New writers: think twice before entering WOTF. Think twice before listening to pros who brush away your doubts. This is a short thread with receipts from multiple sources about things to consider:
If you are queer and/or your submission features queer characters, you might experience pressure to de-queer your winning story.
If you are female-presenting, you may be body-shamed before you even arrive at the contest for the dress you choose for the gala: anaealay.com/2014/05/07/win…
If you are vegetarian, you may be fed steak: anaealay.com/2014/05/07/win…
None of these things may happen to you at all! You may go and have a perfectly lovely time. But consider this: the contest is directly affiliated with the CoS. The press that prints the anthology falls under the CoS umbrella: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author_Se….
Recent documentaries and accounts (such as Going Clear) have documented abuse by CoS of its members, including forced labor:
If you go to WOTF, you'll meet many lovely CoS staff tasked with making sure you have fun that week. Afterwards you'll wonder if they were paid a fair wage. You'll wonder if they were there voluntarily. You'll wonder if they could be truthful about it if you asked them.
The anthology may sell well! It might hit the bestsellers list! You'll be proud of this, until you're told that the pattern of the sales numbers may indicate gaming the system, and the buying patterns seem to track to major CoS locations:
Finally, you may have anxiety attacks over even thinking about talking about this publicly. You may wonder if you can talk about your thoughts and experiences openly like you would anything else, wondering if there'll be repercussions.
None of this is worth a single short story sale and workshop.
No other story sale to any other SFWA-qualified market will put you through all of this. Skip WOTF, and save yourselves the potential of going through any or all of this.
Adding in the voice and experience of fellow winner @AuthorAlden:
And fellow winner @mattdoveywriter has this to say about the contest:
I'll keep adding links as I come across them. In summary, it's time to stop supporting WOTF. It's time to stop pointing new writers toward the contest.
Former winner @jkcheney on the fear of speaking out:
Which reminds me: if you're a former winner or published finalist who is having ambivalent feelings about your participation, please feel free to reach out to me directly. I know what you're going through, and I'm happy to listen. <3
Another former winner fresh from the contest:
Former winner @TinaGower discusses WOTF and asking for accommodations for a disability:
