Short Story Awards terms and conditions

The Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards 2009 (in association with Random House) terms and conditions:

1. Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these terms and conditions. By participating, entrants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions.

2. Entry is open to New Zealand permanent residents only. Employees and immediate families of Fairfax Media Sundays, Random House New Zealand and agencies associated with the Promotion are ineligible to enter. However existing Random House authors are eligible to enter.

3. To enter the “Sunday Star-Times Short Story Competition”, entrants must complete the official entry form which can be downloaded from www.shortstory.co.nz or cut out from the Sunday Star-Times from the 5th July through till 9th August and send with your manuscript to: Sunday Star-Times Short Story Competition, PO Box 1074, Auckland 1140.

4. The “Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards” commences on July 6, 2009 and closes on August 28, 2009.

5. The maximum length of entries is 3000 words.

6. All entries must be received no later than 5pm on Friday August 28, 2009, otherwise the entry will not be accepted. The Sunday Star-Times takes no responsibility for lost, damaged, misdirected, late, illegible or incomplete entries.

7. All entries must be accompanied by a manuscript, typed in English, double-spaced and on one side of A4 paper only.

8. There is no limit to the number of entries an individual may submit but each entry must be submitted individually and each entry must be accompanied by a completed 2009 entry form.

9. All personal information is to be printed on a separate cover page, with only page numbers and story title on all other pages.

10. Cover page of the Secondary School division entries must include student’s year number, school’s name, address and English teacher’s name.

11. No electronic submissions will be accepted.

12. Entries may not contain any photographs or illustrations.

13. Once an entry is submitted, the manuscript is final. The entry cannot be withdrawn and no alterations can be made to it.

14. Manuscripts will not be returned to the entrants and must be submitted by the author (except Secondary School entries which can be submitted by teachers on behalf of the author with the authors consent).

15. The Secondary School Division is open only to secondary school students. Entrants must be enrolled and attending a secondary school in New Zealand up to August 28, 2009.

16. Stories must be the original work of the entrant alone and no entry may have been published or broadcast, or submitted for publication or broadcast, or entered into any other competition until after November 1, 2009.

17. The Best Unpublished Writer will be selected from the Open Division entries submitted by writers who are “unpublished”. The Sunday Star-Times definition of an unpublished writer is one who has not had a fiction work appear in trade book format. This means that the writer has not had fiction work appear in a widely circulated book format available for sale to the general public.

18. The People’s Choice Award will be selected by online public vote from the 10 finalists in the Open Division. The People’s Choice Award prize will be presented to the finalist who receives the most valid online votes.

19. All entries submitted remain the property of the entrant. However, the Sunday Star-Times and Random House the right to publish the winning and highly commended manuscripts of the Open Division and Secondary School Division entered without fee.

20. The prize for the winners in each division is as follows:
a.    Open Division - 1st prize - $5000 cash, story published in the Sunday Star-Times and $500 worth of books from Random House; 2nd prize - $2000 cash, story published in the Sunday Star-Times and $300 worth of books from Random House; 3rd prize - $1000 cash, story published in the Sunday Star-Times and $200 worth of books from Random House.
b.    Secondary School Division - 1st prize - $1000 cash, story published in the Sunday Star-Times, work experience day at Random House, $500 cash and $500 worth of Random House books for winner’s school; 2nd prize - $500 cash, story published in the Sunday Star-Times and $300 worth of Random House books for finalist’s school; 3rd prize - $250 cash, story published in the Sunday Star-Times and $200 worth of Random House books for finalist’s school.
c.    Best Unpublished Writer - Random House experience with key members of the company, including fiction publisher Harriet Allan and $200 worth of books from Random House.
d.    People’s Choice Award - $750 cash, story published in the Sunday Star-Times and $250 worth of random House Books.
21. Winners will be announced in the Sunday Star-Times and on the Sunday Star-Times website (www.shortstory.co.nz) on November 1, 2009. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.

22. The awards ceremony (by invitation only) will be held in Auckland on October 27, 2009. The Sunday Star-Times will provide assistance to the six finalists to cover the costs (return domestic flights and one night's accommodation on the evening of the awards ceremony) in attending the awards ceremony, at the Sunday Star-Times’ sole discretion.

23. The finalists' names, entry details, biographical information and photographs will be required by Fairfax Media and will be used for promotional purposes without compensation. You consent to this use of your details by entering the competition. 

24. The six finalists for the Open Division and the Secondary School Division will be contacted by post to the address supplied and by the contact telephone number provided.

25. The judges’ decision regarding the winners’ is final and no correspondence will be entered into.