On being an ENnies judge

Crothian said:

Each year has gotten steadily harder. And this year I was a fool and took the Submission Coordinator position.

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Eek, that's the worst! Thanks for doing it and with any luck someone else will volunteer to do it next year.

EricNoah said:

Eek, that's the worst! Thanks for doing it and with any luck someone else will volunteer to do it next year.

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Heh. Remember the first year when I did it from here? Books shipping back and forth across the Atlantic! That was a stupid move on my part!

Wow. I think Mark hit it square on the head. This was my second year judging, and at times it's no picnic, but other times it's a hell of a lot of fun and I'm glad I am able to contribute to what the awards are, and what they will become.

Will I run for a judges slot again next year? I don't know. There is a part of me that wants to try my hand at writing, and if that works out, then no, I won't. But if it doesn't, maybe I will. I'm sure my wife would rather that I didn't so she can get the coffee table & dining table back on weekends, and so she can see me in the evenings, especially as things come to a head and I get home and disappear into the game room to read for hours on end. But she sees how happy I am busting my ass to get all the books read, and I know she's proud of me in her own, non-gamer, way. That's the coolest thing, to know that not just the people here, but the people in my life outside of gaming are happy that I'm doing something that I enjoy.

And I like giving back to the community as well. All the judges give a collective "Best of" list to you to vote upon, but I really enjoy going to game days and conventions and dropping a stack of books on the door prize table and saying "Here, these are courtesy of ENWorld and the ENnies Judges" and seeing peoples eyes light up. And slipping a book to someone at a gametable that I just met and telling them "You might like this". Those are the things that I really enjoy after the hard work is over.

Let me thank the other judges, the staff, and everyone who takes the time to vote for us, vote for the awards, and participate in the discussions about the ENnies. We know they are not perfect yet, but we are busting our butts to make them as perfect as the can be, and next year the judges and staff will do the same and make them even better. Thanks!

Morrus said:

Heh. Remember the first year when I did it from here? Books shipping back and forth across the Atlantic! That was a stupid move on my part!

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At least the number of submissions was reasonable back then. I had to dedicate our entire spare room to storage of ENnies stuff the next year!

EricNoah said:

At least the number of submissions was reasonable back then. I had to dedicate our entire spare room to storage of ENnies stuff the next year!

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Good lord!

How much stuff do you guys get?

Morrus said:

Heh. Remember the first year when I did it from here? Books shipping back and forth across the Atlantic! That was a stupid move on my part!

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This will take you back...

Here's a pic of the package as it arrived to me (first year judge, pic taken in case there was an insurance issue). It appears the package had been virtually destroyed, the portion with the label cut off to reuse, the actual contents re-wrapped in a garbage bag, secured with excessive amounts of tape, then the original package label section reapplied to the new packaging. It seemed appropriate to use a battlemat as a background. Quite attractive, eh?

Heh... putting out the praise thread BEFORE the nominations are announced and everyone decides you are a poopyhead for not nominating their (favorite) product. Clever.

BiggusGeekus said:

Good lord!

How much stuff do you guys get?

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without craning my neck or leaving me seat I can count over 80 products lying around.

I think I heard 54 publishers entering being bandied about this year. But I could be wrong!

BiggusGeekus said:

Good lord!

How much stuff do you guys get?

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The submissions coordinator got six copies of every submitted item. I would then find five boxes, divvy up as much stuff as would fit, tape the boxes up and label them, and haul them to the local Mailboxes Etc. store and ship them to the other five recipients. I must have sent out four or five big waves of shipments over about a month's time.

So not only was I storing the submissions themselves, I was also storing empty boxes and packing materials, pre-printed labels, etc. And no, it didn't actually fill the entire room floor to ceiling.