I would say absolutely except that I don’t know if I’m going to make it after all [sub]because of money and things and… creeps off mumbling[/sub]
gasps and tries to pull you back Try to get ahold of Bliz! Those who volunteer enough for RF get their reg for free! flails
I’m still looking into it–not so much the registration but the hotel and travel.
Might be good to find mates to crash with at this point. Spirit and I are kind of opening our apartment for any stragglers as well X3
@Jess: I appreciate how you’re approaching this and thinking about it because “First Impressions” as a title cuts the edge out of “Slush Pile” and simplifies. It could also be helpful to clarify from the beginning that this panel is about focusing on prose and hook strength in a single page of fiction.
Something I’d suggest happen before the panel is a mock session. Practicing could boost both the confidence and the comfort of the hosts with speaking in front of an audience. I think even the most polite people can overcompensate under pressure if they aren’t prepared for a public speaking event like this ahead of time. The panelists could cycle through the same pages twice to see if their stopping point is the same as the first reading and reflect upon precision. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a few people watching to create a present audience effect since that would make the mock session more realistic.
Of course, if we’re dealing with hosts who have done this before (somebody like yourself, if I read your post correctly) the mock session might not be necessary. I absolutely agree with you in that the success of this panel depends on how it is organized, who is involved and how it is presented. And I’d really like something like this to succeed.
Last, just a curiosity since you’ve been in two of these panels previously-- would volunteer readers announce frequent silent typos like your/you’re and their/there/they’re or would they just ignore them? Because that is also something to think about when considering an auditory judgment vs a visual judgement.
First, since I’m officially going now, I would be happy to help with this panel if it goes through and if anyone wants my two cents 
As a live reader, I ignore typos. Sometimes the editor will mention that there are typos (not specifically, just saying, “I also saw a couple typos and this could count against the work” or something to that effect).
The way we’ve done it before is to read the work live without anyone having prior exposure to it. This has pros and cons…Pros being, obviously, people HAVE to give their first reaction. Cons being, people might not be able to temper their first reaction or make their criticism constructive. We would have to trust in the professionalism and tact of the panelists. (Being able to say things like, “There’s lots of energy, but the writing feels green, and this is why…” as opposed to, “Cool idea, crappy writing.” ) Another con is that something I observed last year…
We offer agent meetings to the first paid attendees of our conference. They get 15 manuscript pages critiqued and a short one-on-one session with the agent. The agent told one attendee she loved the story and to send it on to the agency when it was done.
During the panel, the same agent fell on board with the critique of ‘don’t start with a character waking up/dreaming’ …though she half-heartedly defended the writing at the same time. This illustrates my point that people who are asked to critique, will.
So maybe giving the panelist time to read the first page beforehand would be a good idea in this case, so they can form their own opinions separate of the group. In the example listed above, the agent thought the writing was strong enough to request a full, despite breaking the “rule” of ‘don’t start with a dream.’
I think it would be interesting and healthy for writers to see that even editors can have differing opinions on the same work.
What was my point… oh yeah. Let them read it at least a little beforehand. 
I’m going to try to prod Kits into reading the add-ons to this thread now that we have someone with actual experience offering to run it :3 Hopefully that’ll encourage him to suggest it to Sterling since Copper has obviously seen a good amount of what works and doesn’t work on both sides.
Yeah. Jess seems to be on top of things and would be a super valuable asset to a panel like this. I think the energy and the initiative and the experience she brings in is just fantastic.
This is incredibly encouraging. Now there’s the chance for RF to try something brand new, in experienced hands, with someone who has the knowledge and know-how to put many worries to rest. Anyone else excited? wriggles
fluffs ;D weeelll.
No, but seriously. If everyone goes into it with the right mindset, it can be quite helpful.
Sounds fun! I’d participate one way or the other I think.