May 21, 2024
You read the title right. We missed the mark on the Short Story Contest, 2023. We only had one entry into the contest. We have been trying to issue a refund as per our policy and we just contacted the individual and will issue a refund for them.
We have understood that Facebook advertisement alone does not push sales. Facebook only sends us the attention and riff-raff, but does not maximize sales. So we have to try alternative means for driving sales for our paid contests.
We are also running our Poetry Contest now. That is always a popular one. We have brought on Dr Amina Blackwood-Meeks to be our evaluator this year. We are so grateful and honoured to have her on board to assist us this year.
We will also run our TropicSpin Music and Song Competition. We have had so much trouble with that one. This is a free contest, no payment required. But we will have to trim down the prize money. We were finding it difficult to meet that amount, so we had to cut it. Also, last year’s winner was impatient because we took long to pay them, and they were quite discourteous to boot. Classless over a song that we believe was just plain awful. You can go back and watch last year’s TropicSpin and read the Caribbean Magazine Plus archives to see who won and listen to their song. To us, it was poorly written, poorly produced and most of all, they had no real musical or artistic talent, and you could tell. Had it not been for us seeing where their votes were coming from- their own family and some of them voting more than once, they would and should have been laughed at for how poor their submission was. To top it all off, not only were they harassing the staff of this magazine for their prize money, they began bad mouthing the magazine until it got back to one of our sponsors, who approached us on it. (Thankfully, they still came on board again for us this year because they know what it is we are trying to do and believe in Caribbean talent.)
But, because we geared the competition to be participation driven, meaning that we encouraged contestants to get their friends and family to vote for them and support them, we paid it no mind that their friend and family voted, in some instances, 10 times, we allowed it. We are building something brand new and we will work the kinks out as we move along. We are committed to find the next Rihanna or Koffee. We know you are out there and we will help to find you and expose you. We got this mission from God.
Also, because this magazine is very liberal when it comes to artistic expression, we did not box ourselves in to what only we believe was good content. If your friends and family and others believe in you, then who are we to judge?
But, we have to change the way we select winners with the Tropicspin music competition. We just have to ensure that garbage entrants don’t win, regardless if they receive a lot of votes. It will not be fair to other contestants who put their heart and soul into the contest, but really don’t have the support they should be building to take them anywhere.
So, that’s where we are with our contests for now.
Mr. Kemp, good morning, and I don’t mean that in a clockwise sense, but in a better times sense. I confess that I am admired by your sincerity to the magazine’s reading public; Many in your case are not able to recognize the difficulties in business, but I sincerely think that it is not shameful, but rather an expression of honesty and integrity, with your audience, your sponsors and with yourself. But that does not mean any defeat, but rather a time of learning. I pray to God to enlighten him and shower him with blessings, because while it is true that the magazine and the contests are a business, it is also true that it is a support and encouragement to many noble artists, writers and poets. Caribbean Magazine Plus is a gateway for many who do not find in the Caribbean world where to show their talents and their medium is a golden opportunity. I wish you good luck in 2024 and you always deserve it in your business activity. The path is made by walking, as the song says, but the desire to succeed is carried in the heart. His friend, Raúl Ignacio José Arana Irías, a Nicaraguan poet who feels honored to be part of his venture in 2022. Success forever. Greetings.