage it with dishonesty? That was information she didn't need to volunteer, yet she did.

I don't have any problem with there being a group of people who advocate a second set of awards. Especially if they were unhappy in the past. Why not? And the Merriweathers look vastly different from the Kerths, so it isn't as if they are competing.

Now, if there was a reason for the secrecy beyond what we've been told- and which I do still have trouble with without factoring in any other possibilites- I would find that worrisome and discouraging.

Too, MCom has obviously worked hard. And since this has become a sticking point and risks unraveling what they've set up, I'd love for them to identify themselves and shut down the speculation. This is something they are obviously proud to support, so why not-at the risk of sounding like at broken record- on a show of faith, tell us who they are?

And while I'm here and stepping in it, I haven't been able to think of a polite way to come right out and ask this without sounding unwelcoming:

Who are you, KatrinaLee??! On your very first post ever, you had an entire website (very detailed, very well done) and a carefully thought out award system. That seems so very, very energetic and ambitious for someone I assume has been a lurker up to now. And I'm not implying anything underhanded, by any means. I just have a burning curiosity. My first post, in contrast, was a tentative 'Hi.'

I'll close this ramble by adding that in the year and 1/2 I've been here, I've never seen anything truly ugly and unkind spring up among us. We have our differences of opinions, of course. How could we not? (Some of you are tragically misinformed on your politics, for example.) But we get along really well. This place is pure fun and escape for me. I'm grateful for it. And don't want any newbies to run for the exits. It has been my experience that this group is too nice to flame each other, even on points of controversy.

CC

Dear Paul,

First of all, accusations piss me off. Might I point out that you haven't talked to me in over two years and that you never knew me well to start with? I've recently been diagnosed with lymphedema (if you want to know what that is, I suggest you google it) and the treatment for it occupies most of my haha spare time. The rest is usually spent preparing for graduation, graduate school, and writing *real* stories for publication. (None of this includes homework time.) Between maintaing a straight A average and everything else, I just don't even have much time to write fanfic anymore. I could never find time to be anymore involved than submitting a few things. <shrug> If you choose to believe that I'm part of this committee, I s'pose I can't stop you. I'm just far too busy for such things.

And no, I don't post here anymore because I don't *read* here anymore. For the most part, I've moved on into other fandoms. However, my startup page is still Zoom's boards so I came over here for once because I figured that the debate would be over here, and I never could resist a good argument. Cindy is one of my best friends--there's a reason you people dubbed us the 'obnoxious duo' a few years back. I think I'd know if she were involved. <g> She likes a good debate as well. As for Marilyn, well, she's been busy working on a novel for publication. When would she have the time to do something as labor-intensive as this?

Keep your theroies to yourself unless you have proof. I've yet to see anyting besides unsubstantiated, unfounded accusations.

pissed off in Atlanta,

Laura

The secrecy thing just isn't working, then, is it? And perhaps MCom was unaware of past grievances, and so didn't anticipate this beng such a problem.

But we're in a vacuum here and naturally starting to make assumptions. Before this goes any further off the cliff, I wonder if *any* members of MCom would be willing to 'out' themselves?

For those of us who really want to participate, it would be most appreciated. And could go a long way in sparing hurt feelings.

Just a suggestion. I think I'm finished meddling.

CC

Knowing about all the past infighting in the fandom, I'm not suprised that the Merriweather Committee wishes to remain anonymous. <shrug> Seems to me that the moment they say who they are and who the judges are, we descend ito factionalism again. Most writing contest committees are anonymous. It's *normal*. If you entered, say, the Agnes Scott Writing Contest, you wouldn't know who organized it *or* who the judges were.

I've read the rules. The Merriweathers are being run like a regular writing contest. I just don't see what the problem is. Seems to me that those who are making it an issue just might not be confident in their skills as writers.

Just MHO,

Laura

Or maybe, they're concerned because they don't know what biases the MCom might be hiding? They might also be cranky to have their writing skills continually disparaged by the Merriweather supporters such as yourself, Laura.

And I do find it highly entertaining to see you guys go from accusing the K-Com of being too secretive to championing a completely anonymous group.

I'll repeat -- even if the Merriweathers are run by people I dislike, I still think it's a great idea to have a different sort of awards/critiquing process. The only concern would be whether the MCom -- whoever they are -- will be able to run things in an unbiased fashion. I hope so. But anonymity means unaccountability, and can be abused.

Btw, Laura, you might want to check with Cindy again; back when she first started posting as Ann Nonymous, you assured us that it couldn't be her, because you were her best friend and would know.

PJ

Another question I had is why the small word limit for vignettes? The two stories I think are my best vignettes are both just over 2000 words, but they are both clearly short stories (<5 pages in Times New Roman size 12).

However, this might be a moot point because I will not submit a story unless I know who is on the Merriweather committee, and I was suspicious of exactly what Paul pointed out. I think it would make a lot of people a lot more comfortable if we knew who was behind these awards.

- Laura

I usually do not posts on threads like these becuase I don't like getting in the middle of the flame wars that have plagued this fandom since long before I was a part of it. This time I feel the need to step in because I am tired of sitting by the sidelines and watching LauraBF, Cindy, and Marilyn dig at the Kerth Committee in various ways. I will second everything that Paul said. I suspected exactly the same thing from the moment Katrinalee first posted, and my suspicions were confirmed when I read through the MComm's website.

The top of the frontpage of their website says:
They basically state that they created these awards because they want truth and justice, as opposed to the Kerth awards, which they do not think are truthful and just. This is exactly the kind of thing that LauraBF, Cindy, and Marilyn have said about the Kerth awards and KComm in the past.

Here is what I suggest.

If the MComm is composed of LauraBF, Cindy, and/or Marilyn, I can only conclude that this is one more way they have come up with to insult the Kerth awards and KComm.

If the Merriweather awards are only going to be a source of controversy and flaming because their purpose is to insult the KComm, I'd rather not have them at all.

If the above is the case, I am pleading with LauraBF, Cindy, and Marilyn to please leave. If you are so unhappy with the Kerth Commitee (many of whom also run these boards) then why come back here to stir up trouble? These boards were created so that the two factions of people who do not get along wouldn't have to be around each other. If you don't like KComm and the people who support them, then don't waste your time and energy being around those people.

If the MComm is not composed of LauraBF, Cindy, and/or Marilyn, I am pleading with you to please state who you are. I guarantee you that it would make a whole lot of us feel a lot better about submitting stories to your judges.

If the MComm is not composed of LauraBF, Cindy, and/or Marilyn and has been completely misunderstood to be a dig at the Kerth awards and KComm, then I wish you well. I hope that your awards are successful in providing helpful feedback to fanfic authors. I will probably even submit a story or two myself.

~Anna

I'm not on the Merriweather Committee. I'm not a judge. I don't even have a personal stake in this (since I have no stories to submit), other than seeing it as another event (therefore potential conflict) in the fandom.

Like some - perhaps many - of you, I've had the same suspicions that Paul voiced. And CC brought up a very good point about katrinalee's entrance onto the scene. It could be a second ID for someone well known in the fandom, yet again it could indeed be someone who has been around (perhaps for years), but hasn't wanted to post on any mbs. I know that I lurked for 2 years before posting for the first time on a fanfic-related subject. And there could easily be people who have been around (IRC or ficlist, perhaps) for a long time but choose not to post on the boards. It is certainly possible that katrinalee has always preferred to remain anonymous until now.

LauraBF, you can be as cranky as you want about this. Paul voiced suspicions that obviously more than one person has had. I had them, and I don't know any of you people personally or have had more contact other than an occasional email. And as I've stated publicly more than once, I've never gone on IRC, so if this subject has been discussed there (as I would assume it has), I've not been *influenced* by it in any way. The coincidences are there. You have angrily come on and stated unequivocally that you are not involved. Fine. I therefore assume that you are not deliberately lying in order to maintain the M-Comm's anonymity, but I would hardly call all these suspicions "unfounded" or without any possible basis.

Since it seems likely that the Merriweather Committee will choose to remain anonymous, I guess you authors out there have two possible choices. To submit or not submit.

But if you have a story ready, why not go for it? You're going to be getting back the comments from the judges - if you feel that one or more opinions are totally skewed or if you disagree with the judgement as a whole, don't submit any other entries. There's no denying that a lot of thought and hard work has gone into this, and steps are being taken to allow for possible bias. They say that they are planning to run a fair and unbiased competition - why not see if they can?

Kathy

Well, the lovely hostility here is reminding me why I all but left the fandom in the first place. I've said more than once that I know for sure that it isn't me--what do you want, it signed in blood?

Yes, I'm supporting the Merriweathers. Why? Because I think it's a damn good idea and I wish I'd thought of it. If you're determined to be offended by what seems to be an innocent little contest, go right on ahead. Leaves more room for the rest of us to win. Now, I'm going to go do my therapy like a good girl so that I might get real shoes to wear in the conceivable future.

Laura

It's occurred to me to point out that Paul's not accusing anyone of anything. Given our history, he thinks he sees a pattern. Given the MCom's anonymity, he wonders if the pattern's true. But he was asking for clarification -- and if this isn't anything to do with old tensions, wouldn't it be better to have that completely cleared up and out of the way?

Heck, even if it *is* a product of past arguments, I'd seriously think about coming clean, telling everyone to deal with it, and then moving on to the awards.

Again, *no one* has done anything wrong, here. I firmly believe that the MCom -- whoever they are -- have every right to run their contest their way. They put in the work; they make the rules. The other half of that bargain is that FOLCs have the right to ask questions. And FOLCs also have the right to think it's a great idea and come to its defense. That doesn't make them committee members.

If enough FOLCs decide to participate, then the Merriweathers will be a smashing success, and a great addition to our fandom. That's what I'm rooting for.

I think a lot of people are willing to give the Merriweathers a chance. And I think there are more who would be willing, if they had a little bit more information. It's totally up to MCom to decide if they want to release that information -- releasing it might widen the pool of participants, but they probably have very legitimate concerns about going public. I know that being on the K-Com has opened me up to a lot of criticism I wouldn't otherwise have had to deal with. I think it's worth it, obviously, since I'm still here, but trust me, I can see how someone else would really really really want to avoid being in that position.

PJ

I want to state, first and foremost, that I do not intend to be hurtful or insulting. I'm just clarifying my viewpoint, because I imagine I'm not alone in it. If I am, feel free to ignore me <g>.

I've been writing my whole life. When I was a very small child, I had a tape recorder to narrate stories into because I couldn't write/type yet. Whatever else I may be, I've always considered myself a writer.

However, I'm not a creative writing major. When I started applying to colleges, I took a good look at myself and decided that it was important to have a skill/career where I thought I could support myself and any family I might have. Given my habit to start a lot of stories and finish very few of them, writing didn't seem like a logical choice.

So I majored in something else. Do I think that makes me less of a writer? Absolutely not. Does it make my opinion on writing less valid? Absolutely not.

Does being published make my opinion more valid? Fine. Been there, done that. But I've met plenty of published authors whose opinions didn't mean much to me, either. At the end of the day, being published just means that you convinced someone who has enough money to put out a publication that your work is worthy of publishing. And hey, there are plenty of people with money whose opinions I don't value <g>.

It's not about being confident in your skills as a writer. I'm pretty confident I can string some words together in a format that's both technically correct and aesthetically pleasing to some audience somewhere <g>. Would I submit my work to an audience I know won't enjoy it? No, because I don't see the point.

And would I like to submit my work to a panel of anonymous judges whose credentials are unknown, who were selected by an anonymous committee who may or may not hate me, so that it could be maliciously taken apart? (Especially fanfic, which is for the most part a labor of love done with no hope of any material gain?) Frankly that sounds painful, and for an activity that's supposed to be fun it doesn't seem worth it. And the way things stand right now, I don't know enough about the Merriweathers to know that's not what I'm doing.

The same thing could be said of the Kerths. At least there I knew who was voting, and I got to vote for myself once in a while. I don't think it's too much to ask that the MComm reveal themselvses. If the writers are supposed to trust their judgment, it seems only fair that some trust be shown in return. We're all supposed to be adults here.

Just my 2 cents,
Kaylle
(No offense intended to those of us who aren't legally adults yet. At any rate, we're all supposed to be mature enough to handle this <g>)

Edited to say...hello.

Lynn

I don't have much to add this time. Pam's latest post said most of what I'd have wanted to say, and probably better than I could have said it.

Briefly, for those interested, I'll say that I am planning to participate in the awards. As has been pointed out, I've nothing to lose by doing so, and if the awards in general are successful, then the fandom will have gained something new. At the worst, I'll have gotten some detailed feedback from careful readers.

Mostly, though, I wanted to extend my sympathies to Laura. As you may know, I've had a long history of medical issues myself. Since early childhood, my immune system has been coming up with ever newer and more creative ways to injure me. I suppose you could say, though, that I've been fortunate.

If not for medications devoloped a mere 50 years or so ago, I'd have been dead before I ever saw my teens. If not for refinements to the treatment regimen governing the use of those medications which were made possible by equipment developed about 25 years later, I'd be well on my way to blindness, major organ failure, and other serious complications.

When I later developed a new disease, it was only a few years before doctors had a name for it (and enough information to diagnose it), and from that point, thanks to modern medical science, new treatments were developed amazingly fast.

Several years later, I developed something new (the particulars of which, unfortunately, still baffle specialists across the country and overseas). I was probably months away from slipping into a coma when a stab in the dark (a medication developed that very year for an only tangentially related disease) miraculously managed to improve my condition. A few months later, I was lucky enough to find a doctor who had heard about a more effective version of the same drug which had been developed overseas. He managed to get me on it months before the FDA gave its final approval. It wasn't enough to let me return to school, but it kept me going. Now, as I slowly become resistent to it, we're trying ever riskier measures. Just yesterday, a doctor told me about a somewhat experimental but very promising possibility based on a serendipitous discovery made within my lifetime which we still don't fully understand. Once again, medical science, advancing ever more rapidly, has developed something in what is, for me, the nick of time.

So, I've been lucky, but it still hasn't been easy. Laura, I sympathize with your plight. I'm not sure how serious your personal condition is right now (from what I've seen here , there seem to be several stages), but I know how difficult it can be to face situations like this. Truly, you have my best wishes in your search for not just a treatment, but a cure.

Paul

Thanks for your good wishes, Paul, but there is no such thing as a cure. It took seven different doctors to disgnose it, many of which told me to do the exact *wrong* things to do to make it better. I've had non-healing, weeping sores for a year and very swollen legs for a year before that. I have lymphedema in both legs below the knee, and my left leg is much worse than my right. They say that I've had it undiagnosed for years until this most recent break out. I will have it for the rest of my life.

Laura

Normally I wouldn't bother posting a response to the paranoid rant posted by Paul, but I dislike having my name dragged through the mud and impuned...AGAIN...by someone spouting theories based on nothing but speculation and hatred, and doing it for seemingly no other reason than to either flame me (and my friends) or trash something that we have stood in favor of.

I am terribly flattered that you think I am one of the Merriweather Committee members. I certainly think a contest such as one they represent is a long time coming. However, between studying for the Professional Engineering exam and other obligations that I have, I would not have time. Not that I expect you to believe my denial, but whether you do or not is not my concern.

That said, I find it sad that you feel the need to try and frame the Merriweather Awards as some kind of conspiracy. It seems to me that the groundwork of the awards has been set, and that a great deal of time and effort has been put into presenting them to FoLCs both here and on Zoom's board. Nothing on that site in any way trashes or impunes any FoLC or their efforts. It seems the great evil of the Merriwether Committee is that they deign to keep themselves anonymous, and given the way that people who dare challenge the status quo around here are treated, I don't blame them.

Let me ask you why you think this is, Paul. Why would I champion the Merriweathers when I've been very vocal about my unhappiness with the Kerth awards? Could it be because I think it's a good idea? And why don't I post here very often? Look at your post and you'll find the answer. Life is much better when you find things that you enjoy, and I frankly don't enjoy hanging around here much.

If you wish to continue to pull my name out of the sky and spout conspiracy theories, be my guest. I'm waiting for you to accuse me of being the second shooter on the grassy knoll. But please don't drag the name of these awards through the mud, especially when you have yet to participate. I, at least, participated in the Kerth Awards for a few years before deciding that I disagreed with their policies.

AnnN.

Basically too much has been said already. I had the Oh-Oh feeling when Katrinalee first posted. I too am suspicious of anonymous people. However, the unknown people have already gone to a lot of work and I see only benefit to me as a writer to enter the proposed contest. I certainly see no risk to myself. Therefore, I propose to give them a chance. I write for fun and enlightenment and if I can get feedback from some judges, so much the better.
I extend my sympathies to both LauraBF and Paul with their health problems. I hope Paul does enter because he is the master of the vignette, IMHO. LauraBF, in spite of her difficulties, is on a very successfull road and I congratulate and applaud her work.
We cannot control what others do, we can only control what we do.
I recommend katrinalee start a new thread when she comes back and I hope the Merriweathers are a success.

Artemis

Making an executive decision here and locking this thread. It's not because anyone did anything wrong, but because I'd like to see the Merriweather Award start over in a more positive light it deserves. So I'll leave that up to Katrina to start a new thread if and when she feels inclined to do so. Until then, back to business as normal.

I thank everyone who posted here for not going too much over the line, though I do know it's been crossed briefly.

Please remember that not every event is for everyone and you are not required to participate. Questions have been asked and they've been answered. If you don't understand something further, please take to private email.

Thank you,