Gilda Prize: "It's Always Something" Rubric
This award is given for compelling personal stories (memoir, personal nonfiction essays) told in a fresh, honest, authentic voice. They may make us think, may affect us emotionally, but always make us laugh. Here are some of the ways writers try to make things funny: exaggeration; surprise twists; unexpected endings; repetition/alliteration/puns/language play; odd metaphors; irony; snark/sarcasm; surprise; intentional errors; self-deprecation; funny coincidences; incongruous juxtapositions. But for all this, Gilda stories are told with compassion for our all-too-human foibles.
- Characters
- 0-3 Points
- Characters not well developed, without complexity, stereotyped
- Characters' actions not well motivated, not very believable
- Characters' speech and/or dialogue stilted, awkward, not very interesting or funny.
- 4-7 Points
- Characters fairly well developed; fair complexity, minimal stereotyping
- Characters' actions fairly well motivated, generally believable
- Characters' speech and/or dialogue fairly natural, interesting, occasionally funny.
- 8-10 Points
- Characters richly developed; striking complexity; no stereotyping
- Characters' actions authentic and presented with honesty and wit
- Characters' speech and/or dialogue natural, engaging, entertaining, often laugh-out-loud funny.
- Organization/story/theme. Some entries may be in story/narrative form, others a collection of essays. If the entry is a narrative, it needs to tell a strong, coherent story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. If it’s am essay collection, it should be clearly organized around a theme, a topic, or a thesis.
- 0-3 Points
- Beginning slow, doesn't pull the reader in; unsatisfactory conclusion
- Organization poorly developed or confusing (unmotivated jumps in time, unclear sequence of events, unrelated topics), making it difficult for the reader to stay engaged. Offers little authentic humor
- 4-7 Points
- Beginning adequate; conclusion fairly satisfying
- Storyline fairly easy to follow, even if complex (flashbacks, etc)
- Organization moderately engages and holds the reader's attention most of the way through the book. Moderately entertaining, with some funny moments.
- 8-10 Points
- Beginning engages the reader; conclusion very satisfying
- Storyline clear, even if complex or otherwise challenging
- Organization is compelling and fully engages the reader's attention from beginning to end ("I couldn't put it down!"). Highly entertaining with honest and witty narration leading to memorably funny moments.
- Gratuitous violence and sexuality In some stories, violence and sexually explicit materials are necessary elements; in others they are used gratuitously and distract from the story. If you feel that this book contains distractingly gratuitous, offensive material, subtract points according to the following scales. (To subtract, enter a negative number: ex. -3.) If this is not an issue in this work, skip this and go on to #4.
- 0-3 Points
- Some gratuitous, offensive violence / explicit material
- 4-7 Points
- Much gratuitous, offensive violence / explicit material
- 8-10 Points
- Too much gratuitous, offensive violence / explicit material
- Story Teller's Relationship to Her Story; Emotional impact and Significance of Story
- 0-3 Points
- Teller tells her story with little or no attempt at authorial introspection ("what/when/where/who" without the "why")
- Story has little emotional impact on the reader
- Story has little significance beyond its events and characters
- 4-7 Points
- Teller occasionally reflects on the "why" of her story
- Story has some emotional impact on the reader and some significance beyond events and characters
- Story is told with honesty and humor while developing a moderately entertaining journey with emotional impact and significance.
- 8-15 Points
- Teller engages in relevant, meaningful introspection and seems to grow as her story is lightened with humor.
- Story manages to be funny while it makes a deep emotional impact on the reader and/or opens the reader's mind to new ideas
- Story comes alive with nuance, flair, and comedic sensibilities
- Narrative Voice (The "I" of the Story), Tone. An “honest, authentic” voice is natural, comfortable, and suited to the character of the narrator and the mood of the story.
- 0-3 Points
- Narrative voice shifting, uncontrolled, unauthentic
- Voice not very fresh, dull, featureless, or humorless
- Tone insensitive, disrespectful, preachy, lecture-like, cruelly snarky
- 4-7 Points
- Narrative voice fairly consistent and moderately authentic throughout
- Voice rather interesting, somewhat engaging, moderately funny, but few surprises
- Tone generally consistent with the mood of the story; sarcasm and snark are used deliberately, not overused.
- 8-10 Points
- Narrative voice highly consistent, authentic, honest.
- Narrative voice fresh, engaging, distinct, often candidly sharing mistakes and/or life lessons with humor.
- Tone mostly consistent with the mood of the story, or when it is deliberately inconsistent, funny. Snark/sarcasm are used comedically and with care.
- Settings, Sense of Place
- 0-3 Points
- Settings are uninteresting
- Settings described inaccurately, insufficiently, or in clichés
- Story establishes little sense of place
- 4-7 Points
- Settings are fairly interesting
- Settings described with some clichés, with fair accuracy and some comic elements
- Story establishes an adequate sense of place
- 8-10 Points
- Settings fully and vividly described, accurately and without clichés
- Settings described with a sense of fun, surprisingly comic elements emphasized
- Story establishes a strong, compelling sense of place
- Language, Imagery*, Style
- *Words that evoke sensory experience and emotional response
- 0-3 Points
- Word choices often seem wrong, inappropriate, or out of synch with the story
- Profanity (if any) is not well motivated or is inappropriate to the character using it
- Imagery is clichéd or confused
- Writing style is bland, undistinguished, and basically boring
- 4-7 Points
- Word choices generally seem right, appropriate
- Profanity (if any) is fairly well motivated and generally appropriate to the character using it
- Imagery is sometimes clichéd but generally effective, with some comedic elements
- Writing style is occasionally engaging, interesting, surprising, funny.
- 8-10 Points
- Word choices are appropriate and often striking
- Profanity (if any) is well motivated and entirely appropriate to the character using it
- Imagery is vivid, fresh, striking
- Writing style is often engaging, with witty, unabashed humor (and some goofy self-deprecating humor, as well).
- Language Conventions, Structure
- 0-3 Points
- Distracting errors in grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation
- Sentence, paragraph, and/or chapter structure overly simple or overly complex
- 4-7 Points
- Some distracting errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation
- Sentence, paragraph, and/or chapter structure generally acceptable
- 8-10 points
- Almost no errors of grammar, spelling, punctuation
- Sentence, paragraph, and/or chapter structure artful
- Presentation
- 0-3 Points
- Unattractive cover art and book design
- Interior layout design features (if any) distracting, unattractive, inadequate, unhelpful (Do not subtract points for widows and orphans.)*
- Font and typesetting difficult to read or distracting
- Illustrations and/or photographs (if any) of poor quality, not identified, or irrelevant to text
- Citations (if used) confusing, unconventional, incomplete; or missing and needed**
- 4-7 Points
- Adequate cover art and book design
- Interior layout design features (if any) fairly adequate, usually helpful
- Font and typesetting adequate
- Illustrations and/or photographs (if any) of moderate clarity, generally identified, and usually relevant to text
- Citations (if used) generally adequate**
- 8-10 Points
- Attractive, appropriate, compelling cover art and design
- Interior layout design features (if any) striking, unusually helpful
- Font and typesetting clear, well-chosen
- Illustrations (if any) appropriate, clear, fully identified
- Citations (if used) clear, effective**
If you are evaluating an eBook, consider the presentation that appears in your eReader. Subtract 1-5 points if the format presented reading problems, did not flow as expected, or interfered with your experience of the story.
- *In typesetting, widows and orphans are lines at the beginning or end of a paragraph, which are left dangling at the top or bottom of a column, separated from the rest of the paragraph.
- **Citations might include endnotes, an author's note, glossary, research sources, bibliography, or other supplemental information.
- Bonus Points (0-4)
- Humor is hard to define and even harder to measure. Does this book stand out in a way you have not been able to acknowledge using the standards above? Is there something exceptional or original that was not accommodated in our categories? If so, please tell us about it in one or two sentences and add 1-4 bonus points. (Please use this option sparingly. We invited you to judge because we trust you, and we know this is subjective.)
