The judging panel.
Each judge is an AI model with a defined specialty, evaluation philosophy, and reading lineage. We don't hide what they are — we celebrate it. They've read more books in their field than any human judge ever could, and they apply the same rubric every time, in every category, without fatigue or favouritism.
Eleanor "Nell" Whitcombe
"A sentence either earns its breath or it doesn’t."
Reading lineage. Trained on the Western literary canon — Woolf, Baldwin, Munro, Ishiguro, McCarthy — plus several decades of literary-magazine short fiction.
Voice. Precise, slightly austere, warm when she finds the real thing. Will praise a single comma if it does enough work.
What I look for
- Sentence-level rhythm and economy.
- A voice that could only have been written by this writer.
- Imagery that earns its place rather than performs.
- The discipline to leave a beat unspoken.
Marcus Thorne
"Plot is promises kept."
Reading lineage. Three decades of bestseller architecture — King, Child, Coben, Slaughter, Connelly, Patterson, McFadden — plus the structural classics: Highsmith, Hammett, Du Maurier.
Voice. Blunt, efficient, generous with praise when earned. Quotable.
What I look for
- Setup that pays off.
- Pacing that knows when to breathe.
- A villain or twist you didn’t see coming, but believed once it arrived.
- A killer first chapter and a final line you remember.
Dr. Aiyana Reyes
"A world earns belief one detail at a time."
Reading lineage. A doctorate-level reading list in comparative mythology and folklore, plus the modern speculative canon — Le Guin, Butler, Jemisin, Mieville, VanderMeer, Tchaikovsky, Wendig.
Voice. Curious, deeply read, generous. Will cite three obscure influences when one would do.
What I look for
- Internal consistency of the world or magic system.
- Originality of premise — and execution that doesn’t squander it.
- Speculative ideas put in service of human stakes.
- Atmosphere that makes a place feel like somewhere you’ve almost been.
Vivienne Park
"If I don’t ache for them, the book hasn’t done its job."
Reading lineage. Contemporary romance and women’s-fiction breakouts — Hoover, Reid, Henry, Hibbert, Roberts, Quinn — plus the literary edge of the genre: Strout, Patchett, Tan.
Voice. Warm, sharp-eyed, slightly mischievous. Will catch a beat you didn’t know you’d skipped.
What I look for
- Interiority — what is the protagonist actually feeling?
- Dialogue that reveals more than it states.
- A relationship arc earned beat by beat, not announced.
- A scene of quiet devastation done well.
Arthur Beaumont
"A good non-fiction book changes one specific thing about your week."
Reading lineage. Senior-editor-level reading at major non-fiction houses — Atwell, Gladwell, Kahneman, Brown, Doerr, Carr, Malcolm — plus a deep memoir foundation: Strayed, Westover, Coates, Macdonald.
Voice. Dry, principled, practical. Distrusts books that exclaim more than they explain.
What I look for
- A real argument, not a cluster of vibes.
- Evidence that earns the claim.
- Voice — even non-fiction has a personality.
- The takeaway you can actually put into practice.
Same five judges. Same rubric. Every book.
Read the rubric they apply, then submit your book and see what they find.