The Lodestar Contest

September, October, November, and December entries will be judged based on how they stand at their respective deadlines. Each story will get its own tab in my browser at midnight at the end of each month and that is the version of your story that will be judged.

All entries will get a quick read/skim just after the deadline to ensure they follow the contest rules. Any that do not follow the rules by the deadline will be:


Note for reviewers: If it's before the deadline and you spot an entry that does not follow the rules, it is still up for review. An entry is not disqualified until the deadline has passed, in case of editing/revising/rewriting. Your review of the item will be rewarded through the Public Review Page regardless. If you are nervous about spending time reviewing an item that might be disqualified, you are welcome to skip that item (or items) until after the writing deadline at midnight on the last day of the month. (You will still be required to get your review[s] in before the reviewing deadline.)

I should not have offered to wait until after the reviewing deadline to judge entries for that first month. I set my schedule to be able to judge during the first week of every month; waiting until the second week is killing me again this month; results will be delayed again. They will not be next time.