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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PatrickLawinger" data-source="post: 2604513" data-attributes="member: 2735">Please don't take this wrong, but I think this is a bit early. From a publisher point of view the ability to ship product directly to judges as soon as it is released is, well, not a savings by any stretch of the imagination. It is much more economical to send all of the books being entered in one package. Expect shipping costs to be a major expense for everyone and everything this year. And this is not just due to hurricanes in the Gulf. Worldwide demand for oil and gasoline have spiked as more and more countries are industrialized. Worldwide gas and oil use continue to rise. Gas prices in the USA were going up before the hurricanes took refineries offline.I would humbly suggest set shipping times. Possibly an "early" shipment for the first portion of the year's entries and a later shipping date for the final deadline. Products that get read early are not going to stay as clear in the judges' minds as the products read last. This is by no means a slam on the judges who have a massive job, it is simply a reality that the book you read 8 months ago is not as fresh in your mind as the book in your hands. Well, I had some other comments, but this is enough I suppose. My suggestion is to do whatever it takes to make shipping by the contributors easy (set times) and equitable.</blockquote>