Interested in Judging the Competition?

If you have published work in one of the competition categories, we encourage you to consider judging for the competition.

Judging can be a very rewarding experience. As you evaluate some of the best work in the Puget Sound region, you will gain an in-depth appreciation of its innovation and expertise. Regardless of what you are judging, you'll have the opportunity to get a peek at entries in all three competitions - Art, Online, and Publications. We always get a lot of interesting projects to look at. All technical communication professionals are invited to serve as judges; you do not have to be a member of STC to participate.

You will also improve your network as you work with other professionals on a project that contributes to our technical communication community.

We encourage you to apply even if you have never judged before or if you feel your background is limited. Those with more limited backgrounds will be partnered with experienced judges. A variety of perspectives helps to provide the best evaluations.

What do judges do?

Judges are responsible for evaluating every entry they receive. They must provide feedback to each entrant. The evaluation is not simply a grade or checklist, but provides detailed, clear, impartial, and constructive feedback. Duties include:

  1. Review each assigned entry (up to four entries per judge).
  2. Provide constructive feedback on each entry.
  3. Meet with team members for consensus on awards (this can be by e-mail, phone, or personal meeting).
  4. Return entries in good condition by the specified date and method.
  5. Contribute to the writing of any Best of Show recommendations.
  6. Complete and return judging forms by the specified date.

Contributors enter STC competitions with not only the hope of receiving an award, but also with the expectation of receiving a thorough critique and constructive feedback from knowledgeable professionals. Judges who evaluate online or technical publications entries should plan to spend about 15-20 hours of their time on this project. This is generally the minimum time required to evaluate four entries. Judges who evaluate art entries should plan on spending 4-6 hours.

Judging schedule

Judging will take place from October 25th through November 19th. (Art entries will be evaluated in a group session on October 30th.)

Award Summary form

Apply as a judge

You will be contacted after you submit the Judge Application. If you have any questions, please contact us at:

206.623.8632

or

.