BEGINS – 9:00 a.m. Feb 1, 2015 (US Pacific time)
ENDS – 11:59 p.m. March 15, 2015
(US Pacific Time)
Meryton Press is
conducting a contest to find the best short stories.
The theme of the contest, “Summer Lovin’,”
represents the summer season. The interpretation of the theme is left to the
writer’s imagination; the story may have summer as a backdrop or may convey a
sense of happiness and light. It might be a romantic comedy set in the South
Pacific, a thriller in the everglades of Florida, a romance in Queen Victoria’s
summer court, an ode to the ocean and Elizabeth Bennet, or a mail -order bride
in the Old West—anything your summer muse suggests.
Any genre is acceptable as long as
there is ROMANCE. Austenesque is a plus, but is not required. In other words,
so long as there is a commonly accepted or acceptable interpretation of the
theme embedded in the plot, it works for us. However, this contest is not for
children’s stories. Our target audience is readers over 18 years old.
The contest will be judged by a
panel of independent judges, and the results will be announced by
mid-April 2015.
A long list of entries will be
selected for final judging by a panel of expert editors and reviewers. The long
list will consist of at least eight quality entries. All entries
on the long list will receive a letter with constructive criticism on how the
story could have been improved. Four winners will be selected from the long
list and will be awarded prizes as detailed in the guidelines below (see “Contest
Prizes”).
In addition, all four winning
entries will be published in an anthology planned for early summer 2015. The
anthology will include not only the four winners but stories from Meryton
Press’ popular and award-winning authors.
For detailed guidelines and rules,
please refer below:
Meryton Press –
2015 Summer Lovin’ Short Story Contest Rules
The rules below govern the Meryton
Press Summer Lovin’ Short Story Contest 2015 (“Contest”).
Sponsor: The Contest is
sponsored by Meryton Press, Inc.
Eligibility: The Contest is
open to all writers 18 years old or above. There is no limit to the
number of entries per person, but this is not bingo, and more submissions do
not necessarily translate into higher chances of winning.
Contest and
Judging Criteria:
- Entries must be received by US Pacific Time 11:59 p.m. March
15, 2014. Submissions should be made to anthology@merytonpress.com
- Stories must be written in English, original and unpublished
up to the time the winners are declared on or about April 15, 2015.
- Stories must be double-spaced, in Times New Roman font
size 10 and not more than 15,000 words.
- Entries must be submitted as a Microsoft Word
attachment.
- The name of the story and total word count must be printed on the
front page of the story.
- Entries must be made under your legal name; however,
pseudonyms are permitted in the event your story is selected for
publication.
- All submissions are final. No changes or
substitutions to a story are allowed once your entry is received.
- Queries before submission are welcome but must
relate to the contest rules or difficulties in submission.
- By entering the Contest, entrants agree to allow Meryton
Press to publish their stories, names and biographical information in all
media, including but not limited to newspapers and online websites,
without any compensation except the prizes to the notified winners as
detailed under “contest rewards.” However, the above clause shall be null
and void if the entry does not make it to the Long List after first round
of judging, and all rights will revert to the authors.
- Do not send photographs with entries. Winners will
be contacted about a photograph at a later date and must agree to
publication of his/her photograph.
- In connection with your submission, you affirm,
represent, and/or warrant that you own or have the necessary licenses,
rights, consents, and permissions to use and authorize sponsors to use all
copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights in and to your
submission to enable inclusion and use of the submission in the manner
contemplated by these Contest rules.
- Sponsor reserves the right to reject and disqualify
any submissions that could be offensive or inappropriate or that do not
meet the terms and conditions of these rules.
Judging and
notification:
- The Meryton Press panel will complete the first round of judging. The
Long List will be submitted to a panel of experts who will select the
three runners up and the grand prize winner.
- In the event that less than
eight Quality submissions are received Meryton Press reserves the right to
select a smaller number of entrants for the long list.
- Entries will
be scored on plot and/or character build up, quality of narrative, and
relevance of the plot vis-à-vis the theme. Final
decision will be based on the sum total of the scores from the judges. The
decisions of the contest judges will be final in respect of any matter
relating to this Contest.
- The winners will be contacted by email by the
Sponsors; winners must reply within one working week to maintain
eligibility. If the winner(s) cannot be contacted within this time period
or fail(s) to respond to any attempted contact, such winner(s) will be
disqualified, his/her entry will be declared null and void, and the
Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole and absolute discretion, to select
another winner based on the judging criteria, in which event these
provisions shall apply to such other eligible entry.
Contest Prizes: Prizes will be
awarded as below. Payment will be through PayPal.
- First Prize:
- US$150
- Professional editing of
entry
- Blog tour inclusion
- Priority submission of
a longer work
- Four copies of
published anthology
- Runners up:
- US$100
- Professional editing of
entry
- Publication in the
anthology
- Two copies of published
anthology
Ownership/Use
Rights: Entrants retain the copyright to their stories. However,
by entering the contest and on being selected for the Long List after the first
round of judging, you grant the Sponsors:
·
A non-exclusive, royalty-free
license to publish and reproduce in part or full in online media, e-books and
traditional books
·
Permission to display your full
name, short story and photograph in connection with Sponsors’ business through
online media channels
However, before commencing with the
exercise of such license, you will be allowed seven days’ time from the date of
the Long List notification delivered to you by email to decide whether you agree
to retain your participation in the contest.
Indemnity: By participating
in this Contest, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsors
and their office bearers from any and all damages, injuries, claims, causes of
action, or losses of any kind (including but not limited to lawyers’ fees)
arising from your participation in the Contest, your violation of any term of
these Contest rules, your violation of any third party right, including without
limitation any copyright, property, or privacy right; or any claim that your
submission caused damage to a third party.
Banning: The Sponsor may
prohibit, in its sole discretion, any person from entering the Contest whom it
believes to be abusing the rules. Such abuse includes but is not limited to
falsification of information and/or identity, plagiarism, racial discrimination,
and bigotry.
Force Majeure
clause: The Sponsors are not liable for failure to perform their
obligations under these rules if such failure is as a result of Acts of God
(including natural disasters), Acts of War, civil unrest, usurped power or
confiscation, terrorist activities, prevention by statutes, or interruption or
massive and sustained failure of electricity, internet, or telephone service.
Any extension/reduction of contest
and/or the judging window will be at the sole discretion of the organizers, and
will be notified on the website if extended.
Taxes: You will be responsible for your own
federal and state income taxes. Meryton
Press is required to keep signed W-9 or equivalent for non-residents on
file. A 1099 will be issued annually per
the laws of the United States Government to US citizens and resident aliens.
Assignment of Rights: Neither party may assign this agreement without first obtaining
the written consent of the other party, unless we sell or transfer
substantially all our assets or ownership interest to the assignee, when no
consent will be needed.
Arbitration & Contract:
Our agreement is subject to the laws
of Washington State governing contracts made and to be performed there. Any disputes under the contract will be
submitted for arbitration in the State of Washington.
For queries relating to the contest,
mail us at submissions@merytonpress.com
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