1. The Writing Wizardry competition is organised by Fresher Publishing at Bournemouth University.
2. The Writing Wizardry competition is open to children who will be aged 11 and under on the 31st August 2018. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.
3. Entrants can enter a poem or fictional short story (no more than 500 words in length) online, by emailing competitions@fresherpublishing.co.uk , putting WRITING WIZARDRY in the subject box or by post to Writing Wizardry Competition, Faculty of Media and Communication, Weymouth House, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB.
Entrants are asked to provide their name, age, address, school and height in the email/ covering letter, plus their parent/guardian/teacher’s name and contact email address (see below).
4. An adult is required to approve the entry and agree to the Terms and Conditions (including Fresher Publishing’s use of the story submitted) on behalf of the entrant. The adult may be the child’s parent, guardian or teacher. The adult must provide their own contact details (not the child’s) in the covering letter/email.
If an entrant is shortlisted, and permission to enter was given by a teacher, Fresher will contact the teacher and ask for confirmation of permission from the entrant’s parent or guardian.
The personal data provided will be used only for the purposes of administering the competition. Fresher will use the contact details provided by the adult to send any competition-related information.
5. Entry closes on 14th January 2018 at midnight (BST). Submissions received outside of this timeframe will not be considered, so please do not wait until the last minute to email or post your entry.
6. Entrants can only enter individually. Only one entry per person is permitted. If more than one entry is submitted, only the entrant’s first submission will be considered.
7. Entries must be an original piece of fiction and not an account of real events – either historical or current. However, stories can feature well known public figures from present day or from history, take place in historical eras, or use real-life experiences as a creative springboard as long as the story is fictional. The entrant warrants that they have not used material or depicted events that actually took place or used the personal details of any living persons in the story. As the stories will be published it is important that entrants do not include any personal details about themselves.
8. Entries cannot be returned so please remember to retain a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted in respect of their entry and no feedback on any entry will be provided.
9. All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. Fresher Publishing accepts no responsibility if entrants ignore these Terms and Conditions and entrants agree to indemnify Fresher Publishing against any claim by any third party from any breach of these Terms and Conditions.
10. Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene, offensive, or any other unsuitable material. Entries must be suitable to be broadcast, published or used online by Fresher Publishing for audiences of all ages, but in particular for a child audience.
11. Entrants retain the copyright in their entries but grant Fresher Publishing a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free licence to publish, broadcast (across all media) and post the entry online and on any other platforms yet to be envisaged. This licence will be deemed to include all the necessary rights and permissions to enable such use by Fresher Publishing, to fulfil the prizes and to complete the administration of this competition.
12. By submitting a story the entrant agrees that Fresher Publishing may at its sole discretion edit, adapt, abridge or translate the entry for the purposes listed in clause 12 above.
13. In the event that the entry is published online at www.fresherpublishing.co.uk, for the avoidance of doubt, this will not be part of, or influence in any way, the judging process. Only the story title, entrant’s name and age will be published with an entry.
14. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
– Originality
– Plot
– Characterisation
– Language
– Enjoyment
15. The first round will be judged by writers and lecturers at Bournemouth University to produce a shortlist. The shortlist will be read and judged by the guest judges. One overall winner will be selected and a runner-up.
16. The entries from the shortlist will be published in the Writing Wizardry anthology and online.
17. The winner of the Years 3-4 category will receive a tower of books and the runner up will receive £25 in book vouchers. The winner of the Years 5-6 category will receive a Kindle Fire and the runner up will receive £25 in book vouchers.
18. The parents or guardians of the shortlisted entrants will be contacted by a member of the Fresher team in April and further proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested at this stage.
19. Fresher Publishing’s decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
20. Fresher Publishing reserves the right to disqualify any entry which breaches any of these Terms and Conditions, or to withhold a prize if in its opinion entries do not reach the required standard.
21. Fresher Publishing reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions or cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.
22. Fresher Publishing, its sub-contractors, subsidiaries, agencies and/or any other organisation associated with this competition cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem with any server, Internet access, system or otherwise which may result in any entry being lost or not properly registered or recorded. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.
23. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales.