Today is the big day!
Besides announcing the winners and the honorable mention I'll give you an inside scoop on the judging, I'll point you to yet more zombie luv stuff, and I have an important question to ask at the end of this post, so stick around. ;)
First of all, I'd like to give a big THANK YOU to the judges, Lori Titus, Jodi MacArthur, and Jim Bronyaur, who did a fantastic job! They've helped me not only with the judging, but also with the organization, with spreading the word and whichever issue that arose during the contest. It was through Jim that we got this super cool logo and he even wrote a piece on the theme! Click here to check it out. ;)
Now for the inside scoop.
This is how the judging went: each criterion was graded from 1 to 5, being 1 the lower and 5 the highest score. The winner entry was chosen using a mixture of objective and subjective criteria, weighted as below. The judges' highest weighted averages (above 4.0) were discussed to define the winner entries and the honorable mention. For the honorable mention the judges also considered the poll's result.
Criteria and weighting:
- Weight 1: plot, title, overall quality
- Weight 2: grammar, spelling, pace
- Weight 3: originality
Before the big announcements I'd like to inform you that h.lee (Charcoal Muse) formally withdrew from the contest due to website restructuration. I appreciate you submitting in the first place h.lee, and I'm sorry that you couldn't stick around to the end. Thank you!
Also, I'd like to point out that of the 37 entries, 6 were giving a first try to the zombie theme, including the big winner, and many were stretching their writing wings either for the romance aspect or the combination of zombiness and romance. I applaud you guys; in my opinion experimentation is a fundamental part of the long term writing process.
Finally, I'd like to thank two great writers who chose the Zombie Luv Contest as debut post (or almost debut post, heh) for their blogs. I'm honored! Thank you Nishi and Lexx, you guys made my day! :)
Now, the honorable mention will be published here at Randomities tomorrow. We had a hard time choosing, I gotta tell you. Since this story scored very well for all judges, showed up on almost everyone's favorites list, *and* it was the poll's winner, we couldn't award the honorable mention to anyone else but...
*drumroll*
For the Love of Mike, by Sam Adamson
Congrats Sam! You popular guy, you, heh.
Come back tomorrow to enjoy this original and funny zombie luv tale! :)
Now to the big announcements everyone is waiting for. Yes, you have not been reading wrong and there's no typo in this post. (hopefully, heh) There were so many entries with a high level of writing skill and originality that we decided for a second place as well, which -- wow! -- is also going to be published at Flashes in the Dark!
Thank you Lori for you generosity! :D
After some discussion with virtual hair pulling and fingers in the eyes, we came to the conclusion that the second place, which comes out next Tuesday, July 26th, at FitD should go to...
*drumroll*
Dead Flames, by Angel Zapata
Congratulations Angel! :D
It's time to present you the contest's winner! But first, I gotta tell you that despite the many high quality entries we had no problem choosing. The decision was unanimous!
Soooo, the Zombie Luv Flash Fiction Contest's big winner is...
***DRUMROLL***
Many congrats Nishi! *applauses and huge ovation*
Click on the story title to read it at Flashes in the Dark. ;)
Nishi, please DM me with your physical address, so I can send you a brand new paperback edition of Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. :)
*pops bottles of prosecco to celebrate all contestants, readers, judges and general zombie luv fun!*
A glass, anyone? ;D
One last thing. I'd like to ask your opinion about something. I was suggested to gather some of the best entries in the judges opinion and publish a Zombie Luv Anthology.
Dear readers/visitors: what do you think about it?
Dear writers/contestants: would you like to have your story featured on such anthology?
What a contest! A huge thanks to Mari for setting this baby up and inviting me to judge. Nishi - well done on the story. From the opening to the AMAZING ending, I was hooked. Keep up the great writing.
ReplyDeleteJim.
Congrats to Nishi, Angel and Sam! Also, to everyone who entered as well.
ReplyDeleteI think an anthology would be a big success, being as the stories all revolve around a pretty tight theme.
What an exciting post! :) Congrats to Nishi, Sam, and Angel. Well done!
ReplyDeleteYes, an anthology sounds like a very good idea, Mari-girl. You should definitely consider it.
And much applause to you, Jim, Jodi, and Lori for being such great judges.
Congratulations all! I can't wait to read the winners!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the winners! Well done.
ReplyDeleteCongrtulations everyone! Great posts here, and lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for putting this together.
~2
What a great set of stories! Congratulations to Nishi, Angel and Sam!
ReplyDeleteAnd what an awesome contest to run, as well. Thanks to Mari and all the judges for a fun ride.
Forgot to say that I'd love for my story to be considered, if an anthology is in the offing. There are a lot of great stories to choose from, and this is certainly a tightly meshed theme.
ReplyDeleteTo Nishi and Angel, many congratulations!
ReplyDeleteTo Mari, Jim, Lori and Jodi, thank you so much for choosing my story as the Honourable Mention, I'm over the moon!
A special mention must go to Mari with thanks for all her hard work organising and hosting the contest.
Yes, I think an anthology of ZombieLuv stories is an excellent idea and if my story was chosen for inclusion I would be happy to have it included.
Wow, two winners! Good turnout, and cheers to all the storytellers.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the great comments! I'm really happy with the contest's outcome, in all senses. The whole thing was incredibly funny and I learned a lot too!
ReplyDelete*jumping up and down of excitement*
I'm considering making an ebook to be distributed freely, for the sake of publicity. Sounds good?
Thank you once again to all judges and contestants. You made this contest a great experience for many people. Thanks! :D
Great post. There were so many fantastic entries, I'm sure the judges had a tough time deciding. Congrats Nishi and Angel!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Nishi, Angel and Sam! There were _so many_ good entries and it was a pleasure to see so many people turn out for the love of a good zombie story! :) I hope we get the chance to have more contests like this in the future, if nothing else than just for fun! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat contest, Mari. You did a wonderful job with it all, including keeping all of us judges rounded up.;-) It was great working with you all--
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners! And thanks to all the participants. So much fun.
--Jodi: Thank you! You all were great! Thanks so much for all the help throughout the contest.
ReplyDeleteI loved chatting with you guys on the judging part. Too bad everyone was in a hurry -- especially me -- it would be even more fun if we had more time. :)
Congrats to Angel, Sam, and Nishida :)
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun contest Mari, and a great writing prompt. Sorry my site had an issue that couldn't wait, but thanks for understanding. Hope you have more contests, and an anthology would be cool! ...hmmm, perhaps a contest to design the bookcover for your anthology?? Just an idea ;)
Woohoo! Congrats to the winners! Well deserved!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd a big cheer to the host & judges, you all had a tough job!
Congrats to Sam, Angel, and Nishida. Those stories are awesome!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you to all the judges, I know you had one tough job.
I'd loved to see a zombie luv anthology. It's a really unique theme and I would love to be chosen for it.
Congratulations to everyone! Well done!
ReplyDeleteAnd secondly, an anthology is always a good thing ;)
Congrats to the winners, as well as to everyone who submitted a story! I enjoyed this contest and am grateful for it simply because I likely wouldn't have written the story I did without the prompt. A big thanks to Mari and the judges!
ReplyDeleteWay to go everyone! Congrats to the winners! And yes, I think an anthology is a GREAT idea! Count mine in if you like.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners! Nishi, great story!
ReplyDeleteThis was truly a great contest. Congrats to Sam and Nishida for two dynamite stories.
ReplyDeleteI vote for an anthology.
Hell yeah! There should be an anthology of Zombie Luv Stories...
ReplyDeleteAwesome story Nishi :D
Oh my goodness, I missed the train, didn't I? Was offline the whole day and I sign in only to be knocked over by this overwhelming cascade of comments and congrats. I am shocked, honoured and humbled, and I am not just saying that. I did not expect it at all. Thank you so much for liking my story and well, picking me for a winner. I am beyond speechless. Thanks to Mari for hosting such a great contest, for her encouragement and inspiration, and to all the 4 judges, I am very grateful.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Angel and Sam, both great stories!
@ Jim, Jodi, Laura, Jen, Delia, Tomara, Tony, Jemi, Sam, David, Melissa, G.P Ching, Joanie, h.Lee, Angie, Nathan, Eric, Maria, Cathy, Angel and Sharat, (and everyone else who is reading) - Thanks for your comments and congrats and well wishes, you rock!
Thanks again to everyone for reading and commenting on my story here, on my blog and on Flashes in the Dark. You guys are brilliant, you made my day! I had so much fun doing this! Yes for an Anthology!
Ooh, sorry, I missed Cathy and Marisa ~ Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteI echo Sam's sentiment. Thanks to Mari for organizing this amazing and fun contest! Awesome work, Mari!
--h.lee: Thanks for entering in the first place! I'm glad you had fun although you couldn't stick around to the end.
ReplyDeleteAs for your suggestion of the contest, I think I need a little contest break...
MArI nEeDZ REsT
Oops, I almost got zombified again! Must have a talk with those wizard friends of mine, heh.
--Sam, Angel and Nishi: You guys rock! Thanks for submitting these great stories and making it so hard for us to decide. Also, thanks to Sam and Nishi for the kind words.
Yes, an anthology seems to be in order, so we'll start working on it. Stay tunned! :)
Some good voting on some cool stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone who wrote about zombieluv, I read them all.
Congrats to the writers who won; recognition is a very cool thing.
Anthology? Sure; it's very thematic...
I think an anthology sounds wonderful! Congratulations to the winners!
ReplyDelete