The mails will be sorted and sent anonymously to a select group of “agbalagbas” in the literary community who in turn will select the final 16 who will be sorted in four groups to roforofo for the 30k( as at present, e still fit upgrade as sponsorship trickles in) prize money .

In the group stages, the Judges of each group( 3 judges per group) will provide topics and themes fot them to write on. Being a Flash fiction contesst, the stories will hardly extend 500 words. A Facebook page will be especially opened for the FEC purpose. The choice of Facebook instead of a website or blog is to promote a wider and faster public response cum interaction, moreover, 90 % of young writers in Nigeria are on Facebook( statistics mine).

There will be voting on the part of the audience, which will comprise writers themselves(especially these who will be licking their wounds at not making it :v). And by voting, I don’t mean the kind that can be rigged to favour Mr or Miss Popular( the stories will be posted anonymously anyway).

The voting system is something like this:

Audience: 10 plus votes for a particular story earns the story 3 points. 20+ votes=6 points. 30+ votes=9 points. 40+ votes=12 points. 50+ votes=15 points.

Judges: 1 vote = 10 points.

Since there are three judges in each group, that means even if contestant A gets 40 votes=12 points to contestant B’s 10 votes= 3 points, the judges may still vote Bx3 meaning if 3 judges vote B’s as the better story, he gets 30 points.

In other words, audience participation is rigged not to be the ultimate decider at the expense of the Judge’s decisions, it is just there to complement it. If una like, inbox una friends to beggi beggi for votes, una go tire. Plus the best story will still draw better votes.

Lerrus do this. Start sending your stories.

H.E.D.

~ Originally Posted on Facebook.com by Hymar David.