WSW 2008

[Vincent Holland-Keen]

Woo, haven't been here in a while. I blame the old writing business for that. Well, that and work. Anyway, I was submersed in crime-ery at the weekend with the rather good Crimefest 2008 and it occurred to me that it's getting near to Sexiest Writer of the Year time again. Before that kicks off though, I thought I'd ask for thoughts on whether it should retain the same format as last year (that is, an on-line poll where anyone can nominate and vote for whoever they like) or do things a bit differently. Any ideas welcome.

[Daniel Hatadi]

I think the poll was too open last time, it skewed the results too much. Perhaps we could pick a panel of judges, get some nominations, then when the list is compiled run the poll with fixed choices.

[Vincent Holland-Keen]

I agree, that sounds a better idea. It might also be worth going back to having only authors with a novel (or a short story?) either published or due to be published that year being eligible.

[Daniel Hatadi]

Sounds settled then. When do we start?

[Vincent Holland-Keen]

Well, we could start deciding on the panel now and collecting nominations. The Harrogate crime-writing festival starts on the 17th July, so that could be a good target date for deciding the shortlist.

Pondering whether to split the shortlist up into the basic genres, as well as having an overall prize, but that's probably best left for a future contest.

Edit: Splitting into genres might not be right this time, but what about a separate section for short stories?