Brace yourselves, readers and writers worldwide! November is National Novel Writing Month, a huge international event in which over 130,000 would-be writers rush to finish an original 50,000-word novel between November 1st and November 30th. From high school students to professional authors, most of them unpublished, these writers spend one highly caffeinated month writing for the sheer enjoyment of finally finishing that novel.
BookSwim is giving all NaNoWriMo writers the chance to expose their work to thousands of active readers. Now announcing BookSwim’s 2009 NaNoWriMo Competition! All NaNoWriMo winners are welcome to submit excerpts of their work for a chance to have their novels published through print-on-demand technology and made available in BookSwim’s catalog!
Prizes
20 Semi-Finalists: 1 free month of BookSwim
5 Grand Prize Winners: Your book rented through BookSwim!
How to Enter
Start with a bang! Copy and paste the first 1,000 words of your novel into the body of your email program along with your name, brief (3 - 5 sentence) summary of your novel, and your preferred method of contact, then attach the first 10,000 words in an .rtf, .doc / .docx, or .pdf file. You need not stop mid-sentence to get exactly 10,000 words– just come to a logical stop as close as you can to that word limit. Email your submission to the ONE email address that best corresponds to the genre of your novel:
Speculative fiction (horror, fantasy, science fiction): nanospecfic@bookswim.com
Mystery / thriller: nanomystery@bookswim.com
Historical fiction: nanohistory@bookswim.com
Romance: nanoromance@bookswim.com
Contemporary / mainstream / literary: nanolit@bookswim.com
Submissions begin immediately and close December 31st. Make our judges want the rest of the story!
Round 2: The People’s Vote
From these submissions, our judges will select twenty semi-finalists. Their excerpts will be displayed on our site between January 15th and January 31st, and every visitor to our site will be able to nominate one novel from each genre. Make sure all of your friends vote for your submission!
On February 1st, we’ll count the votes for each entry and declare our official winners! If you win, we’ll work with you to print copies of your book, rent them, and pay you each time a BookSwimmer reads your novel.
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email cobrien@bookswim.com
WANT TO BE A CONTEST JUDGE? Send an email to cobrien@bookswim.com with your name and preferred genres you’d like to review for a free month of unlimited book rental!
Official Contest Rules: Terms and Conditions
1. ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION.
a. This competition is sponsored by BookSwim Corporation.
b. This competition is open to all winners of National Novel Writing Month as defined on nanowrimo.org (someone who has completed an original work of fiction at least 50,000 words between November 1st and November 30th; see site for full details) currently residing in the United States and its territories, except employees of BookSwim Corporation, its competition sponsor, advertising and promotional agencies and their respective affiliates and associates and such employees’ family members.
c. Entrants are responsible for compliance with applicable laws in jurisdictions where they reside.
d. By entering this sweepstakes, entrants automatically agree to be bound by the terms of this sweepstakes as listed in this Competition Terms and Conditions.
e. Failure to adhere to the terms and conditions listed in this Competition Terms and Conditions will result in disqualification of any submitted entries, and the nullification of entrant privileges to further participate in the competitions.
2. SUBMISSIONS OF ENTRIES AND DEADLINES
a. The competition will be opened for entry of submissions as indicated by the first written and electronically distributed announcement, hereinafter referred to as ‘First Announcement,’ of any competition by its respective promoter and will continue until December 31st, 2009. All entries must be submitted no later than 11:59pm EST on December 31st, 2009. Late entries will be rejected. To be eligible to participate, entrants must submit their entry to one of the following email addresses: nanospecfic@bookswim.com; nanomystery@bookswim.com; nanohistory@bookswim.com; nanoromance@bookswim.com; nanolit@bookswim.com.
b. Entrants must provide their name, valid email address, and all other required information.
c. Incomplete entry forms will be deemed disqualified and rejected. BookSwim Corporation is not responsible for any lost, misdirected or delayed entries. Entries received by telephone, fax, courier, personal delivery or Customer Service Ticket or any other method other than the official Competition submission email addresses will not be accepted.
d. By submitting any entry, entrants agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth in this document without limitation. Entries must not include content that is unlawful, harmful, vulgar, offensive, obscene, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable, the determination of which is up to the sole discretion of BookSwim Corporation.
3. WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION.
a. Semi-finalists of this Competition will be chosen by designated judges as deemed by BookSwim from among the participants who meet ALL of the criteria and guidelines specified by BookSwim Corporation. You understand that these criteria and guidelines are determined exclusively by BookSwim Corporation. The entries submitted by semi-finalists will be presented on the blog The Literary Life and Grand Prize Winners shall be selected by public popular vote via blog comments.
b. Nature of Prize. A maximum of twenty (20) semi-finalists will receive a $29.95 virtual Gift Code redeemable at BookSwim.com for a monthly rental membership. Gift Codes cannot be exchanged for cash and have no cash value. A maximum of five (5) Grand Prize Winners will gain the right to have copies of their novels printed through third-party print-on-demand services, which will then be made available in BookSwim’s catalog for rental by its monthly subscribers. BookSwim will cover the cost of printing for copies introduced into its inventory. Once winners are announced, BookSwim shall negotiate a separate revenue-share agreement with the winning authors. All copyright and ownership of the work of the Grand Prize Winners remains with the winners. Grand Prize Winners shall grant BookSwim the right to print copies of their work as catalog demand dictates and offer said copies for rental to BookSwim subscribers.
c. Notification of Winners. Semi-finalists shall be notified by email. Grand Prize Winners shall also be notified by email at the time the prize designation is made. Odds of winning a prize will vary depending upon quality of entry as determined by BookSwim’s judges and the number of actual Competition participants. In the event any entry is deemed ineligible or disqualified, BookSwim Corporation may award the prizes to alternate entries as it deems suitable. In the event that the prize cannot be awarded, BookSwim Corporation may withdraw the winner’s title and all unclaimed prize(s) will be forfeited. BookSwim Corporation may then select an alternate winner.
d. In accepting the prizes, the Competition winners acknowledge that BookSwim Corporation may not be held liable for any loss, damages or injury associated with accepting or using the prize(s).
6. GENERAL
a. Releases. All entrants, as a condition of entry into the Competition, agree to release BookSwim Corporation staff and its Competition sponsors from and against any and all liability, claims or actions of any kind whatsoever for injuries, damages, or losses to persons or property associated or sustained in connection with participation in any and all aspects of the Competition, including accessing the Competition, submitting an entry, and the receipt, ownership or use of any prize. Each prize winner bears all risk of loss or damage to his or her applicable prize after it has been delivered.
b. Prize Responsibility. All prize winners will be responsible for any and all federal, state and/or local taxes resulting from acceptance of any and all prizes associated with this Competition. No prize substitution or changes are allowed. All prizes are subject to availability. If any winner chooses not to redeem his/her prize, said prize may be withdrawn and awarded to an alternate entry.
c. Limitation of Liability. Neither BookSwim Corporation or its staff, nor its Competition sponsors, assume any responsibility or liability for (i) any incorrect or inaccurate entry form information, or for any faulty or failed electronic data transmissions; (ii) any authorized access to, or theft, destruction or alteration of entry forms or submissions at any point in the operation of this Competition; (iii) any technical malfunction, failure, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or communications line failure, regardless of cause, with regard to any equipment, systems, networks, lines, satellites, email programs, servers, computers or providers utilized in any aspect of the submission of an entry or the operation of the Competition; (iv) inaccessibility or unavailability of the Internet; or (v) any injury or loss of participants which may be related to or resulting from any attempt to participate in the Competition or download any materials in the Competition.
d. Disputes. To the extent permitted by law, the rights to litigate, to seek injunctive relief, or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or in connection with this Competition are hereby excluded, and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. You agree that you will submit any dispute you may have with regards to the conduct of the Competition, interpretation of the Rules, and/or awarding of prizes to BookSwim Corporation, whose decision regarding such dispute shall be binding and final. All disputes must be submitted in writing to BookSwim Corporation, 211 Warren Street, Suite 305, Newark, NJ 07103.
e. Winners. All decisions are final.
f. Winner Announcement. All prize winners will be contacted by BookSwim Corporation via email for the claiming of their prizes.
g. Privacy: Bookswim Corporation will not share any information provided by Competition entrants to third parties.
h. Age of Participation. Any participant under the age of 18 is required to notify BookSwim Corporation before entering any competition processes. Participants under the age of 18 may be required to provide proof of parental consent, either in writing by postal mail or facsimile transmittal, at any time during the competition process. If a winner of any award is under the age of 18, parental consent in writing by postal mail or facsimile transmittal will be required.
i. Terms. BookSwim Corporation reserves the right to abbreviate, modify, suspend, cancel, or terminate this Competition at any time without prior notice and without further obligation or liability to you. BookSwim Corporation also reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions at any time without prior notice.
