7/14/2026 at 10:19:01 PM
by samclemens
7/15/2026 at 10:57:35 PM
As an indie author (https://frequal.com/novels), this makes me glad I haven't submitted my novel yet to any of these contests. The chance that a submission fee could be wasted by chance (not a match for the reviewer's interest or mood that day) is just too great. It seems that the larger publishing houses are more willing to shell out on the chance to win this lottery, according to the article.by TeaVMFan
7/15/2026 at 10:53:27 PM
I've read for screenwriting contests and it is pretty much the same thing. During the first round of reading, they usually expect you to read a minimum number of pages (usually 20 pages). Only one person will read your script during the first round, so if it doesn't catch their attention you will be cut. During the subsequent rounds you are generally expected to read the whole thing, but most of the worst stuff has already been eliminated. In some contests you can see the coverage from previous judges and some you can't. It all depends.by imzadi
7/15/2026 at 10:36:32 PM
Sorry, I laughed... :)> I’ve judged prizes both pre-2020, when we were sent stacks of books, and post-2020, when everything had switched to zip drives and online databases.
Considered medium-to-high-capacity at the time of its release, Zip disks were originally launched with capacities of 100 megabytes (MB), then 250 MB, and finally 750 MB. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_drive
by m463
7/15/2026 at 9:34:09 PM
Pretty interesting post. I guess I'm surprised that it's just like 5 people doing most of it and the most complex structure is still just 2 stages usually (Pulitzer: 5 judges send 3 books to a special council to pick a winner). It makes me think you probably get as much value from following a few specific critics as you would from following these prizesI wonder how the reviewers feel when authors like Ursula K. Le Guin refuse awards
by culi
7/15/2026 at 10:21:39 PM
Related read; a first hand account by one of the 2012 Pulitzer jury members giving a good account of the process and attempting to explain why no literature prize was awarded that year.https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/letter-from-the-...
by ofalkaed
7/15/2026 at 10:13:35 PM
>1) Not every judge can look at every single book; and 2) When a judge realizes they don’t love a book, they can put it down.There is room for LLMs to disrupt book judging by being able to read every single book.
by charcircuit
7/15/2026 at 10:18:05 PM
I feel like LLMs are not quite equipped to answer "is this wonderful and delightful" yet.by sssilver
7/15/2026 at 10:40:39 PM
The book was rejected because it doesn't say "load-bearing" and "now here's the thing" enough.by pfdietz
7/15/2026 at 10:34:47 PM
I guess if you want the most average book to winby zeroonetwothree
7/15/2026 at 10:38:02 PM
I read the article.Book Prizes Do Work How I Think.
It's just like, someone's opinion, man.
by gowld
7/15/2026 at 10:15:44 PM
Good post which basically states the f*cking obvious about how any "prize" or "winner" of any subjective category works.by boznz