For the third year in a row, the ebookcraft 2018 conference committee wants to test your coding abilities in the So You Think You Can Code challenge.
Do you know your semantic markups front to back? Are your ebooks the most accessible? Will you stare into the abyss that is an abysmal EPUB file while it stares back and then whip that code into shape?
If this sounds like you, you're ready to take on our EPUB coding challenge. If you want a little advantage over the competition, you can do some research by looking at the winning entries from 2017 and 2016.
We can also tell you up front what the judges will be looking for so you know how you'll be graded. The judges will be reviewing your submission with the following criteria in mind:
- fine typography
- meets accessibility standards
- device agnostic
- rich navigation
- ingenuity/creativity of design
- adherence to industry standards
- errors caught and fixed
- HTML updated to provide proper semantic markup
- semantic inflection
What you could win:
We've got some fantastic prizes for this competition. You're not doing it for the bragging rights alone (although a year's worth of bragging rights are included with every prize). You could win $2,500 cash from prize sponsor Rakuten Kobo, a one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, and a three-month subscription to FlightDeck thanks to Firebrand Technologies.
So now that you're well and properly psyched, here's how it works:
STEP 1: Read the Official Contest Rules to make sure you’re eligible and to see what’s involved in competing.
STEP 2: Sign up! This part’s easy. Use this form to toss your hat in the ring as a lone warrior or as a team of two. (And pay the entry fee of $10.)
STEP 3: Get to work. As soon as you submit the signup form, the confirmation page will have a link to download the EPUB file you’ll be working on. (Having trouble finding the file? Email SYTYCC@booknetcanada.ca and we’ll help you out.)
STEP 4: Turn our messy file into a glorious, well designed, accessible ebook.
STEP 5: Once you’re done with your submission, prepare a short brief (more than 100 words, less than a page) on your process, the decisions you made, and any other contextual information you think is relevant.
STEP 6: Time to submit and cross your fingers! Send both the EPUB and your brief as a download link or attached to an email and send it to SYTYCC@booknetcanada.ca by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, March 16, 2018.
You’ve got skills, we’ve got prizes, so let’s make beautiful ebooks together!
And, if you're interested in learning more about our conference for the eproduction community, ebookcraft, you can learn all about it here.
Questions? Write us a comment below or email SYTYCC@booknetcanada.ca.
