£20,000 Daily Mail Penguin Random House First Novel competition.

The Daily Mail Penguin Random House First Novel competition



Welcome to The Daily Mail Penguin Random House first novel competition. Before sending in your entry please read all the rules below as any entries that do not comply with all the conditions will be discounted. In particular, please be aware of the closing date of 17.30 GMT on Friday 13 July 2018, and that no manuscripts will be returned so keep a copy of your entry, which should be no longer than a 3,000 word opening and a 600 word synopsis of the remainder of the book. You should also include a short three-paragraph cover letter stating who you are and the main idea behind your book.
Entry is free but you must not have had a book published before, whether that is in print, e-book or self-published.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. By entering this competition, entrants agree to accept and be bound by these terms and conditions.
2. This competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is a resident of the UK or Republic of Ireland, except for the employees (and their families) of the Penguin Random House Group (Publisher), Associated Newspapers Limited, and any other company connected with the competition.
3. The closing date for the competition is 17:30 GMT on FRIDAY 13 JULY 2018.
4. To enter, entrants must submit an entry consisting of the opening of their first novel of up to a maximum of 3,000 words in the English language and a synopsis of the work in the English language of no more than 600 words. All entries to be typed and printed on A4 paper with double spacing in font size 12 point, Times New Roman.
5. Entries are to be posted to Daily Mail First Novel Competition, c/o Penguin Random House Group, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA. Entries should NOT be submitted to The Daily Mail offices, and will not be accepted if hand-delivered.
6. All entries must include the entrant’s full name and contact details (including their home and email address) and confirmation they have agreed to the full terms and conditions.
7. Entrants may submit more than one entry to the competition, but each entry must be original material, and must not have been submitted in the previous years’ competition.
8. All entries must be original, previously unpublished works of fiction, open to all adult genres, except for saga, fantasy and science fiction.
9. Entrants must not have previously written a novel published under a valid ISBN. This includes novels that have been self-published or are only available as eBooks.
10. Entrants must not be currently represented by or working with a literary agent.
11. Entries that are received after the closing date will not be considered. Neither the Promoter nor the Publisher are responsible for illegible, incomplete, delayed or lost entries. Proof of postage is not proof of receipt. Emailed entries will not be accepted.
12. The Promoter and the Publisher regret that entries cannot be returned, nor will the Promoter, Publisher, Agent (as referred to in clause 19 below) or the competition judges enter into correspondence or give feedback on individual entries. Entrants are advised to send a copy and retain the original work and synopsis. 13. All valid entries will be forwarded to a judging panel. The judges will choose one winner, one highly commended entry and 3 runners-up who shall be notified by post by 21 SEPTEMBER 2018. The winner shall be that entry which, in the sole opinion of the judges, is the best.
14. The decision of the judges is final. No correspondence will be entered into.
15. All unsuccessful entries will be disposed of.
16. There will be two prizes. The winner’s prize is an advance as set out below and an offer of publication by the Publisher in respect of the novel to which their entry relates. The winning entry will also be represented by literary agent, Luigi Bonomi, of LBA books Ltd. There will also be a Highly Commended prize, the recipient of which may be offered representation by the literary agency, LBA. The Highly Commended entry and the runners-up shall each receive five (5) books of their choice which are published in the UK by the Publisher.
17. Notwithstanding anything else set forth in these terms and conditions if, in the sole opinion of the Publisher, none of the entries (including that of the winner) are of a sufficiently high standard to merit the winner’s prize, such prize shall not be awarded but shall instead be substituted with ten (10) books of the winner’s choice which are published in the UK by the Publisher.
18. All entrants must be in a position to deliver their complete manuscript no later than MARCH 2019 should they win.
19. Publication is subject to the winner entering into a contract with Century, an imprint of the Publisher. This will afford an exclusive licence to the Publisher, permitting the editing, adapting, publishing and licencing of all or part of the novel in all editions, formats (including print and electronic), in all languages and territories globally and setting out all applicable financial details including a net advance of £20,000 (the gross figure, before the deduction of the agency commission contemplated below, being £23,000) on completion and acceptance (by Publisher) of the complete manuscript and providing the Publisher with an option over a second book. Should entrants not want to grant these rights they should not submit materials. In the event an agreement cannot be reached, as regards the contract, within 30 days of the discussions commencing, the winner shall instead be awarded the substitute prize.
20. Publication is also subject to the winner entering into a contract with the literary agent, LBA Books (Agent) who will negotiate the winner’s contract with the Publisher on the winner’s behalf. This contract will include standard agency commission of 15% to be applied to all royalties and earnings through this publishing contract. In the event an agreement cannot be reached, as regards this contract, within 30 days of these discussions commencing, the winner shall instead be awarded the substitute prize.
21. The prize is otherwise non-transferable and no cash alternative or other substitute is available.
22. Notwithstanding anything set forth above, the Publisher reserves the right to choose the most appropriate format for the novel on publication. The Publisher will seek to publish the winning work within twelve months of acceptance of the manuscript.
23. By entering this competition each entrant confirms that: (i) his/her entry is their wholly-owned creation and makes no use of any third party materials or intellectual property rights; (ii) no deliberate attempt has been made to base any fictional characters in the novel upon any individual, living or dead; and (iii) the submitted materials contain nothing that is illegal, obscene or of a defamatory nature. Entrants will keep the Promoter and the Publisher harmless from any claims that the entry infringes the personal or proprietary right of any other person.
24. Events may occur that render the awarding of the prize impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Promoter or the Publisher, and the Publisher may, at its absolute discretion, vary, amend, suspend or withdraw the prize with or without notice. No correspondence will be entered into.
25. The winning and the Highly Commended entrants agrees to the Promoter’s and Publisher’s use of their name, country of residence and photograph in relation to related publicity material and activities.
26. The Promoter or the Publisher may disqualify any entrant whose entry does not comply with these terms or whose actions, in the Promoter’s or the Publisher’s determination, are fraudulent, dishonest, criminal or unjust to other entrants.
27. The Publisher will use the personal details of entrants only for the purposes of administering the competition. Entrants consent to the use of their personal data for this purpose. Personal details will not be kept on file by the Promoter.
28. These terms are governed by the laws of England.
29. Promoter: Associated Newspapers Ltd of Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT. The Promotion is jointly administered by Promoter and The Random House Group Limited (“Publisher”) of 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA. The Publisher is responsible for all elements of the prize. Any prize queries should be addressed to the Publisher at the address above.

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