First and foremost, thank you so much for choosing to be a judge! We have made these criteria after reading blogs and expert advice. We've provided excerpts of the blogs to help with the judging.

**Judges have to read only the opening/first chapter for Round 1**

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Judging Criteria for the Opening/First Chapter:

1. Cover (/5)

[Was it eye-catching/boring/average? Did it fit well with the story and its theme? Did it make you want to read the book?]

2. Book Title (/5)

[Was it common/rare/outstanding? Did it fit well with the story and its theme? Did it impress you?]

3. Blurb (/10)

[Did it portray the story's theme well? Or did it say too much and ruin the essence? Did it encourage you to read the book or not? Was the blurb relatable to the opening chapter?]

4. Prologue/Epigraph (/10)

[Was it necessary for the book? Was it confusing/interesting? Could it better be the opening chapter?] *if there isn't any prologue, give 10 marks*

5. Opening Paragraph/Line (/15)

[Did it capture your attention? Was there something that builds up tension/emotion/humor in you or ordinary actions nobody cares about such as waking up, turning off the alarm clock, going to the bathroom etc.?]

6. Protagonist (/20)

[Did you get to know the gender, age and maybe social status/work/position in society; most importantly, the emotions the protagonist feels? Was the character realistic? Did the character pique your interest? Did you honestly care about the protagonist?] 

**According to a blog, whoever we meet first in a book is the character we'll bond with. If that person gets killed on page five, we feel cheated. We don't need to know a huge amount about the MC right away, but we need to know enough to care**

7. Theme (/5)

[Did you get to know the theme? For example, William Gibson began 'Neuromancer', the novel that defined cyberpunk: "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." The author lets us know from the get-go this is about the dark side of technology. Did the theme impress you?]

8. Tone (/5)

[Did it fit well with the story and its theme? For example, you don't want to start a romantic comedy with a gruesome murder scene, or open a thriller with light, flirtatious banter. Did it make you want to read the book?]

9. Setting (/10)

[Was there any? Was it beautifully described or was it just a ton of physical description, making it boring? Did it fit well with the story and its theme?]

10. Conflict (/10)

[Was there any? Was it interesting/boring/average?] 

**According to a blog, conflict can be of many types. For example, in Harry Potter: the opening chapter is basically Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Professor McGonagall leaving Harry with the Dursleys. No violence or death, but there is a subtle emotional conflict that lets the reader know something bad happened and a lot more is to come.

Conflict also doesn't have to be serious or dark. A couple of friends having a friendly race for a small but desirable prize (like being able to deliver good news at the destination, or getting first choice of cake) is conflict. The protagonist having an argument with his mother over whether sugar or honey is tastier on porridge is conflict**

11. Goal (/10)

[Did the protagonist have any or was it just about every day life? For example, in the opening chapter of Stephen King's 'Doctor Sleep', the protagonist is haunted and tries to find a way to stop it.] 

**According to a blog, we need a goal in chapter one that will lead to the ultimate goal of the story**

12. Major Supporting Characters (/10)

[Were the characters interesting/boring? Did the characters play a vital role or are they unlikely to re-appear in the future chapters?] 

**According to a blog, a lot of new writers tend to clutter up the opener with colorful characters who never appear in the story again. This can irritate a reader, who expects people in the opener to re-appear and play an important role**

13. Ending (/15)

[Was it interesting/boring/average?] [Did it make you want to read the next chapter?]

~~Total (/130)~~

Please Note - Results should NOT be sent as a comment or they will not be accessed. It should be sent as a PM to this account.

Judging should begin immediately after books have been assigned to judges. Judges have 4 days before deadline. We would like to make this a quick award so there should be no delay in judging.

Judges don't need to write a review but they need to provide the score-sheet.

**Results should be PMed to this account on 24th January**

Participants, good luck! Judges, happy judging!