Ryedale Book Festival Short Story Award

There is an award of £250 for the winner £150 for the second place and £100 for the third place. The ten best stories will be published by The Blackthorn Press in book and ebook formats.

Entry Instructions

Entry Dates 
 The deadline for receipt of entries is 9am (GMT) Saturday 31 March 2018. 

How to Enter 

Instructions for Entering by Email
1. Read the following Entry Terms and Conditions thoroughly to check the author whose work is due to be submitted and their short story are eligible for the Award. Submission of an entry is taken as acceptance of all the Terms and Conditions.
2. Type and format the short story as per the following instructions:
 One entry per author
 Written in English
 A maximum of 8,000 words
 Typed
 Font: any font, 12pt, black
 Double spaced
 Pages numbered
 Include a front page which details the Title of the Story and The Author’s name and postal address, email address, telephone number and the Word Count 
3. Email submissions should be in a Word document and emailed to blackthornpress@yahoo.com marked Short Story Comp. All entries will be acknowledged by email.
Entries can only be accepted by email.

Please note 
 Entries not submitted in accordance with the Entry Instructions and Entry Terms and Conditions will not be eligible for consideration.
 Any queries about entering the Award should be emailed to blackthornpress@yahoo.com The Award administrators will respond as soon as possible.




THE RYEDALE BOOK FESTIVAL SHORT STORY COMPETITION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE BLACKTHORN PRESS

Entry Terms and Conditions 

Please read this document in full to ensure that the author whose work is due to be submitted and their short story are eligible for the Award. Instructions on entering can be found in the Entry Instructions.

1. THE AWARDS

1.1 The submitted stories will be read by a panel of three judges who will each individually rank the stories submitted in an order of merit. The three judges will then meet with their lists and decide an order of merit for the ten best stories.
1.2 The winning award is worth £250 and this will be presented to the author of the best, eligible short story in the opinion of the judges. The second prize will be of £150and the third prize £100
1.3 The ten best stories in the opinion of the judges will be published as a hard copy and ebook by the Blackthorn Press.

2. ELIGIBILITY 

2.1 The Award is open to British nationals and UK residents, aged 18 years or over on the submission deadline (9am (GMT) Saturday 31 March 2018)
2.2 The story must not exceed eight thousand (8,000) words.
2.3 Entries may be submitted by the author or by his/her agent on their behalf.
2.4 Stories which have previously been published by any means or broadcast are ineligible. It is the entrants’ responsibility to check they have not published the story entered previously.
2.5 No more than one story per author may be submitted. It is the responsibility of the author to make sure that there is not more than one of his/her stories submitted in total. If more than one story is submitted, only the first story received will be considered.
2.6. Authors can only enter individually and not as part of a writing team.
2.7. The short story submitted must be aimed at adult readers.
2.8 The story submitted must be, and by submission of the story 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; (iii) not be defamatory of any living person or corporate body. Further, by submitting the story the entrant warrants that they or the story submitted will not bring the Ryedale Book Festival or The Blackthorn Press into disrepute. Breach of any of these warranties will result in disqualification of the entry.
2.9 The Award is not open to employees of the Ryedale Book Festival or The Blackthorn Press or anyone connected with the Award or their direct family members. Proof of identity and eligibility may be requested.
2.10 Entries are limited to stories written in English, or if written in Gaelic or Welsh must include a translation.
2.11 A short story entered posthumously will not be eligible for the Award.

3. COPYRIGHT AND TERMS OF USE

3.1 By submitting a story for the Award the entrant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the winning ten stories may be published in book and electronic form by the Blackthorn Press.
3.2 In the event that an official Ryedale Book Festival Short Story Award Anthology containing the ten best entries is published the author will be deemed to have granted the rights for such publication and distribution (including via electronic distribution such as Kindle, or Kobo devices) and they or their agents will clear the necessary rights for such publication and distribution. The rights for publication will be exclusive to the Blackthorn Press. The author retains full copyright of his or her story.
3.3 By submitting a story for the Award the entrant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the winning ten stories which may be published in book and electronic form by the Blackthorn Press will not attract any royalties but that each published author will be entitled to four free copies of any book printed by the Blackthorn Press and any further copies at a 30% discount of the published retail price.

4. JUDGING

4.1 The Ryedale Book Festival Short Story Award 2018 with The Blackthorn Press will be looking for the best new writing and will consider all entries on the basis of quality and originality of prose and narrative voice. The Award aims to support and award excellence in the short story genre.
4.2 Judging of the Award will be in two stages:
Stage 1: All entries will be read and judged independently by a judging panel of three experienced readers against the Award criteria. Each judge will rank the stories submitted in order of merit.
Stage 2: The judging panel will meet together and decide a final order of merit for the best ten stories.
4.3 The ten winning writers will be contacted personally by email or by telephone.
4.4 The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
4.5 The judging will be fair and independent. The judging panel will be appointed by the Ryedale Book Festival and the Blackthorn Press and will include one representative from the Ryedale Book Festival, one from the Blackthorn Press and an independent judge. All judges are required to declare any financial interests in relation to any entrants.

5. ADMINISTRATION AND COMMUNICATION 

5.1 The Blackthorn Press is responsible for administering the Award.
5.2 Entries for the Award must be submitted by email as a Word document to blackthornpress@yahoo.com by 9am (GMT) Saturday 31 March 2018.
5.3 The ten winners are likely to be announced by Sunday 15 April 2018 (dates are subject to change). The names of the ten winning authors will be published on the Ryedale Book Festival and Blackthorn Press websites and each winner notified by email that they have been included in the final ten winners. The winners of the first, second and third prizes will be announced at the Award ceremony to be held this year on the 22nd September 2018.
5.4 Entrants must provide their name, e-mail address, telephone number and postal address with their submitted story.
5.5 The Award team reserves the right to cancel this Award at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.
5.6 The Award team reserves the right to refuse entry to the Award for any reason at its absolute discretion.
5.7 By submitting a story the entrant agrees in the event of being shortlisted or winning the Award to (or if the entrant is the Author’s publisher or agent has secured the author’s agreement that the author will) make every attempt to attend the Award ceremony on Saturday 22nd September 2018 (date is subject to change), and to also undertake a mutually acceptable limited programme of activities to promote the Award particularly immediately after the shortlist and winner are announced. Entrants are responsible for all reasonable costs associated with attending the Award ceremony.
5.8 For the avoidance of doubt, any publisher, agent or other submitter who submits an Entry on behalf of its author shall be responsible for inviting and making every attempt to ensure their author’s attendance at the Award ceremony (if one is held) and any further activity agreed. Entrants are responsible for all reasonable costs associated with attending the Award ceremony.
5.9 The entrant agrees that they will contribute where possible to press and publicity activities for the Award and hereby grant the Blackthorn Press all necessary rights in their contribution for press/publicity activities for the Award for all media in perpetuity. The entrant agrees to obtain the Blackthorn Press’s prior written consent before taking on any of its own press or publicity activity relating to their involvement in the Award. In the event that the entrant is informed that their story has been shortlisted or won the award, the entrant must not publish or otherwise let it be publicaly known of this fact (such as via online forums such as Twitter, Facebook etc.) until such time as the official announcement is made, failing which the Award team may at its sole discretion disqualify the entry and revise the shortlist and (if applicable) winning entry.
5.10 Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to have agreed to be bound by them when entering this Award. The Award team may at its sole discretion disqualify the entry and/or reclaim any award and revise the shortlist and (if applicable) winning entry, if it considers that the entrant has not complied with the terms and conditions contained herein (such as that the work is not original, fictional, and entirely the author’s own work).
5.11 A publisher or agent who submits a story on behalf of an author shall be deemed by the act of submitting that author’s story for the Ryedale Book Festival Short Story Award 2018 with the Blackthorn Press to have obtained the author’s informed consent and approval of all terms and conditions contained herein and to have taken on the responsibility of guaranteeing and procuring the author’s compliance with the terms and conditions set out herein. If such publisher or agent has failed to do so, the Award team may at its sole discretion disqualify the entry and/or reclaim any award and revise the shortlist and (if applicable) winning entry.
5.12 The entrant acknowledges and agrees that to the extent permitted by law, the Ryedale Book Festival and the Blackthorn Press and any other person(s) in connection with the Award will not be liable for any loss or damage (whether such damage or losses were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise) including financially and/or to reputation and/or disappointment, suffered by any entrant or publisher or agent on behalf of an author, entering the Award or as a result of accepting any Award.
5.13 These rules and the entry submitted in accordance with them shall constitute a contract governed by the exclusive laws and the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.