CALISTO 2: Call for Writers and Editors

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Carlos Be
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CALISTO 2: Call for Writers and Editors

Post by Carlos Be »

A second iteration of CALISTO, a HS regs set, will be ready for mirrors beginning in Fall of 2021. I will be head editor, and many other editors of CALISTO 1 will be working on CALISTO 2 in some capacity. We aim to produce generally accessible questions that nonetheless reward players for engaging with material beyond remembering common clues that show up in many packets. Our distribution is not completely finalized, but it will not be too different from the distribution we used in Calisto 1.

It has long been observed that writers for high school sets are egregiously underpaid. To try to remedy this, we will raise our mirror fee to $17. This is still far less than the average tournament fee, and it is less than the cost of an NAQT IS Set, so we do not expect that this will be a burden on hosts.

We will be seeking writers and editors through an open application. High schoolers are welcome to apply, and we encourage less-experienced writers to apply as well. You do not need to be affiliated with California to apply, although in some cases we may have a slight preference for writers from California.

Applying to Edit:

We are looking for editors in the following categories:
History
Literature
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Other Science
Visual Arts
Auditory Arts
Religion
Mythology
“Philosophy and Social Science” (this is a single category)
Geography
Popular Culture

All applicants must submit a writing sample of questions in the category or categories you’re applying for. If you are applying for a single category, write 3/3 in that category. If you are applying for multiple categories, write 2/2 in each category. Tossups should be powermarked. In evaluating your submissions, we will be primarily looking for evocative and interesting clues, accurate estimation of difficulty, and clear, concise prose. The writing sample should consist of new questions written specifically for the application; do not submit old questions that you wrote for other sets.

In addition to a writing sample, you may (but are not expected to) include any references you may have, especially those that attest to your work ethic or ability to meet deadlines. Additionally, you may include a short paragraph about anything related to quizbowl writing/editing that you feel is relevant to your application.

Submit your application by email to justinfrench1728 AT gmail DOT com. Set the subject line to “Calisto 2 Editor Application,” and please attach the application as a text file or google doc. We will accept editors on a rolling basis until there are no more available positions.

Finally, if you would like to edit a category that is a subset of one of the categories listed above (say math or poetry), email me and I will let you know if we will be willing to accommodate that.

Applying to Write:

To apply to write, simply submit one tossup and one bonus to justinfrench1728 AT gmail DOT com. These questions should be new and specifically written for the application. The application is primarily a show of commitment rather than a show of writing ability, so we probably will not evaluate the questions as we will do with the editor submissions. However, in the case that more writers apply than we have room for, we will evaluate applications based on clue choice and quality of prose. If you are applying as an editor but would still want to work on the set as a writer if you are not accepted, you do not need to submit a separate writer application. All writer applications should be submitted before 11:59 PM on January 10th.
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Carlos Be
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Re: CALISTO 2: Call for Writers and Editors

Post by Carlos Be »

This is a reminder that the deadline to apply as a writer is January 10th. No writer applications submitted after that date will be read. For editors, everyone who submits before January 10th will be considered, though we may extend the editor deadline if not enough people apply.
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Carlos Be
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Re: CALISTO 2: Call for Writers and Editors

Post by Carlos Be »

Tomorrow is the last day to apply as a writer. Remember to get your apps in before 11:59 pm, or else they will not be considered.
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Carlos Be
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Re: CALISTO 2: Call for Writers and Editors

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We have received over 50 applications, included 18 today and 6 in the last five minutes before midnight. Unfortunately given this sheer number we will have to reject quite a few applicants. We hope to respond to everyone who applied within the week.
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Carlos Be
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Re: CALISTO 2: Call for Writers and Editors

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We have made decisions on all of the writer apps. If you have not already been notified of your acceptance, then you have not been accepted. We will respond to everyone who has been rejected with a couple points of feedback on their sample, hopefully within the next few days.
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