Contest Ethics

The Write Place will abide by the Contest Ethics released by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses in 2005. CLMP's community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to

1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors;
2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and
3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public.

This code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

The Write Place's definition of conflict of interest situations:

The winner of The Write Place 2012 Book Contest cannot be someone whose work the judges recognize during the blind judging process. If an entrant's work is recognized during the judging process, his/her entry fee will be refunded.
If anyone knows of any conflict of interest influencing a result in our contest, please make us aware of it and we will investigate and report our findings. Contest fees will be refunded upon request.
Contest fees will help to cover costs related to administering our contest and printing and publicizing the winning book. They will not benefit any other area of our business.

Contest Rules

Eligibility – The Write Place 2012 Book Contest is open to contestants 18 years of age or older at the time of submitting an entry. Employees of The Write Place and the immediate family members of such employees (parent, child, sibling, spouse) and persons living in the same household as such employees (whether related or not) are not eligible. The Write Place reserves the right, at its sole and absolute discretion, to disqualify any individual and any or all of his/her entry(ies) deemed in The Write Place's sole and absolute discretion to be (a) violating the official submission guidelines (see paragraph 5); (b) violating the general conditions (see paragraph 7); or (c) acting in an unfair or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person or act fraudulently in any manner. Void where prohibited.
Contest Period – The opportunity to submit an electronic manuscript to The Write Place 2012 Book Contest begins 12:00:01 a.m. CDT on October 10, 2011 and ends 11:59:59 p.m. CDT on January 10, 2012. Snail mail submissions must be postmarked between October 10, 2011 and January 10, 2012.
How to Enter Contest – More than one manuscript may be submitted by an author, but they should be sent separately, with separate entry fees. Entries will be accepted in two ways:
1. Mail*
  1. Please include two cover pages: one with title of manuscript, author's name, address, telephone number, and email address, and one with title of manuscript only.
  2. Print and fill out Entry Form. Please read and follow all instructions on the page carefully.
  3. Include a $25 check or money order made out to The Write Place, or pay online.
  4. Fasten the pages with a removable clip.
  5. Send manuscript and fee to:
    The Write Place
    709 Main Street, Suite 2
    Pella, A 50129
  6. Manuscripts will not be returned at the conclusion of the contest. Please do not send your only copy.
    *Print manuscripts with no existing digital copy will be accepted; if such a manuscript is chosen as the winner, author may be asked to cover OCR scanning fees.
2. Electronic
  1. Fill out our online Entry Form. Please read and follow all instructions on the page carefully.
  2. Make your payment of $25 using Pay Pal at our secure site.
  3. Attach application and manuscript to an email. In your email, give your name and title of your manuscript.
  4. Attached manuscript should include two cover pages: one with title of manuscript, author's name, address, telephone number, and email address, and one with title of manuscript only.
Judging
1. Upon receipt of manuscript, The Write Place contest entry coordinator will remove identifying information about the author from the manuscript, and assign it a unique number. Entry coordinator will also enter name, address, name of manuscript, and the number assigned into our database, in order to keep track of the work.
2. Cover sheets are filed in a folder that will remain unopened until after final decisions have been made. Manuscripts, only identifiable by the assigned number, are then forwarded to the contest judges (two Write Place editors), who will select finalists. After the judges have selected finalists, affirming that they have no knowledge of who authored the manuscripts, they will rate each manuscript on a point-based system. The manuscript with the most points will be the winner. Point totals will be kept confidential. The judges' decisions are not subject to appeal. Categories will be:
  1. Writing
    1. Quality.
    2. Mechanical correctness (grammar, spelling, punctuation).
    3. Text follows generally accepted principles of good writing for the genre.
  2. Content:
    1. Quality.
    2. Organization and flow.
    3. Presentation of subject in an interesting, knowledgeable, and complete way.
  3. Title: Generates interest in and fits content of the book.
  4. Illustrations or photographs (if applicable): High quality, understandable, and enhance the material.
  5. Post-publication potential: Ability to reach wider audience, ability to generate media interest, etc.
Submission Guidelines
1. The submission must be in English.
2. The submission must be previously unpublished as a print or e-book.
3. The submission should be a completed manuscript.
4. The submission can be in any genre, including story collections, novels, memoirs, other nonfiction, poetry collections, and indeterminate prose.
5. Contest submissions should not be more than 400 pages.
6. Winning submission must be provided to The Write Place as a Microsoft Word document. Print manuscripts with no existing digital copy will be accepted; if such a manuscript is chosen as the winner, author may be asked to cover OCR scanning fees.
7. The submission may contain up to 30 photographs or other graphics. Winning author must have proper permissions to use these images and must provide these images in digital format. The Write Place will scan hard copies or execute photo enhancement on digital files for a minimal fee. In children's book submissions, all illustrations must be completed and provided at the time of submission.
8. The submission should not require extensive editing.
9. The submission may be entered by someone other than the author or owner of the copyright. However, if the submission is chosen as a finalist, the owner of the copyright will be required to sign off on the contest rules.
10. The submission cannot include matter that infringes or violates the rights of another, living or deceased, including but not limited to promotion, privacy, or academic property rights.
11. The submission cannot belittle any brand names or trademarks.
12. The submission cannot belittle any parties involved or affiliated with the promotion and administration of this contest including but not limited to The Write Place and administrators.
13. The submission cannot contain any matter that is obscene, hateful, distasteful, offensive, malicious, tortuous, or libelous.
14. The submission cannot contain matter that encourages or promotes racist attitudes, hatred, harm, or intolerance towards any individual or group or that encourages or promotes prejudice based upon gender, sex, ethnicity, disability, religion, national origin, age, or sexual orientation.
15. The submission must contain material appropriate for publication in an open forum (as determined by The Write Place). For example, inappropriate material would include but not be limited to material relating to unlawful activities, property damage, or threats thereof, profanity, threats of physical violence, or material that is in violation of the laws and/or regulations in any jurisdiction where submission is created.
Release
By participating in The Write Place 2012 Book Contest and/or accepting The Write Place publishing contract, you thereby release The Write Place and its employees, directors, officers, and agents from and against any claim or cause of action, including but not limited to damage to or loss of property, personal injury or death, through participation in the promotion or receipt or use or misuse of any The Write Place publishing contract.
General Conditions – The Write Place reserves the right to terminate, suspend, and/or adjust the contest or any part of it, if any fraud, technical failures, or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the contest, as determined by The Write Place in its sole discretion. The Write Place may take all necessary steps to verify information related to claims made by entrants. If terminated, The Write Place, in its sole discretion, may determine The Write Place 2012 Book contest winners from among all non-suspect, eligible submissions received up to time of such action using the judging procedure as outlined above. At The Write Place's sole discretion, it reserves the right to prohibit and ban any individual it finds to be acting in violation of the official rules or of those of any other promotion or in any unfair or disruptive manner, and void all associated submission(s). Any attempt by any person to intentionally undermine the legitimate operation of the contest may be a violation of criminal and/or civil laws, and if such attempt be made, The Write Place reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorney fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Write Place's failure to enforce any term of these official rules shall not constitute a waiver of that rule or condition.
Limitations of Liability – Contestants waive any and all claims and causes of action against The Write Place, its employees, agents and volunteers, which may arise as a result of their participation in The Write Place 2012 Book Contest.
Finalists and Winners – The Write Place 2012 Book Contest will be a blind-judged competition. 10 finalists will be chosen among all the submissions. One winner will be selected and announced on February 25, 2012, to receive publication of his/her manuscript as a print book and e-book. Winning manuscript will receive editing, front and back cover design, interior design, layout, and printing coordination services. The winner will sign a three-year, non-exclusive publishing contract with The Write Place. Copyright will remain in name of the author.

The other 9 finalists will be offered publication with The Write Place with a choice of a $200 discount on the quoted publication cost or as a starter book marketing package.

The Write Place 2012 Book Contest winner will be required to do an interview with the staff from The Write Place for promotional purposes of the business and the contest. Contest winner and/or finalists may also be asked to write blogs on our site. The Write Place will have the rights to make excerpts from the work, including cover, viewable on its Web site or its partner Web sites. All contestants acknowledge and agree that the Write Place shall have unrestricted right to use any and all information regarding the contestant, the manuscript content, and other information received by The Write Place for promotion, marketing, and advertising purposes.