Terms and Conditions (the Rules)
General
- The Manchester Writing Competition: The Manchester Fiction Prize 2011 (the "Competition") is organised by the Manchester Metropolitan University ("MMU").
- The Competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is not excluded by these Rules. There is no upper age limit for entry.
- Members of MMU staff (who may also be students) are excluded from being eligible to enter.
- The deadline for entries is 5pm (UK time) on Friday 12th August 2011. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered but fees may still be charged.
- Entrants must submit a short story of no more than 3,000 words in length. Titles, spaces and page numbers are not included in the word count.
- Entrants may submit as many stories as they wish, but each story must be submitted as a separate entry with a separate entry form and a separate entry fee.
- All work submitted for consideration must be the entrant's own original writing, and should not have appeared in print or appear on a website (including blogs and social networking sites) or have been broadcast, or be submitted for publication or consideration elsewhere, for the duration of the Manchester Fiction Prize (which is deemed to begin on the date of entry and end on Friday 14th October 2011. Work found to be published in print or on a website or to have been broadcast will be disqualified without refund of the entry fee.
- All work must be typed or word processed, clearly legible and written in English. Entrants should not include illustrations or art work. Pages submitted by post should be stapled, paper-clipped or loose, so that they can be separated easily for photocopying/scanning.
- Translations into English of work written in other languages can be accepted, provided that the source text is the entrant’s own original work and has not been published (in print or on a website including blogs and social networking sites) or submitted for consideration elsewhere; translations into English of work published (in print or on a website including blogs and social networking sites) elsewhere in other languages will not be accepted.
- Entries will be accepted by post or online via the competition website.
- Postal entries will only be valid if accompanied by a completed entry form and payment. Postal entrants should enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope if they would like acknowledgement of entry. Acknowledgement will normally be sent out within 28 days of entry, once the entry has been processed and checked.
- Online entries must be made via the Manchester Writing Competition website: www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk. Online entrants will be required to pay online and will receive an email acknowledging receipt of payment (at the time of payment) and an email acknowledging receipt of entry (normally within 28 days of entry, once the entry has been processed and checked).
- All entries will be assigned a number and made anonymous upon receipt. Judges will not be privy to entrants' names during the reading and judging processes. Names will be reattributed to entries only after the short list and winners have been decided.
- Entries submitted for consideration may be withdrawn from the Competition by entrants by notification in writing to be received by James Draper, Project Manager for the Manchester Writing School at MMU. Where work is withdrawn, entry fees will not be refunded.
- Amendments cannot be made to entries after they have been submitted; stories cannot be amended, corrected or substituted. If entrants wish to correct errors in stories, they must withdraw them from the Competition as above and enter again with payment of entry fee. No correspondence or discussion about amendments will be entered into.
- Entries will not be returned under any circumstances.
- MMU reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the entrant has breached any of these Rules, or made a false declaration on the entry form.
- MMU cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the Competition.
- MMU will act in accordance with current UK data protection legislation in relation to your personal data.
- The Competition and Rules will be governed by English Law and any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
- MMU reserves the right to amend these Rules where it is deemed necessary to do so or where circumstances are beyond MMU's control. Any changes to the Rules will be posted on the Manchester Writing Competition website.
- Submission of an entry will be deemed to imply unqualified acceptance of the Competition's Rules. In the event of any dispute regarding these Rules or any other matter relating to the Competition, the decision of MMU shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.
Judging and Selection
- A judging panel of practising writers will select a short-list of entrants and, from that list, select the winners. The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence about their decisions will be entered into. MMU reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice. The judges reserve the right not to award the prizes, or to reduce the prize money, if, in their opinion, such action is justified for any reason.
- Short-listed entrants will be invited to attend a prize-giving ceremony on the evening of Friday 14th October 2011. The winners will be announced at this event. Short-listed entrants will be notified by telephone on or before the end of 7th October 2011, and asked to confirm attendance at the ceremony by no later than 11th October 2011. In cases where short-listed entrants are unable to attend the ceremony, they will be invited to send a representative (a friend or relative) on their behalf; if a representative is unable to attend, short-listed entrants will be asked to submit a short written statement to be read out at the ceremony should they win.
Fees
- The cost of entry is £15.00 (sterling) per story.
- Payment may be made by cheque or postal order or debit/credit card only.
Cheques and postal orders should be made payable to "Manchester Metropolitan University".
- If the story has been received successfully but the cheque or debit/credit card payment does not clear, the entrant will be contacted by MMU within 28 days of the deadline for entries and asked to attempt payment again, or to provide an alternative method of payment, or to withdraw from the Competition.
- Online entrants who successfully submit stories but then fail to complete payment at the checkout should not attempt to enter the same story again. They will be contacted by MMU within 28 days of the deadline for entries and asked to attempt payment again, or to provide an alternative method of payment, or to withdraw from the Competition.
- In cases where payments have not cleared by 7th October 2011, entrants will be automatically disqualified from the Competition.
- Payment in any form other than cheque or postal order or debit/credit card cannot be accepted and payment via other methods is made at the entrant's own risk.
Copyright
- The copyright in each story submitted remains with the author. Entrants are deemed to grant to MMU a non-exclusive, worldwide licence over each entry submitted for the duration of the Competition (which is deemed to end on Friday 14th October 2011), and for publicity purposes thereafter.
Selected pieces may be printed in publications and journals hosted by MMU and may appear in electronic format on the MMU website, or in other electronic forms.
Entrants are free to submit stories entered into the Competition for consideration elsewhere (i.e. to other competitions or for publication) after Friday 14th October 2011.
Prizes
- "The Manchester Writing Competition: The Manchester Fiction Prize" will award one prize:
i. a cash sum of £10,000.00 to the winner(s).
The judges may decide to award The Manchester Fiction Prize jointly and divide the cash sum accordingly.
The maximum number of winners will be two.
Contact
- Postal entries should be sent to:
Manchester Fiction Prize 2011,
HLSS Finance Office,
Geoffrey Manton Building,
Manchester Metropolitan University,
4 Rosamond Street West,
Manchester,
M15 6LL,
United Kingdom.
- Queries should be sent to:
James Draper,
Project Manager: The Manchester Writing School, MMU
(+44 (0) 161 247 1787 or j.draper@mmu.ac.uk).
