Last year we started the competition with three jury members but then extended it by one, appreciating that people get sick and perhaps would not be available for every round. Upon reflection, we realised it worked well and is probably a fairer method to use, so we will be continuing with four this year too.
Each jury member judges the stories separately. The 3 highest scores for a writer are added up, divided by 3 and the outcome will be the score assigned to the story.
Fiction Marathon 2022 Rules
Last year, the jury scores determined which stories went through to the public vote. We have changed that rule: This year the public and jury will vote at the same time – so all the stories will have the chance to be voted on by the public, as well as the jury.
It is time to introduce this year’s jury members: In alphabetical order of their first name, here are the four judges for the Fiction Marathon 2022.
Brigit Delaney
Brigit Delaney has been blogging since 2008 (and “writing” since before she could actually craft real letters with a pencil).
Her blog is one of Sexual Alpha’s Top 50 Best Erotica & Personal Sex Blogs of 2021. She is also one of Kinkly’s Top 100 Sex Blogging Superheroes of 2021.
Brigit has taught English for 20 years and has a master’s degree in composition/rhetoric. She lives in the Pacific Northwest/USA with her husband, son, two lazy dogs, three lazy cats, and one lazy bearded dragon. Reading thrillers and romances, binge-watching Netflix, swilling Irish whiskey, and enjoying a campfire under the stars are some of her favorite pastimes.
When reading the writing of others, she appreciates good character development, dialogue that moves the plot along, and memorable beginnings and endings. For more on what Brigit seeks in a story, check out “Get Ready to Craft Your Best Stories for the Fiction Marathon.”
Brigit can be found on her personal website, on Twitter and on Medium.
F. Leonora Solomon
F. Leonora Solomon is a fiction editor and writer who also dabbles in non-fiction and loves the business of words in general.
She started her blog to participate in the blog greetings for a writer’s conference. The first story she wrote for the Wicked Wednesday meme, run by her friend Marie A. Rebelle, has been going strong for the past eight years as a series with weekly installments.
Leonora has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, which she does not need for her day job, but requires as soon as she leaves for the day. She is a city girl and loves to travel. Sometimes even walking down a different street in the city can inspire her, and she might even get a story out of it. Aside from writing, she loves art, cooking, and learning new things.
Leonora is also on Medium and Twitter.
Paul Mansfield in 30 Seconds
Faster than sex, but not as much fun
on FLICKR
Born in rural Southern Ontario (that’s in Canada), books were his escape. His escape from the mundanity of life in a village dominated by the white bean and stupidity. Yes, the lowly white bean was the lifeblood of his hometown, and he hated beans. With only three television channels available, all broadcasting The Farm Report, Paul did what any sane person would do. He took refuge in the written word.
Books were his saviour until he got the hell out of that town. He then took refuge in the burgeoning London, Ontario punk rock scene, cheap booze, cheap women and other anti-social behaviours. With an attitude unfazed with reality, he stumbled through university, squeaking out a BA in English Literature from the University of Western Ontario. He also finished top of his class in Business Information Systems somewhere else.
He dedicated the next thirty years of his life to high tech, hard rock, and a petite bourgeoisie lifestyle. Digital imaging for engineering, smart phone technology, medical imaging, computer algebra — none escaped the benefits of his visionary approach.
And then calamity arrived. His wife passed after a valiant struggle with cancer. The disillusion of age also settled in. He responded with a “Fuck all, y’all” and retired from working for the system.
Now, his choice was obvious. To become the artist that destiny demanded he become. He chose the written word and the digital image to bring his misunderstood vision to light.
He now spends his time reading, writing, looking after three cats and one dog, and his ninety plus year old mother. Plus more anti-social behaviour.
Paul Mansfield is a writer, photographer, guitar player, philosopher — some he does well, others not so well. He still tries them all. You can follow him on Twitter.
Posy Churchgate
Posy Churchgate has been writing, predominantly erotica, since 2016; embracing different styles to reach a varied audience. For this purpose she hosts a blog: Pillow talk. She also writes for adult publications / platforms. Her work is published in Cleis Press’ Best Bondage Erotica Vol 2, The Gift and other erotic stories and two Eroticon anthologies.
Posy encourages writers to blossom and be seen. As the Editor in Chief for Tantalizing Tales (a short story publication on Medium) she enjoys fresh, well-developed stories told from the point of view of a character with whom she can empathise.
During 2020 Posy expanded into other writing genres, learning the art of creating suspense and reader misdirection, useful for mystery and paranormal fiction. She began to experiment with world building, which requires as much discipline and clarity as it does imagination: plot outline, detailed notes and rigorous beta reading are essential.
You can find Posy on her personal website, on Twitter and on Medium.
Enter the Fiction Marathon 2022
The Fiction Marathon 2022 welcome new and experienced writers. Find out what last year’s winner had to say about the competition.
Check out more about the Marathon HERE and then if you fancy signing up, we’d love you to join us: CLICK HERE…
NB: This year, the competition’s tweets will be coming from Marie Rebelle and May More’s Twitter accounts. And hopefully support of these tweets from the Jury, Writers and Readers…
Let’s get ready to start the Marathon!
May and Marie
This is going to be an exciting competition, I am looking forward to seeing how the writers step up to the carefully planned challenges over the coming months. All the other judges have been kept secret, so I want to wave hello to Brigit, F dot and Paul too – happy to be in your gang!
A note for Posy, re: worldbuilding — given your genre, I’d highly recommend checking out Rhiannon Byrd. Her Primal Instincts books do a fantastic job with alternate reality. 🙂
That is a fantastic tip Mrs Fever. I hadn’t heard of this author so I will investigate. Thanks