Welcome to judging

1. Welcome to judging Judging For the Word Guild IS now On-Line

2. Included in this webinar • Accessing your entries • Accessing the on-line mark sheet • Submitting marks • Important Things to Remember

3. Accessing your entries

4. Accessing your Entries Books Articles We will send an excel document containing the links to the published works on-line. • The books will be sent to you and they are yours to keep!

5. Accessing Articles • If you have been asked to review articles you should find an excel file included with your information packet.

6. Accessing Articles • If you have been asked to review articles you should find an excel file included with your information packet. The excel file will contain: • A list of the entries • Their target audience • Links to the articles in your categories

7. Accessing Articles • The authors have had the choice to either upload a document or enter a link through which you can access their entry. • Accessing an uploaded document: The link beginning with http://www.thewordguild.com will open a document file. You will only be allowed to view the file, you will not be able to edit it. • Accessing a link to a website: The link will open up the article in your web browser.

8. Accessing the on-line mark sheet

9. Accessing the on-line mark sheet • A mark sheet for each type (story, article, lyric, or poetry) has been uploaded to The Word Guild’s website. To find the mark sheet follow these three steps: • Follow the link provided to you under section “ACCESSING MARK SHEET” in the Judges Instruction Sheet.

10. Accessing the on-line mark sheet (con’t) • 2. Fill in the mark sheet according to the rubric provided to you in your judge’s package. Once all of the marks have been entered into the form, a tally of the entrant’s overall mark will appear in the box titled “Total mark.” Be sure to add your comments below. Comments are intended to assist the writer in improving their work. If you offer criticism, please give suggestions on what the writer might do to improve the problem.

11. Accessing the on-line mark sheet (con’t) • Once you are sure of the marks entered, click the Submit button at the bottom of the form. The mark for that entry will now be recorded in our system. • To correct a form that has already been submitted please contact the awards administrator, Mary Ann Benjamins

12. Important things to remember • CONFLICTS OF INTEREST • SHORTLIST • THE GRACE IRWIN PRIZE • NUMBER OF JUDGES • STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE • FAITH CONTENT • GALA TICKETS • HONORARIUM • DEADLINE

13. Important Things to Remember: Conflicts of Interest: • • If you believe that your relationship with any of the writers in your category is close enough that it is difficult for you to judge his or her work objectively, please contact me to excuse yourself from this group. shortlist: •We ask that you suggest a shortlist of finalists for your category. Typically, the shortlist will consist of the top (meaning above 80%) three entries in your category. However, if one entry is clearly outstanding, and no other entries come close, there will be no shortlist. We prefer there to be one clear winner per category. Those who are a close second may receive honourable mention. The Grace Irwin Prize: All shortlisted finalists in the book categories will be entered to contend for this $5000 award. A separate round of independent judging will determine the award winner to be announced on June 12, 2013 at the black-tie Awards Gala.

14. Important Things to Remember: (con’t) Number of Judges: • This year most categories are evaluated by TWO JUDGES. A list of judges will be publicized, but we will not attach categories to your name to protect your privacy. You have been invited to judge this category because of your expertise and reputation. The philosophy of this contest is that entries should be judged against a standard of excellence rather than against each other. We are not simply giving an award to the best entry we receive compared to the others, but to the entry that is truly excellent. To assist you with that we have included a rubric. Please see the attached instruction sheet and webinar for further information on using the rubric. Standard Of Excellence: • This contest is open to Canadian writers who are Christian—that is, the contest requires that entrantsaffirm The Apostles’ Creed, but it does not require that the submitted work deal only with faith based subject matter. Faith Content: If you have concerns about the orthodoxy of the piece please contact me!

15. Important Things to Remember: (con’t) Complimentary Tickets : You will receive two tickets to the Awards Gala So that you can enjoy the presentation of the awards and meet some of the winners, we are pleased to offer you two complimentary tickets to the Awards Gala and stand-up reception on Wednesday, June 12th at 7:30 p.m. at World Vision Canada, Mississauga, Ontario. Email me at awards@thewordguild.com to reserve your tickets. honorarium: This year we will be phasing out the honorarium. If you desire an honorarium please indicate that in your reply. ($20/book;$7.50/article) Deadline: I need to receive your results by March 1, 2013 so that we can release a shortlist in March. I will be in contact to see how things are coming along mid-February.

16. Thank You! • These awards would be impossible to run without you! • Thank you for blessing Canadian Christian writers and authors with your expertise and gift of time.