RADIANT PROSE WRITING CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES AND CONDITIONS
SPONSOR
This promotion (the “Contest”) is sponsored by HarperCollins Publishers (“Sponsor”), 10 East 53rd Street, New York, New York, 10022.
ELIGIBILITY
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To enter, complete the entry form at www.radiantprose.com (the “Web Site”). You will be required to provide (i) your prose submission, (ii) full name, (iii) postal address, (iv) email, (v) phone number, and (vi) date of birth. Submissions longer than 5,000 words will be rejected. Multiple entries are automatically disqualified, and only the first submission will be considered.
The contest is open to all legal residents of the United States, 14 years of age and older by April 20, 2010, excluding employees and immediate family members of Sponsor, and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, assigns, advertising, promotional and fulfillment agents, attorneys, and other representatives and the persons with whom each of the above are domiciled. Offer void outside the United States and wherever prohibited or restricted by law.
Each entrant in the Contest must be the rightful owner or have authorized use of the email account indicated by the entrant’s email address. In the event of a dispute concerning the identity of the winner submitting an entry, the winner will be deemed to be the person in whose name the email account is opened. The email account must be opened prior to 9:00 AM (EST) on April 20, 2010.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Your submission must satisfy all of the following requirements:
- No longer than 5,000 words. (Entrant may choose, but isn’t required, to include within their allotted 5,000 word count an expanded description of their piece, beyond the 250-character synopsis allowed within the description field of the submission form.)
- A title of no more than 25 characters.
- A 250-character synopsis/description.
- No images or illustrations of any kind.
- Prose fiction only―poetry, plays, screenplays, and non-fiction are not acceptable.
- No fan-fiction, science fiction, erotica, or any elements relating to Celtic folklore (i.e., faeries, selkies, etc.). (vii) No material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to material that violates privacy, publicity, or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement.
- No material promoting sexually explicit, obscene, pornographic, violent, self-mutilating (e.g., relating to murder, the sales of weapons, cruelty, abuse, etc.), discriminatory (based on race, sex, religion, natural origin, physical disability, sexual orientation, or age), illegal (e.g. underage drinking, substance abuse, computer hacking, etc.), offensive, threatening, profane, or harassing conduct or behavior.
A submission that that does not satisfy all of the above requirements will be disqualified without notification.
ENTRY PERIOD
The Contest will commence on April 20, 2010 (9:00 AM EST). The last entry will be accepted on June 18, 2010 (11:59:59 PM EST).
SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS
The winners will be selected during two rounds of judging.
The preliminary round will be judged by three representatives from Sponsor based on the following criteria: (i) creativity (25%), (ii) originality (25%), (iii) writing style (20%), and (iv) entertainment (20%). The remaining ten percent (10%) will be determined by the voting of visitors to the Website. Based on these criteria, six finalists will be selected.
During the final round of voting, Melissa Marr will review the submissions of each finalist based on the criteria above equally (25% for each) and select the three Grand Prize Winners. The remaining finalists will be named the First Prize Winners.
The winners will be chosen on or about July 16, 2010. All potential winners will be notified by email. Potential winners may be required to sign and return to Sponsor an declaration of eligibility and release of liability (the “Declaration”), and, if the Declaration is not returned within 7 days of notification, the potential winner will be deemed to have forfeited the prize, and an alternate potential winner will be chosen. Potential winners who have not reached the age of majority in their state of residence will be required to have their parent or legal guardian execute and return the Declaration.
By participating, entrants agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates and assigns, and their respective advertising and promotion agencies from any and all liability or damages associated with acceptance, use or misuse of any prize received in the Contest.
PRIZES
Three (3) Grand Prize winners will each receive (i) a written critique of their submission (and possible phone call) by Melissa Marr, (ii) a $50 Apple gift card and (iii) a four (4) signed hardcover copies of books by Melissa Marr. Approximate retail value: $120.00 (Neither the written critique nor the phone call has a monetary value).
Three (3) First Prize winners will receive (i) a $25 Apple gift card and (ii) a signed hardcover edition of Radiant Shadows. Approximate retail value: $42.00.
Approximate retail value of all prizes: $486.00.
Only one prize will be awarded per individual, family, or household. All prizes are non- transferable and cannot be sold or redeemed for cash. Sponsor may substitute a cash payment of equal or greater value for the prize. Any federal, state, or local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner.
In Sponsor’s sole discretion, a potential winner may be disqualified and required to forfeit his/her prize, and an alternate winner may be selected in accordance with these Official Rules from among the remaining eligible entries, if sufficient time exists, if the potential winner: (i) is unreachable or winner notification is returned as undeliverable; (ii) declines or cannot accept, receive, or use the prize for any reason; or (iii) does not comply with these Official Rules. Forfeited prizes may not be awarded.
CONDITIONS
By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the judges, which shall be final, and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Contest and/or these Official Rules. Acceptance of prizes constitutes permission to use the winner’s prose, name, likeness, biography, and prize won for purposes of advertising, promotion, and publicity without additional compensation, except where prohibited or restricted by law.
The entrants further acknowledge that Sponsor has no obligation to post a submission on the Website and that, if Sponsor chooses to do so, Sponsor may post the entrant’s first name, initial of last name, and city of residence to identity them as the author of the submission on the Website.
By submitting the submission, the entrant represents and warrants to Sponsors that the submission is wholly original and does not infringe upon or otherwise violate any copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other proprietary right of any person or entity. In consideration for Sponsor considering the submission for the Contest, entrant grants Sponsor a perpetual, fully-paid, non-exclusive license to display the submission in connection with the Contest throughout the universe in any manner, form, or format now or hereinafter created, including, but not limited to, on the Internet, all without further consent from or payment to entrant.
The entrants release, discharge, and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, and assigns, and their respective employees, attorneys, representatives and agents, including advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, from any and all liability or damages arising from the administration of the Contest and the use or misuse of any prize received in the Contest, including, without limitation, the following: (i) late, lost, incomplete, delayed, misdirected, or unintelligible entries, (ii) any printing, typographical, administrative, or technological errors in any materials associated with the Contest, including, without limitation, entry materials and prize notifications, and (iii) any damage to the entrant’s computer and related equipment and software resulting from entrant’s downloading of information regarding the Contest or participation in the Contest. Entry materials and prize notifications that have been tampered with, altered, or do not comply with these Official Rules are void.
Sponsor may only use the personally identifiable information obtained from the entrants in accordance with these Rules and its privacy policy located at www.harperteen.com/footer/privacyPolicy.aspx.
Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel, or suspend this Contest should an error, virus, bug, computer problem, or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control that corrupt the administration, security or proper operation of the Contest and, in such situation, to select the winner from the remaining eligible non- suspect entries received prior to and/or after such action or in such manner as deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Sponsor may prohibit you from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that you are attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, hacking or employing other unfair practices or by abusing other entrants or the representatives of Sponsor.
ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND, IN SUCH EVENT, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PURSUE THEIR REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING COSTS AND ATTORNEY’S FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.
Any dispute arising from the Contest will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of laws principles, and the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the State and Federal Courts located in the State and County of New York over them and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.
THE ODDS OF WINNING DEPEND UPON THE QUALITY AND NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE ENTRIES RECEIVED.
For the names of prize winners, email your request to radiantprose@harpercollins.com after August 1, 2010 or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to RADIANT PROSE WRITING CHALLENGE, c/o HarperCollins Publishers, 10 East 53rd Street, 15th floor, New York, NY 10022. All requests for a list of winners must be received by January 15, 2011.
If your electronic entry was not successfully transmitted, please contact us at radiantprose@harpercollins.com.
