LGBTQ Award: Setting rules

[reviews_and_ramblings]

So no one told me I'm fool, and it's already a good thing, and more or less the suggestions I received are in line with my first idea. Only one people replied that my categories are all erotica, and so they don't have books to submit: I actually went to re-read those categories, and where some of them are probably erotica (BDSM, Menages...), I don't think they are ALL erotica: Fantasy? Coming of Age? Silver Romance? are those erotica?

I don't know, I'm not much for the idea to create erotica and non erotica categories, it would be probably difficult to set a range to part what it's in one or the other. But if you think it's better, let me know. So basically, let me summarize all.

First phase: an initial round to determine the candidatures. I will create a single post for each category, I will prepopulate each category with the titles I think will fit in them or that people will submit me, plus I will leave people in the comment section to add titles for the first week. Always in the comment section, people will vote the title. The same person can vote more books in the same category (obviously they can vote more books in different categories), only please don't vote ALL the books of the category. I have faith in you that you will not cheat (BTW I will check the IP address, you can vote even if you haven't a LJ account). The voting phase will be open for 1 month. At the end of the month I will draw the first 10 in each category.

ETA: To pre-fill the categories with the books you would like to see in them, just comment here or write to me in private. It's possible to candidate the same book in more categories if you think it will fit. Next Saturday I will post a blog for each category with the already prefilled titles and the voting phase 1 will start. I will accept late candidatures for the first week, and then I will close the categories.

Second phase: a poll for each category with the final 10 titles. 2 weeks to vote and at the end of the 2 weeks, the winner for each category. At this point we already have virtual winners, 1 for each category.

Third and last phase: a selected jury of readers (or authors without eligible books in the categories they have to read) will read 3 books out of the final list and give them a vote (range from 1 to 10): I hope to have enough jurors to have a book read by 3 different persons. A month to read all the books and at the end of the month we will have the final winner.

ETA: I'm accepting volunteers for being in the jury. Please leave a comment here or contact me with a private message.

And now the categories:

Fiction
1) Contemporary
2) Fantasy
3) Futuristic
4) Historical
5) Paranormal / Horror
6) Mystery / Thriller 
7) Coming of Age / Young Adult
8) Comedy

Non Fiction
1) General Non Fiction
2) Biography / Memoir
3) History
4) Poetry
5) Travel

Special Category: New Author

All the categories are parted in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual and Queer. Please, help me in filling the categories other than G (my field), otherwise those categories will have problem to survive. For the 2009 LGBTQ Rainbow Awards I will consider ebooks or print books released between September 2008 (included) and August 2009 (Included). I'm not against the idea to consider also re-releases (maybe a previous ebook released in print, or viceversa; or a reprint of the same book from a different publisher).

At the end of the first week, we will reconsider the Categories: if a category has not enough votes or candidatures (I will set a minimum of 5 titles per categories), I will withdraw it from the competion, or at least will try to compact more categories in one.

I will save the names of all people who joined in one of the voting phase. For every voting phase there will be one (or more depending on the availability of prizes) "small" winner among the voting crow: a small award is, for example, a gift certificate from a publisher to download an ebook. At the end of all the voting phases, I will draw a reader winner of a gift basket with ebooks / gift certificates and print books donated by publishers / authors: the winner will have to directly contact the authors who donate print books (publishers and authors are totally free to choose to donate only ebooks). Please consider that, if the winner is not in the same country of the author, it's an own choice of the author to send a print book, he/she can choose to revert to an ebook. The publishers / online booksellers / review sites who already gave their disponibility are (in alphabetical order):

 

 

 

 

 

 



Please let me know if you think some of them should not be there, or if I forgot something.

Sooo: the first phase will start next week. October for candidating, November for skimming, December for selecting and January for reading the final books. First week of February the winner!

Again, I'm totally open to suggestion on all of above.

Comments

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

It took me a while to reply to this one because I was making a table:

http://alex-beecroft.livejournal.com/99884.html

but actually yours looks a lot simpler!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, we have also a Poetry category (and also Memoir). I will be glad to list you among the author who will give a book for the gift basket, thank you. And I will list your book in the Poetry category; is it right to list it also in the Memoir category?. Elisa

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to help (posted in the wrong place) - might also be able to give prizes, depending on how things go :)

[upstart-crow.livejournal.com]

Totally fine to add it to both :D Yay!

OK, so I'll need to get a single hard copy to you when the time comes? Sorry if you've covered that above and I'm just not getting it; I'm really distracted today (pretty busy with writing of all things!)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Yes, that is right. If I divide, the risk is to have them not receiving enough attention, and so I will need to compact or delete the category. If I leave them all together, I for sure need help in spreading the word, or maybe a collaboration with another review site that is devoted to L and / or B/T fiction. Elisa

[upstart-crow.livejournal.com]

Steve has a really good point here.

And my biggest beef with the LLAs isn't actually the change in rules (though doing it right before opening to subs was bad), but the fact that there's just one category for B and T, which means B memoirs, poetry, novels, non fiction books all compete against each other, as do T books. This has always struck me as really, really underserving bisexuals and trans folk.

[upstart-crow.livejournal.com]

I think there really do need to be separate categories for bisexual and transgender.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Mmm, I have to consider, but probably for starting we can not have a Western Romance category (historical or contemporary). I was pondering on the Horror, maybe with Paranormal? Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Do you want for now to be listed among the authors? Then we will see ;-) Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I was more thinking on a ebook copy if possible, since it would be difficult for me to send a print copy to the winner... but maybe I will define this details in a few weeks. Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I know that compacting L G B T all in one category is problematic, but at this moment I think that, separating all category in three will be worst, I really fear to not be able to reach the L B T readers and so their categories will have lesser space. I'm really open to suggestion on this point. Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Ok so, separate categories and cross fingers that I will manage to deal with all of them. Elisa

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think that keeping it fairly small in the first year is a very good idea. And you're right, of course. Horror would go in with Paranormal :)

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

Sure!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

So Horror with Paranormal it's! Elisa

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Added! Elisa

[alex-beecroft.livejournal.com]

Hello again! I've got some people sounding cautionary notes on my LJ, and rather than copy messages back and forth, I thought I'd just give a link to the whole thing again.

http://alex-beecroft.livejournal.com/99884.html

To sum up so far: 1) possibly still too many categories 2) it might be a good idea to contact Jade Buchanan at the RWA Rainbow Writers group, who may be thinking of doing one of their own and 3) judging is going to need a lot of thinking about re how you keep authors unknown, and how you make sure that the judges are a good cross-section of the m/m community and not just straight female readers.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I will reply directly to your post. Elisa

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

I'll be happy to donate book as prizes, e-book or print.

And I have a serious question about the blind reading part.
Writers talk. A lot. Those who know us know what we're working on, what we have out, and what's coming out.

If FALSE COLORS was nominated or THE GHOST WORE YELLOW SOCKS, how on earth would your judges NOT know who these were by?

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I'm with you in them, I don't think it's possible, or at least not in a very effective way. It would be a "everyone" knows blind read, plus probably most of the readers already read the book, more than probably if the book is really good. But we can try, maybe asking to the publishers of the final books to submit to the jury to provide a stripped pdf copy of the book.

And I will add you to the list of the authors.

Elisa

[(Anonymous)]

Rainbow Romance Writers RWA chapter for authors of GLBT romance is putting together a contest for RWA members but it's barely in the planning stage.

I'll donate any title you think readers would like from MLR Press, and all or any of mine personally.

Laura Baumbach

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Thank you Laura, I wrote to Jade Buchanan, and if nothing / no one is strongly against the idea, we can have both.

I will add you name to the list of authors, MLR Press is already in the list of publishers ;-)

Thank you so much for your generous offer.

Elisa

[sacchig.livejournal.com]

It could be a Virtual Gift Basket, but those who have print books on the list could be responsible for mailing them to the winner.

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

That could be an idea, asking the winner to directly contact the author who donates a print book. I will list this option when it will be time to "prepare" the gift basket. Elisa

[rowenasudbury.livejournal.com]

This is a great idea. I'm rather new to this whole genre, and I will admit I'm pretty much in the dark about "other" awards. All I know is what I've read on my friends list. Hopefully I can participate in this contest, and maybe donate a book? (my only book ;).

Thanks Elisa, this is a great idea.