Discover New Romance Award Contest

OFFICIAL RULES

IMPORTANT: Please read these Official Rules for the “Discover New Romance Award” presented by Bookstore Romance Day (“Sponsor”) before entering. By entering the contest, you agree to the terms of these Official Rules. These Official Rules shall govern in the event of any inconsistency with other Contest-related materials.

Bookstore Romance Day is the sole sponsor of this Contest. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in no way sponsor or endorse this Contest.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. No other discounts, prizes, refunds or credits will otherwise be offered in the Contest.

ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry.  All federal, state, and local regulations apply. LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER METHOD OF ENTRY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED. Employees of Sponsor Company its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, and agencies, and their immediate family members and persons living in their household are not eligible to enter the Contest. Participation constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Sponsor’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. 

ENTRY PERIOD: The Contest begins at 12:01 AM (EST) on January 4, 2021 and ends at 9:00 PM (EST) on February 28, 2021. All submissions must be received by the end time in order to be entered into the Contest.

HOW TO ENTER: Contestants must submit a synopsis/pitch and 30-page writing sample by email to contest@bookstoreromanceday.org in Word or Google docs format. Any entries submitted in other formats will be asked to re-format and re-submit. If the work is submitted a second time in an unacceptable format, the entry will be disqualified. 

Sponsor is not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry of information by entrants; lost or late entries; or other errors or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human, or electronic. Incomplete or illegible entries will be voided. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. If for any reason the Contest is not capable of being conducted as described in these rules, Sponsor shall have the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest. 

The story submitted must be, and by submission is warranted to: (i) be original, fictional, and entirely the author’s own work; (ii) not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third party; and (iii) not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body, obscene or otherwise violate any applicable law

PRIZE: One (1) Grand Prize Winner will be read and critiqued by an acquisitions editor at Sourcebooks, Inc. 

All entries up to fifty (50) will receive a minimum of five (5) critiques from a panel of independent booksellers, chosen by Sponsor. 

All second-round qualifiers up to ten (10) will receive an additional minimum of three (3) critiques on their complete manuscript from a panel of independent booksellers, chosen by Sponsor. 

No transfer or cash or other substitution of all or part of a prize is permitted, except by Sponsor, which reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute the prize or prize component with another of comparable or greater value. Any and all taxes on the prize will be the responsibility of the winners. Sponsor shall not be responsible for any delays, damage in the delivery of the prize, and/or loss of any prize in connection with delivery of the prize. In the event that there is an insufficient number of eligible entries, Sponsor reserves the right not to award prizes. The Prize will be sent directly to the winning store, within approximately eight (8) weeks following winner confirmation. All other expenses not specified as part of prize description are solely the winner’s responsibility. The prize is awarded “as is” and without any warranty, except as required by law. In no event will more than the number of prizes stated in these Official Rules be awarded.

JUDGING/WINNER SELECTION: The top ten (10) submissions will be selected by a qualified panel of independent booksellers, chosen by Sponsor, on or about May 15, 2021, from all eligible entries received by the entry deadline. Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, and content, with equal weight being given to each criterion. 

The selected top ten (10) submissions will then be asked to submit full manuscripts. Full manuscripts are due no later than June 1, 2021. The top ten submissions will be scored again, and the top score from this round will be read and critiqued by an acquisitions editor at Sourcebooks, Inc. Winner will be contacted by Sponsor on or about August 15, 2021 and will be announced by Sponsor on August 21, 2021. 

The decisions of the Sponsor with respect to the selection of the winners, and in regard to all matter relating to this Contest, shall be final and binding. Winners will be notified via email and must respond within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of email. Winners may also be required to complete, execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release. The Winner may be required to provide a Federal Tax Identification Number to Sponsor for issuance of a 1099 form, in connection with its receipt of this portion of the prize or the prize will be forfeited in its entirety. Noncompliance with these conditions may result in forfeiture of the Prize, and Sponsor reserves the right to select alternate winners in such circumstances. If winner notification of the Prize is returned as undeliverable, Sponsor may, at its discretion, select an alternate winner.

DISCLAIMER: By competing in this Contest and/or accepting the prize, entrants agree that Sponsor, and its respective parent companies, assigns, subsidiaries and affiliates, and advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies and all of their respective employees, officers and directors will have no liability whatsoever, and will be held harmless by entrants for any liability for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind to person and property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, misuse, or use of the prizes, or participation in this Contest. By accepting a prize, each Winner consents and grants Sponsor a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to use their name, city, comments, photographs and/or likenesses (if provided) and their entries for publicity, advertising or informational purposes, including without limitation, posting on Sponsor’s Content website, Facebook pages, Twitter or Instagram accounts, with no additional compensation or further permission (except where prohibited by law).

Any dispute arising from this Contest will be determined according to the laws of the State of Oregon, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and by entering the entrants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Multnomah County and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

PRIVACY POLICY: All information submitted in connection with entry to this Contest shall be governed by Company’s privacy policy.  By entering this Contest, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to this privacy policy.

WINNERS LIST: For a list of the Winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope by December 1, 2021 to Bookstore Romance Day, Attn: Discover New Romance Award, 2190 W Burnside St  #104, Portland, OR 97210.

SPONSOR: Bookstore Romance Day, 2190 W Burnside St #104, Portland, OR 97210.

© 2021 Bookstore Romance Day. All rights reserved.