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Writing Competition Rules, Terms and Conditions Prize pool Fees and prices Entries Cooling off period Voting Determination of the winners General Prize Pool 1.1. The minimum prize pool is AU$5,000 and will be shared among the winning voter and the top three paid entries as follows: $2,400 to the top paid-entry, $1,000 to the second paid-entry, $600 to the third paid-entry, $1000 to the top-ranking voter. 1.2. We may increase the prize pool at our discretion. Back to Top Fees and prices 2.1 The standard entry fee is AU$55, optionally payable upon acceptance of the entry subject to clause 3.4. You can pay your entry fee anytime until the winners have been announced. Paid entries are entitled to: - the right to compete for a share in prizes, - a copy of the book containing the entry, - online publication at this site of a brief description of the entry (optional), - individual notification of how your entry performed (optional), - GST for Australian entries, and the extra postage & handling for overseas entries. 2.2 Unpaid entries cannot receive a free book and cannot share in prizes, but they can receive votes and will be announced if in the top three positions. 2.3 Book and eBook prices are determined at the time of publishing. 2.4 Payments can be made by cheque, money order, or credit card. Back to Top Entries 3.1 Entries must be written in English, and should not have been previously published. 3.2 Entries may be up to 700 words, but must not exceed a single A4 page when typed using the default settings in Microsoft® Word 2000 (single-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman). 3.3 Entries will be published in a book or eBook. In addition, a brief description of the entry may be submitted to be published on this site. 3.4 Entries may be in any form, including but not limited to short stories, essays, and poetry. We reserve the right to reject an entry if we believe it is not suitable for the public nature of this competition. Any entry may be rejected if the entry is in any way defamatory and we shall in our sole discretion determine whether an entry is defamatory. Please do not make any payments until the acceptance of your entry has been confirmed. 3.5 You may submit up to two entries in a calendar year. 3.6 Entries may be published with the writer's name, writer's pen name, or no name at all, depending on the writer's preference. 3.7 Writers who are known for their literary work or have previously won prizes for their work must be published with a pen name or no name at all when entering this competition. 3.8 Winning entries will be announced with the writer's name and city. 3.9 Entries may be submitted online. 3.10 Deadline: Entries into the SAY Writing Contest 2003 may be submitted until December 31, 2003. 3.11 Copyright, rights and responsibilities of an entry remain with its author. No part of an entry can be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the author. 3.12 By submitting an entry you grant us the right to publish it. Cooling-off period 3.13 If your entry is accepted we will notify you. You will then have a 14-day cooling-off period in which you can cancel your entry by Contacting Us Voting 4.1 Votes can be entered at this site, or by sending the voting sheet that you obtained with your book or eBook. 4.2 A voting entry must contain ten votes for ten entries as follows: six votes to give a score between 90 and 99 for six entries, two votes to give a score between 70 and 79 for two entries, and two votes to give a score between 50 and 59 for two entries. 4.3 Anonymous voting is allowed at this site so that readers who dislike the registration process are not excluded; however, in order to be eligible for the voter's prize you need to register. We collect only names and e-mail addresses from voters, and we strive to make the registration process painless. Please see our privacy statement. 4.4 We may disallow and disqualify anonymous votes at any time without notice if we believe they are being abused. Back to Top Determination of the Winners Determination of the Winning Entries 5.1 Votes will be accepted for all entries until September 30, 2004. Top entries and the winners will be announced at this site on October 7, 2004. Winners will be notified by e-mail. 5.2 Ranks of the entries will be determined by their average and total points. Entries will be grouped according to their average points, and then entries in each group will be ranked according to the total points. Determination of the Winning Voter 5.4 When the voting period is closed and the ranks of the entries determined, all voting entries will be evaluated and ranked. Those voters who gave their highest votes for top-group entries and who gave their lowest votes to low-group entries will increase their ranking. The ratio of such votes will then be calculated. Examples: 1.A voting entry with votes of: 95 for two top-group entries (with averages of, for example, 93 and 90), 99 for four other top-group entries (with averages of, for example, 93, 90, 99 and 92) 75 for two medium-group entries (with averages of, for example, 75 and 80), 50 for two low-group entries (with averages of, for example, 55 and 62) will have a ratio of 100%. 2.A voting entry with votes of: 95 for two low-group entries (with averages of, for example, 56 and 57), 99 for four top-group entries (with averages of, for example, 93, 90, 99 and 92) 75 for two medium-group entries (with averages of, for example, 75 and 80), 50 for two low-group entries (with averages of, for example, 55 and 62) will have a ratio of 80%. If multiple voting entries achieve the top rank, then the proximity of their votes to the actual averages will be calculated. Example: A vote of 96 for an entry with an average of 97 will count more than a vote of 90 for that entry. The voter who entered the top-ranking voting entry will then win the voter's prize. Winner will be notified by e-mail, and will be announced at this site on October 7, 2004. 5.5 Prize winners can choose to supply their bank account details for electronic transfer of funds. Otherwise cheques will be sent. At this point winners must supply or confirm their addresses. Back to Top General 6.1 This is a web site operated by Sayer Systems Pty Ltd ("we" or "SSPL") (ABN 96 091 879 382) under the domain name www.say.com.au 6.2 Subject to these terms and conditions, this competition is open to everybody with the following exceptions: Employees of SSPL, suppliers directly linked with this competition, and their next of kin cannot submit nor vote for any entries. 6.3 All amounts are in Australian dollars unless otherwise stated. 6.4 You must provide true and current information about yourself, and you must contact us if any of your details have changed. If you provide any information that is untrue or not current, or we have reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue or not current, we have the right to cancel your entries and/or votes and refuse you any and all current or future use of this site. 6.5 The opinions, claims or suggestions expressed in the entries do not represent our point of view. 6.6 You must agree not to submit any material that contains any virus or other harmful or unlawful component. 6.7 We do not investigate the entries, writers or voters. If we become aware that your conduct, entries or votes do not conform to these terms and conditions, for example if you have voted twice for a book of entries, your entries and votes will be disqualified. 6.8 We do not exert control over the users of this site and we are not liable for any damages in connection with your use of this site or for any lost, missing or damaged material. 6.9 It is not guaranteed that this site will be available at all times. It may be down at times for scheduled maintenance or due to technical problems. 6.10 We may alter these terms and conditions when necessary. We will inform all of our registered users if this occurs with e-mail. Back to Top Privacy |