WRITING CONTEST RULES

Contest begins September 1, 2010                           Contest deadline is December 1, 2010

Categories are:

• Poetry - Maximum 60 lines or 600 words
• Fiction, Maximum 2,500 words
• Non-Fiction (autobiographical story, essay, etc.) - Maximum 2,500 words

Each category will have a First, Second and Third place monetary award.

There may also be an Honorable Mention acknowledgment for each category. Honorable Mention carries no cash award.

• First place winners receive $200.00.
• Second place winners receive $100.00.
• Third place winners receive $50.00.
• All winners will receive an Award Certificate.

Judging criteria will be:

• Originality
• Literary quality
• Appropriate use of language

Details of rules:

1. Contest is open to all persons 18 years of age or older.
2. There is a $15.00 submission fee for each entry. Please enclose the fee with your entry. Mail entries+ fees to “2010 Contest / Hassayampa Writers’ Club / Box 388 / Wickenburg AZ 85390”. The deadline for entries is December 1, 2010. Enclose with your entry and fee a filled-out copy of the entry cover sheet (click on this link: contest cover sheet; print out, fill in).
3. Entries may be submitted as e-mail attachments. Send your entry as an e-mail attachment to contest@hassayampawriters.org. In the subject line for your e-mail, indicate the category of your entry, such as “fiction entry by R. Rabbit.” You must send the entry fee separately, using U. S. Mail. For consideration in the contest, entry fees must be paid by December 1, 2010.
4. The category in which an entry is judged is whatever the submitter says it is. For example, an entry that the submitter labels as poetry will be judged as poetry, regardless of rhyming, page layout, or other considerations.
5. If you send in more than one entry, one check and one physical (USPS) mailing may be used. There is no discount for multiple entries.
6. Each entry must be accompanied by a separate “cover sheet” or submission form, giving the author’s name, the title of the work, and permission for the Club to include the entry in The Hidden River Cache. For the cover sheet use the form included on this Web site.
7. Please do not put your name anywhere in the body of your entry; the entries are judged without regard to authorship.
8. If your entry is selected for publication in The Hidden River Cache, you will be asked to provide an electronic copy of the entry. Any common word-processed format (such as is generated by Word Perfect, MS Word, Open Office Word, or many other word processors) may be used EXCEPT MS WORKS or Adobe’s “acrobat” portable document format (PDF).
9. Each entry should have as its first page a “cover sheet” containing your name, the title of the submission, its category, and its length (number of words). Your name should appear only on this cover page; do not indicate your name anywhere except on the cover sheet. Judges do not see the cover sheet.
10. Please do not use fancy layout or exotic type fonts in your entry. If you are in doubt about the type font you should use, any of the three main MS fonts (Arial, Courier New, or Times New Roman) is a good choice, since almost all computers have them. Line spacing (one or two lines) is your choice, but many judges say that they prefer double-spaced entries.
11. All entries must be in English. Please use your word-processor’s spelling checker to minimize spelling problems.
12. Entries submitted must be original and not previously published or submitted to any other contest, magazine, or other publication outlet. If you have a work that won a prize elsewhere, it is not eligible to be entered in this contest.
13. Authors retain copyright, except that the Hassayampa Writers’ Club has the right to print your entry in the Hidden River Cache. Each entrant will receive a copy of the Hidden River Cache, which is expected to be printed in time for distribution at the Writers’ Wriot (March 19th, 2011).
14. Include a self addressed stamped envelope or indicate that you prefer e-mail if you wish to receive judges’ comments.
15. If you submit your entry by USPS mail, you will normally receive an e-mail from the contest acknowledging receipt of your entry. Receipt confirmation will normally be limited to this e-mail, but you may send your entry “return receipt requested.”
16. Any entry not following the submission rules will be discarded.
17. Any contest submission received after December 1, 2010 will not be accepted.
18. Decisions of judges will be final.

For contest questions, please contact the club’s secretary, secretary@hassayampawriters.org or (928) 684-4910.