2014 Contest Statistics
READ: “How to Hook Your Reader with a Winning Beginning” by Lead Judge, Laura Thomas
READ: “Tips for Writing a Short Story” by Lead Judge, Laura Thomas
Overall Statistics – All Categories
Number of unique visitors to the contest webpage during the five-month submission period: 24,491
Total number of entries: 1,053
Percentage of unique visitors who actually entered the contest: 4.3%
Total number of participating countries: 58
Countries with most participants (see complete country list at bottom of page): US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, UK, and India
Total percentage of entries that were disqualified for not following the contest rules (especially contest rule #9) : 20%
Category 1
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Total number of entries in Category 1 (ages 18 – 21): 155
Breakdown of Category 1 by age: Age 18 (61%), Age 19 (18%), Age 20 (12%), Age 21 (9%)
Percentage of entries that were disqualified for not following the rules: 29%
Number of Category 1 entries that made it to the second round of judging: 16
Number of Category 1 entries that made it to the finals: 10
Category 2
Total number of entries in Category 2 (ages 15 – 17): 397
Breakdown of Category 2 by age: Age 15 (29%), Age 16 (28%), Age 17 (43%)
Percentage of entries disqualified for not following the rules: 19%
Number of Category 2 entries that made it to the second round of judging: 55
Number of Category 2 entries that made it to the finals: 28
Category 3
Total number of entries in Category 3 (ages 12 – 14): 337
Breakdown of Category 3 by age: Age 12 (30%), Age 13 (36%), Age 14 (34%)
Percentage of entries disqualified for not following the rules: 18%
Number of Category 3 entries that made it to the second round of judging: 45
Number of Category 3 entries that made it to the finals: 17
Category 4
Total number of entries in Category 4 (ages 9 – 11): 164
Breakdown of Category 4 by age: Age 9 (28%), Age 10 (22%), Age 11 (50%)
Percentage of entries that were disqualified for not following the rules: 15%
Number of Category 4 entries that made it to the second round of judging: 28
Number of Category 4 entries that made it to the finals: 14
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Participating Countries 2014
Top Participating Countries:
USA – 377
Canada – 142
Australia – 110
Mexico – 98
United Kingdom – 59
India – 52
Countries with 11 – 20 entries:
China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan)
Malaysia
Indonesia
New Zealand
Pakistan
Philippines
Countries with 5 – 10 entries:
Luxemburg
Nigeria
Romania
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Vietnam
Countries with 4 or fewer entries:
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belgium
Brazil
Columbia
Croatia
Curacao
Czech Republic
East Java
Egypt
Finland
France
Fyrom
Ghana
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kenya
Malawi
Maldives
Nepal
New Caledonia
Norway
Poland
Qatar
Russia
Rwanda
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Switzerland
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Ukraine
Venezuela
Zimbabwe
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When will we know how many in category 3 made it to the finals?
Hi Madison. I’m working on it right now…but I keep getting interrupted by eager young writers begging to know results! Every email and comment I stop to answer slows me down. I am going as fast as I can, but doing it right matters more than speed.
Oh, I am sooo sorry! Take your time!
Hi Ms. Laura,
When will we know how many made it to the finals?
Hi Madison. The finalists will be named on Friday this week. I can’t give you an exact time, but I’ll try to have them posted in the morning, and I will send out an email to everyone on the contest mailing list when they are up.
Thanks!
Dear Laura do we start getting the feedback after the completion of the first round itself?
Hi Arihant. In all of our contests, feedback is sent after the winners are announced. It usually takes about 2 weeks to get it done, so for this contest, you will get your feedback during the last two weeks of October.