Tuesday, January 10, 2012

2012 Toronto Star Short Story Contest

If you're an Ontario writer, you just might be eligible to enter this year's Toronto Star Short Story Contest. First prize is $5,000 and then some. Here's a lot of reading:

2012 TORONTO STAR SHORT STORY CONTEST RULES


Agreement: These rules govern the Toronto Star Short Story Contest ("Contest"). The act of entering the Contest constitutes acceptance of the Contest rules and the decisions of the Contest judges, which decisions shall be final and binding upon all entrants.
Sponsor: The Contest sponsors are Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, the Toronto Public Library and The Humber School for Writers ("Sponsors").
Eligibility: The Contest is open to all residents of Ontario who have attained the age of 16, except for employees, their immediate families and anyone living with any employee of the Sponsor or its corporate affiliates, advertising or promotional agencies. There is a limit of one entry per person.
Contest and Judging Criteria:
    • • Contest begins at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 7, 2012 and ends at 11:59 p.m., Sunday, February 26, 2012.
    • Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, February 26, 2012.
    • • By entering this Contest you acknowledge that all entries become the property of the Contest Sponsors and will not be returned or acknowledged.
    • • To enter the Contest, submit your entry by the contest deadline in its own envelope. Stories submitted by fax machine and e-mail will not be accepted. Illegible entries will be disqualified.
    • • Stories must be written in English, original and unpublished up to the time the winners are declared on Thursday, April 12, 2012.
    • • Stories must be written on a computer or typewriter, be double-spaced and no longer than 2,500 words.
    • • Total word count must be printed on the front page of the story.
    • • No changes to a story are allowed once Toronto Star Newspapers Limited receives your entry.
    • • Manuscripts will not be returned.
    • • To ensure that the stories have reached Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, entrants may wish to enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with their entries.
    • • Information is not available by email or telephone. Pseudonyms are not permitted.
    • • By entering the Contest, entrants agree to allow Toronto Star Newspapers Limited to publish their stories, names and biographical information in all media, including but not limited to its newspapers and thestar.com without compensation. Entrants also agree to allow the Toronto Public Library and The Humber School for Writers to publish their stories, names and biographical information in all media. 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 (i) 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; and (ii) you have the written consent, release and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in the submission to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of the submission in the matter 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.
How to enter:
• The author’s name, address, telephone number, email address and a 25-50 word biographical sketch must be included with each entry on a separate sheet of paper.
• The name of the author should not appear on the story itself.
• Mail or drop off your submission to: Short Story Contest, Toronto Star, One Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E6. Entries may also be dropped off in the Short Story contest box in the main lobby of the Toronto Star building, One Yonge Street.
• NO ENTRY FEE REQUIRED
Judging and notification:
• Members of the faculty of The Humber School for Writers will complete the first round of judging starting on or about Wednesday, March 28, 2012.
• The finalists’ entries will then be judged by the 2012 Toronto Star Short Story Contest judging panel, who will select the First, Second and Third prizewinners on or about Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received and the caliber of the entries. The decisions of the contest judges are final in respect of any matter relating to this Contest.
• The potential winners will be contacted by telephone or email between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 12, 2012 by a representative of the Sponsor, and must reply within 48 hours to maintain eligibility. If the potential winner(s) cannot be contacted within this time period or fail(s) to respond to any attempted contact, such potential winner(s) will be disqualified, his/her entry will be declared null and void and the Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to select another potential winner based on the judging criteria, in which event these provisions shall apply to such other eligible entry.
Ownership/Use Rights:
Entrants retain the copyright to their stories. However, by entering the contest, you hereby grant the Sponsors a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to print, publish, use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and display your full name, short story and photograph in connection with Sponsors’ (and its successors’) business, including without limitation in any media formats and through any media channels.
Prizes:
• Three prizes will be awarded:

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First Prize: $5,000, plus the tuition fee for The Humber School for Writers 2012 Correspondence Program in Creative Writing. Approximate retail value: $3,000.00.
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Second Prize: $2,000.00
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Third Prize: $1,000.00

• If the winner does not claim the prize within 48 hours of notification, the next eligible entry selected by the judging criteria set out in these rules will be contacted, and the first potential winner will have no further claim to the prize. Sponsor will not mail or courier the prize and is not responsible for unclaimed prizes.
• Winners must attend a prize presentation event at the Toronto Public Library, 789 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M4W 2G8 on or around Monday, April 23, 2012 to collect the prize won.
• The winners’ stories will appear in the Sunday Star as follows: The Third place story will appear on Sunday, April 29, 2012; the Second place story will appear on Sunday, May 6, 2012; the First place story will appear on Sunday, May 13, 2012. Should any of the above-mentioned dates become unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances, the stories will run, in the order listed above, on the next available Sunday edition of the Toronto Star.
Release:
Prior to receiving the prize, the potential winner will be required to show valid photo ID and to sign a declaration of eligibility and release form releasing the Sponsor and its related parties from any and all liability in connection with the Contest and/or the prize, confirming compliance with the rules and consenting to the use of his or her name and short story in any and all forms of media, without further compensation, in any publicity carried out by the Sponsor and/or its advertising and promotional agencies. If a potential winner is under the age of majority, his/her parent or legal guardian must also sign and return the declaration of eligibility and release form. The signed form must be received within 48 hours of notification or the prize may be forfeited and awarded to an alternate entrant.
Indemnity:
By participating in this Contest, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsors, and their parent, subsidiaries, affiliates and/or related companies and each of their officers, directors, shareholders, employees, advisors, assignees, agents, licensees, representatives, advertising, media buyers and promotional agencies 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.
Privacy:
We use your personal contact information to administer contests, including contacting, announcing and promoting prizewinners. In addition, we may use this information to send you offers or information from us, our affiliates and from selected Sponsor or advertisers ("Marketing Offers"). If you do not wish to receive Marketing Offers, you may opt-out at any time by: following the instructions at the bottom of any email Marketing Offer you receive, informing your telemarketer at the time you are called with a Marketing Offer, by calling 1.800.279.0181 and requesting that your personal information not be used for Marketing Offers, or emailing privacy @thestar.ca and requesting that your personal information not be used for Marketing Offers. The Contest is run in compliance with the Toronto Star privacy code, which may be found in full at www.thestar.com/privacy.


Banning:
The Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, prohibit any person from entering the Contest whom it believes to be abusing the rules. Such abuse includes entering false information and entering more than once.


Other:
This Contest is governed by the laws of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein and is void where prohibited by law. The Sponsor reserves the right to cancel or modify the Contest or the Contest rules at any time without notice. All prizes must be accepted as awarded, are non-transferable and are not convertible to cash. The Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any prize or portion of the prize with a prize of equal or greater value. All prizes are awarded as-is. Sponsor is not liable for any lost, late, misdirected or stolen entries or inability to process entries, or any errors, damage or negligence that may arise in connection with this Contest, including human error. Sponsor is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this Contest.

For more information visit The Star's website

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