1. Eligibility: The Storyteller’s Writing Contest is open to legal residents worldwide who sign up at www.the-writers-sanctuary.com/writing-contest. Entrants must be 16 years of age or older as of their date of entry in this promotion in order to qualify. This contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations and void where prohibited by law. The Writer’s Sanctuary's employees, its subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, and directors (collectively the “Employees”), as well as members of an Employees' immediate family and/or those living in the same household of Employees are ineligible to participate in the The Storyteller’s Writing Contest.
2. Sponsorship. The sponsor is The Writer’s Sanctuary, LLC (“Sponsor”), located at 1687 Essex Way, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, United States. Sponsor will conduct the contest substantially as described in these Official Rules.
3. Agreement to Rules: By entering this contest, the Entrant (“You”) agrees to abide by the Sponsor's Official Rules and decisions, which are fully and unconditionally binding in all respects. The Sponsor reserves the right to refuse, withdraw, or disqualify any entry at any time at the Sponsor’s sole discretion. By entering this contest, the You represents and warrants that You are eligible to participate based on eligibility requirements explained in the Official Rules. You also agree to accept the decisions of the Sponsor as final and binding as it relates to the content of The Storyteller’s Writing Contest.
4. The Storyteller’s Writing Contest Entry Period: This promotion begins on September 15, 2024 at 12am PT and ends on September 30, 2024 at 11:59pm PT (“Entry Period”). To be eligible for the Contest, entries must be received within the specified Entry Period.
5. How to Enter: Eligible entrants can enter The Storyteller’s Writing Contest by submitting an entry via the online form provided at www.The-Writers-Sanctuary.com/writing-contest or to TheWritersSanctuary2@gmail.com. As a participant, your entry must fully meet all Contest requirements, as specified in the Official Rules, in order to be eligible to win a prize. Incomplete entries or those that do not adhere to the Official Rules or specifications will be disqualified at the Sponsor's sole discretion. NOTE: Participant may enter up to 5 times (5 different query letters). Participants enter by paying $25 per entry and submitting the query for a fiction manuscript via the-writers-sanctuary.com/contest-page or to TheWritersSanctuary2@gmail.com. The query entry must be a single page,12 point Times New Roman font, and 300 words or less in total.
Fraudulent methods of entry or circumvention of the rules may result in the Sponsor invalidating your entries and removing them from The Storyteller’s Writing Contest at the Sponsor’s sole discretion.
6. Prizes: The Grand Prize Winner of The Storyteller’s Writing Contest (the “Grand Winner”) will receive a 30-minute one-on-one virtual consultation with Kurestin Armada, literary agent with Root Literary, a detailed, professional feedback on your query letter and the first three chapters of your manuscript from a professional editor, a one year subscription to the Red Herrings Society, a tailored social media marketing package from LemonPOP Social, including a content calendar and custom graphics for a month.
The two Runners-Up Prize winner of The Storyteller’s Writing Contest (the “Runners-Up Winner”) will each receive professional editing services to polish your 300 word (or less) query letter and 2 page, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman font synopsis (services must be used by December 30, 2024) and a $50 gift card from Barnes & Noble.
The actual/appraised prize value may differ at the time the prize is awarded. The prizes shall be determined solely by the Sponsor. There shall be no cash or other prize substitution permitted except at the Sponsor’s discretion. The prizes are non-transferable. The Winners, upon acceptance of the prizes, is solely responsible for all expenses related to the prize, including without limitation any and all local, state, and federal taxes, IF local, state, or federal taxes or fees apply. The Winners shall not transfer assignment of the prize to others nor shall the Winners request the cash equivalent or prize substitution. By accepting the prizes, the selected Winner grants permission for the Sponsor to use the Winners’ likenesses, references to entries, quotes given, and names for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation unless prohibited by law. NOTE: IF required by law, the Grand Prize Winner must provide the Sponsor with a valid Social Security number or taxpayer-identification number before the Sponsor can award the prize. In that case, a Form 1099 would be issued to Grand Prize winner for tax purposes, in case those apply. Winners are only eligible to win one of the prizes.
7. Odds: The total number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
8. Selection and Notification of Winners: The Winners will be selected by a panel of judges assessing skills under the supervision of the Sponsor. The Sponsor will notify the Winners by email within ten days following Winners’ selections. The Sponsor is not responsible for nor shall have no liability for Winners’ failure to receive notices due to email security settings that may cause notifications to be marked as spam or junk email. Nor shall the Sponsor be liable for the Winners’ provisions of incorrect or otherwise non-functioning contact information. If the Winners 1) fail to claim their prize within 15 days from the time the award notification was sent or 2) are found ineligible, or the prizes may be forfeited and an alternate Winner(s) may be selected. Receipt of the prize (offered in The Storyteller’s Writing Contest) by the Winners is upon the condition of compliance with any and all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. IF THE WINNER(S) VIOLATES ANY OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES, THE WINNER(S) (AT THE SPONSOR’S SOLE DISCRETION) WILL BE DISQUALIFIED, AND ALL PRIVILEGES AS WINNER(S) WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED.
9. Rights Retained by You: Entrants retain all rights to their submissions (text, query, first manuscript page, writing, video, photo, etc.) into The Storyteller’s Writing Contest. The Writer’s Sanctuary recognizes all entries as being copyrighted to their original owners.
10. Rights Granted by You: By submitting an entry (e.g., text, query, first manuscript page, writing, video, photo, etc.) into The Storyteller’s Writing Contest, You understand and agree that the Sponsor, any individual acting on the Sponsor’s behalf, and the licensees successors, and assigns of the Sponsor shall, where permitted by law, have the right to reference your submission and to print, publish, broadcast, distribute that reference, along with any quotes given, as well as your name, photo, portrait, voice, likeness, image, and statements about The Storyteller’s Writing Contest, as well as your author biographical information, in any media known now or hereafter developed, in perpetuity, worldwide, and without limitation, for news, publicity, advertising, promotional purposes, trade, information, and public relations without any further notice, review, consent, compensation, or remuneration. NOTE: All entries must be original work and not violate anyone’s proprietary or intellectual property rights. Any entries that infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others will result in immediate disqualification of the participant and rescinding of or terminating the prizes(s). And any claims that arise as a result of infringement, You shall defend or settle against such claims at Your sole expense, and You shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Sponsor from any suit, etc.
11. Terms & Conditions: In its sole discretion, the Sponsor reserves the right to modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate The Storyteller’s Writing Contest should non-authorized human intervention, a bug or virus, fraud, or other causes beyond the Sponsor’s control, impact or corrupt the security, fairness, proper conduct, or administration of The Storyteller’s Writing Contest. The Sponsor, in the event of any of the above issues, may determine the Winner(s) based on all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by the Sponsor. Individuals who tamper with or attempt to tamper with the operation or entry process of the Contest or website or who violate these Terms & Conditions will be disqualified by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. In its sole discretion, the Sponsor has the right to maintain the integrity of The Storyteller’s Writing Contest, to void votes for any reason, including, but not limited to: more than five entries from the same user; multiple entries from the same computer beyond the number allowed by the Contest rules; the use of bots, macros, scripts, or other technical means for entering, or any work written by A.I. Attempts by any entrant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of The Storyteller’s Writing Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil laws. If any such attempt is made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law.
12. Limitation of Liability: Your entry into this Contest constitutes Your agreement to release and hold harmless the Sponsor and its subsidiaries, representatives, affiliates, partners, advertising and promotion agencies, successors, agents, assigns, directors, employees, and officers against and from any and all claims, liability, illness, injury, death, litigation, loss, or damages that may occur, directly or indirectly from participation in the Contest and/or the 1) Winner(s) accepting, possessing, using, or misusing of any awarded prize or any portion thereof; 2) any type of technical failure; 3) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions, phone, or Internet service; 4) unauthorized intervention in any part of the entry process or the Promotion; 5) electronic error or human error in the Promotion administration or the processing of entries.
13. Disputes: THIS CONTEST IS GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND SOUTH CAROLINA, WITHOUT RESPECT TO CONFLICT OF LAW DOCTRINES. The Entrant agrees, as a condition of participating in this promotion, that if any disputes cannot be resolved between the Entrant and the Sponsor, and if causes of action arise out of or are connected with this Contest, they shall be individually resolved exclusively before a court located in South Carolina having jurisdiction, without resorting to any form of class action. Under no circumstances in any such dispute shall the participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorney’s fees, other than participant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. costs associated with entering this Contest. The participant waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
14. Privacy Policy: Information submitted with an entry is subject to the Privacy Policy stated on The Writer’s Sanctuary website. Click here to read the Privacy Policy.
15. Winners List: You may obtain a copy of the Winners’ names or a copy of these Official Rules, by sending your request via mail with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: The Writer’s Sanctuary, PO Box 591, Arroyo Grande, CA, 92321. Requests must be postmarked no later than November 30th, 2024.
16. Social Media Channel-Specific Rules: The Contest hosted by The Writer’s Sanctuary, LLC is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Meta, X, TikTok, Squarespace, or any other social media company.
17. By entering this Contest, You, the Entrant, have affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of the Official Rules.