(wasn't sure if it should go here or in the design/theory forum.  since it seems to be really just "make up 3.5 stuff" as opposed to "make up a new game" i put it here)

copied directly from the newsletter/email i received:
(oops, sorry the table didn't come through properly)

RPG Superstar™ Will Find the Next Great RPG Designer
Competition starts October 31, 2007 on paizo.com

Paizo Publishing, LLC® is proud to announce a new RPG design contest: RPG Superstar. Starting at the end of October, paizo.com will host the first adventure game industry design contest voted on by the fans, aimed at finding the newest talent in RPG design.

"With the end of the print editions of Dragon and Dungeon magazines, Paizo has lost a conduit to find new designers," said Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo Publishing, "We're launching a RPG design contest to give unknown talent a chance to get noticed!"

Starting at noon Pacific Time on October 31, 2007, any eligible person will be able to submit an entry into the contest. For the open call, that entry will be a wondrous item using the 3.5 SRD. Each entry needs to be 200 words or less, and must include all of the proper mechanics and flavor. Judges will announce the top 32 entries on November 28; those contestants will advance to the first round of public voting, where they will be assigned a new design task and their entries will be posted on paizo.com for the public to read, critique, and vote on. The designers garnering the most votes will continue to subsequent rounds, and the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming GameMastery Modules!

Paizo has gathered together three judges to oversee the competition. Paizo's Publisher, Erik Mona, will share the spotlight with fan-favorite author and Kobold Quarterly publisher Wolfgang Baur, and Necromancer Games co-owner Clark Peterson. Each round, these judges will critique the entries before the public vote.

The fans themselves will decide which talented designers go on to the next round by casting a vote on paizo.com for their favorite contestant. Each round includes a six-day window for fans to discuss the entries and cast their votes.
Round   Round Begins   Submissions Due   Fan Voting Begins   Fan Voting Ends   Winners Announced
1   Open Call: Design a wondrous item   10/31/07   11/14/07         11/28/07
2   Top 32: Design a country   11/28/07   12/3/07   12/5/07   12/11/07   12/12/07
3   Top 16: Design a villain (complete with stat block)   12/12/07   12/17/07   12/19/07   12/25/07   12/26/07
4   Top 8: Design three thematically linked monsters   12/26/07   1/7/08   1/9/08   1/15/08   1/16/08
5   Top 6: Design an encounter   1/16/08   1/21/08   1/23/08   1/29/08   1/30/08
6   Top 4: Submit a full adventure proposal   1/30/08   2/11/08   2/13/08   2/19/08   2/20/08

The winner of the first RPG Superstar contest will be announced on February 20, 2008.

Complete rules and entry form are available at paizo.com/rpgsuperstar.

Do you have what it takes to be the next RPG Superstar? Go to paizo.com/rpgsuperstar and start your journey now!

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's GameMastery™ line offers game masters fun and useful tools to improve their fantasy roleplaying experience. Titanic Games™, Paizo's board game division, unites the greatest game designers to create compelling, challenging games like Stonehenge, the world's first Anthology Board Game™. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. Paizo's Planet Stories™ line of science fiction and fantasy novel reprints promises a master class in the genre aimed at building the greatest fantasy and science fiction library ever assembled. In the five years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Dragon and Dungeon are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. All other trademarks are property of Paizo Publishing, LLC. ©2007 Paizo.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

Hmmm, interesting...