My suggestion would be to announce the next fest much earlier, think up a publicity campaign, and have it run during a time when there are less fandom fests (February? August?). I completely agree. October is the midst of the academic term, when students have exams and teachers have grading, and a lot of active writers are busy creating their holiday exchange submissions. HP Beholder isn't running next year, so you could try to slot into the gap that leaves in people's spring fannish activity.