1. This Competition is being organised by Hachette UK Ltd (the ‘Publisher’), Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ.
2. The prize for this Competition is the opportunity for ten (10) people (the ‘Winners’) to attend the ‘Grow Your Story’ writers programme, which will provide a series of free, online workshops and mentorship for LGBTQ+ writers (the “Programme”). The Programme will commence January 2025 with workshops and mentoring to commence in January 2025 for a period of approximately four (4) months. (the ‘Prize’). The workshops and mentoring sessions will take place online, Winners will be expected to make themselves available for Workshops. In the event of in-person meetings travel and accommodation will not be provided.
3. The Prize will be awarded to the writers who submits the best Proposals (as defined below in Clause 6) judged against the Judging Criteria (as described in Clause 4 below), and who meets the Entry Criteria (as described in Clause 5 below).
4. Each entry will be judged by a panel of judges based on the strength of the idea and the quality of execution (the ‘Judging Criteria’). The submission can be on any topic and in any genre.
5. In order to be eligible for the Competition, entrants must meet the following criteria (the ‘Entry Criteria’). This Competition is only open to those who are LGTBQ+. Entrants must be aged 18 or over, resident in the United Kingdom and Ireland and must not have an agent at the time of entering the Competition or have had any book previously published by a publisher. The Competition is not open to employees of the Publisher or David Higham Associates, their families, or to anyone professionally connected to the Competition or connected to the judges either themselves or through their families.
6. Entrants to the Competition are required to submit a proposal for a book that meets the Judging Criteria and consists of (i) an sample of up to three-thousand (3,000) words from an English-language manuscript written by you, (ii) a short description of the full plot of the book (250 words), (iii) suggested genre of the book, (iv) an overview of who the book is for (100 words) and (v) a brief writer profile (200 words), (together the ‘Proposal’). The Proposal must be in English and must be in a legible font and font size.
7. Proposals must be submitted via the Competition landing page https://www.thefuturebookshelf.co.uk/landing-page/the-future-bookshelf/the-future-bookshelf-opportunities/grow-your-story-x-hachette-pride/ . Entries may only be submitted between 12:01am BST on 11 June 2024 and 11.59pm BST on 14 July 2024. Any entries received outside these specified times and dates and any entries that do not meet the requirements of these Terms and Conditions will not be eligible for entry to the Competition.
8. Each entry will be judged on how well it fits the Judging Criteria. The Winners will be chosen from entries received by the Publisher in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and announced by 13 September 2024.
9. The Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges comprising the following: (i) Callum Kenny; (ii) Sara Langham; (iii) Laura Kay; and (iv) C. L. Clark (the ‘Judges’). In the event of a tie, Callum Kenny will have the casting vote. The winning entry will be the one that best meets the Judging Criteria. The Judges’ decisions for the selection of the Winners are final.
10. If no or insufficient suitable entries that meet the Judging Criteria set out above can be found, the Publisher reserves the right to (i) not select any Winners and/or (ii) select fewer Winners.
11. By submitting their Proposal the entrant undertakes and warrants that the Proposal consists of their own original work and will not infringe the intellectual property rights of anyone. If a third party’s material is used, such as lyrics of a song, the entrant will secure the necessary permission and will provide it to the Publisher on request. The entrant further warrants that the Proposal does not contain any material which is defamatory, private or confidential or which is unlawful in any way. Any entry in breach of this Clause will be disqualified from being considered for the Competition at any stage.
12. The name of the Winners will be announced early September 2024. The Winners will be informed by email. The names of all Shortlisted Entrants may be published on the Publisher’s websites and may also be publicised in other media including on social media sites.
13. An entrant may only submit one entry. Further entries will be disqualified. Entries will not be accepted via agents, third parties or in bulk.
14. The Publisher is not responsible for contacting or responding to entrants who provide unclear or incomplete information or for entries that are lost, misdirected, delayed or destroyed.
15. Entries will not be returned so please ensure you have a copy of your submission for your own records.
16. The Publisher reserves the right to (i) cancel the Competition; (ii) alter the details of the Prize or judging panels and/or (iii) alter any other details of the Competition without notice but the Publisher will try to avoid creating any undue disappointment. No cash alternative or other alternatives to the Prize will be provided.
17. Submitting writers shall comply with any reasonable instructions from the Company in relation to the conduct of the Programme. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall not be obliged to enter into any form of commercial relationship with participators in the Programme, including offering participators a book deal. Participators in the Programme will not be required to enter into an exclusive arrangement with the Company as a pre-condition to participating in the Programme.
18. Any personal data submitted by entrants, including their names and email addresses (the ‘Information’), will be used by the Publisher (who is the Data Controller) for the purposes of this Competition, including without limitation for the purpose of judging the entries and arranging the Prize, in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and in accordance with Publisher’s Privacy Notice which can be found here https://www.hachette.co.uk/landing-page/privacy-notice-general-huk/ . The Information will be deleted within six months of the announcement of the Winners.
19. No purchase is necessary to enter the Competition.
20. By entering the Competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
21. These Terms and Conditions and any disputes or claims (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of these Terms and Conditions shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England, whose courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction.