Contest Rules

Indie It Press Contest Rules:

All Writing Contests: Ghost & Horror Short Story; Love & Lust Romance; Summer Speculative Fiction; Napkin Microfiction & Micro-nonfiction; Short Story contests; and Essay Contests

Visual Art/Image: Applaud Art Contest & Ghost and Horror Image Contest rules below.

Please read the rules carefully before submitting your entry.  Entries not complying with the competition rules may be disqualified.

Eligibility

1. Entrants must be 17 years or over on the closing date.
2. Entries must be in English.
3. Entries must be the work of the entrant and must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere in print or online including blogs or personal websites.
4. Entries must be fiction but can be on any subject, and written in any style or form. We do not recommend poems and stories written for children.
5. Please, no fan fiction or use of copyrighted material, characters, song lyrics etc.
6. Competitions are international and we welcome entrants from all countries.
7. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please let us know if your entry wins a prize, or is published elsewhere. We will need to withdraw your entry. Entry fees will not be refunded.

Format for Each Contest: Short Story; Microfiction; Micro-nonfiction; & Essay

1. Entries for Short Story or Essay Contests must be at least 1000 words but no more than 4000 words. Titles are not included in the word count. All word counts will be checked.
2. Short Story or Essay entries with fewer than 1000 words or more than 4000 words will be disqualified.
3. Entries for Napkin Microfiction & Micro-Nonfiction submissions must be at least 200 words to 700 words.
4. Entries for Napkin Microfiction & Micro-Nonfiction with fewer that 200 words or more than 700 words will be disqualified.
5. Entries must be anonymous and must not include your name, address, email, telephone number or any other personal information on the written work. Entries that include personal information will be disqualified.
6. Entries will only be accepted in the following formats: Microsoft Word Document (.doc or .docx), OpenDocument Text (.odt), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Text Document (.txt), and please not pdf’s.
7. Please think of our readers: use a legible font and size.
8. The filename of your entry should be the same as your title. We like titles, but if you want to submit an untitled entry, use the first five letters of your entry as the filename.

Submission

1. Entries should be made via the IndieItPress contest email address contests @ indieitpress [dot] com after purchase of the $12.00 Ghost & Horror, Love & Lust Romance, Summer Speculative Fiction, Short Story, Essay Contest, or Napkin Microfiction/Micro-Nonfiction fee.
2. Authors may make corrections to their entry up until the deadline of each round. Please resubmit the entry via the contests email address and enter ‘Corrected version of [Title]’ in the subject line.
3. We reserve the right to correct spelling and punctuation before publishing. Any significant edits will be checked with the author before publication.
4. Entries must be received before 11:55 PDT at the end of the closing date shown on the contests page.
5. Entries missing the deadline will roll over to the next short story competition.
6. There is no limit to the number of entries an entrant may make.
7. Multiple entries must be paid for again and submitted separately.
8. If you supply a link to your personal website or social media profile etc., and your entry is published on the website, your link will be published with your entry. We reserve the right not to publish links that are not directly relevant to entrants or their writing or that we deem to be inappropriate.
9. Please check your email address carefully before submitting your entry.
10. If you do not receive a confirmation email (don’t forget to check your spam) please contact us via the contact page.
11. Entrants are responsible for completing the submission process correctly and alerting us to any problems they encounter. IndieItPress.com, LLC., accepts no liability for entries not received due to a failure on the part of the entrant to follow the submission process correctly.

Payment

1. The standard entry fee four our contests is currently $12.00; however, the price may change depending upon the submission.
2. You may submit more than once. Please pay another fee and email your submission to contests @ indieitpress [dot] com.
3. Payment for submissions can be paid via PayPal, Debit Card, and Credit Card.
4. Please fill out all your contact information during payment completion.
5. No refunds will be given.

Determination of Winners

1. All entries are read and scored anonymously by selected announced Judges of Indie It Press.
2. Entries are judged and scored on four to five criteria: Originality, Story structure, Character, Quality of Writing, & Conflict.
3. Approximately five entries will be selected to form the long-list.
4. Long-listed entries will be read by independent judges who will then together select the placement entries.
5. Honorable mentions will vary based on number of submissions and judge’s discretion.
6. All judge’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Feedback

1. In order to receive feedback you must pay the additional $5 fee.
2. If you pay the fee you will receive feedback on your story from the judges.
3. You will not receive your reader/judge score, only written feedback.
4. This offer does not include agent feedback only the preliminary judge’s feedback.

Winning Entries

1. The prizes for the current submissions can be found on our Contest page up to one month after the closing date.
2. Some submissions that are honorable mentions, or long listed that are included in an anthology will not include monetary prizes, but will offer print publication instead with one book as payment for work(s).
3. Long-listed titles and author names will be announced on the Indie It Press website one month after the closing date.
4. First, second, and third, and two runners up (4th & 5th) and honorable mention entries will be published on the Indie It Press website up to four months after the closing date.
5. If your entry is long-listed and you gave us permission to publish your entry, it will be published on the website when possible.
6. Winning authors will be contacted regarding their prizes as soon as practicable after publication of the winning stories.
7. Monetary Prizes paid out via PayPal in USD. No exceptions.

Copyright

1. Worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the author; however, the winners of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth place and honorable mentions grants IndieItPress:
   • the right to publish their entry before anyone else in print or online.
   • non-exclusive rights to their entry, including the right to display their entry indefinitely on IndieItPress website and the right to include their entry in an anthology.
2. Entrants who give IndieItPress.com permission to publish their entry for the anthology grant Indie It Press:
   • the right to publish their entry before anyone else in print or online.
   • non-exclusive rights to their entry, including the right to display their entry indefinitely on the Indie It Press website and the right to include their entry in an anthology.
3. Where an entrant gives IndieItPress, LLC., permission to publish their entry and their entry is not published on the Indie It Press website, all rights revert back to the entrant.

The information given in these rules is correct; however, Indie It Press reserves the right to change any of the above without prior notice.

SUBMISSION OF ENTRY CONFIRMS ACCEPTANCE OF THE RULES.

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION.

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Applaud Art, and Ghost & Horror Story Image Contest Rules

Please read the rules carefully before submitting your entry via email. Entries not complying with the competition rules may be disqualified.

Eligibility

1. Entrants must be 17 years or over on the closing date.
2. Entries must be the work of the entrant and must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere in print or online including blogs or personal websites.
3. Entries must be image art- ex: drawings, paintings, photography, graphic design, or image driven.
4. Entries should be in still form JPG/JPEG, or PNG with an aspect ratio of 6:4 for easier viewing.
5. Please, no use of copyrighted material, characters, song lyrics, photographs not taken by you, etc.
6. All images must be original work, taken by the entrants. No third party may own or control any materials the photo contains.
7. The image must not infringe upon the trademark, copyright, moral rights, intellectual rights, or rights of privacy of any entity or person.
8. Image competition is international and welcomes entrants from all countries.
9. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please let us know if your entry wins a prize, or is published elsewhere. We will need to withdraw your entry. Entry fees will not be refunded.

Format

1. Entries must be anonymous and must not include your name, address, email, telephone number or any other personal information on the work. Entries that include personal information will be disqualified.
2. Entries will only be accepted in the following formats: still form JPG/JPEG, or PNG with an aspect ratio of 6:4 for easier viewing.
3. The filename of your entry should be the same as your title of your image, not a number. We like titles. Entry ex: zombiehill, & appleorchard. This titles the images and places them as your first and second submission.

Submission

1. Entries should be made via IndieItPress: contests @ indieitpress dot com after purchase of the $12.00 Indie It Press Visual Art Contest.
2. Artists may make corrections to their entry up until the deadline of each round. Please resubmit the entry via the IndieItPress contests email address above ‘Corrected version of [Title]’ in the title box.
3. Entries must be received before 11:55 MST at the end of the closing date shown on the contest page.
4. Entries missing the deadline will roll over to the next image competition and will not be included in this one.
5. There is no limit to the number of entries an entrant may make.
6. After two image uploads, multiple entries must be submitted separately. Pay the $12 fee and email contests @indieitpress your additional two submissions.
7. If you upload more than two images and haven’t paid the additional $12.00 fee the first two images will be the ones that will be judged.
8. If the contest allows more than one upload we will judge the amount you send that follows the number of uploads allowed.
9. If you supply a link to your personal website or social media profile etc., and your entry is published on the website, your link will be published with your entry. We reserve the right not to publish links that are not directly relevant to entrants or art or that we deem to be inappropriate.
10. Entries will be acknowledged by email autoresponder.
11. Please check your email address carefully before submitting your entry.
12. If you do not receive a confirmation email (don’t forget to check your spam) please contact us via the contact page.
13. Entrants are responsible for completing the submission process correctly and alerting us to any problems they encounter. Indie It Press accepts no liability for entries not received due to a failure on the part of the entrant to follow the submission process correctly.
14. The contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Payment

1. The standard entry fee four our contests is $12.00; however, the price may change depending upon the submission.
2. Payment is through PayPal, Debit Card, and Credit Card.
3. Please fill out all your contact information during payment completion.
4. No refunds will be given.

Determination of Winners

1. All entries are scored anonymously by selected announced Judges of Indie It Press.
2. Image entries are judged and scored on the following criteria:

• Marketability/Commercial Appeal
• Newsworthiness
• Inspirational Power
• Expression of Theme
• Usage of Brand to Reinforce Theme
• Overall Impression/Impact
• Current/Potential Social Impact
• Level of Detail
• Inspiration to Others
• Wow! Factor
• Memorable
• Technical Execution
• Visual Appeal
• Artistic Merit

3. Depending on submission size approximately 10 entries will be selected to form the long-list.

4. Long-listed entries will be scored by independent judges who will then together select the placement entries.

5. All jury’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Winning Entries

1. The prizes for the current image competition can be found on our Contest page up to one month after the closing date.
2. 1st place through 5th place will receive cash awards for the top 5 – TBD based on number of entries.
3. Some submissions may not include a monetary prize(s), but will offer print publication instead with one book as payment for work(s).
4. Long-listed titles and artist names will be announced on the IndieItPress website one month after the closing date.
5. Depending upon number of submissions – First, second, and third, 2 runners up (4th & 5th), and 5 honorable mentions placed entries will be published on the IndieItPress website and newsletter up to four months after the closing date.
6. If your entry is long-listed and you gave us permission to publish your entry, it will be published on the website when possible.
7. Winning artists will be contacted regarding their prizes as soon as practicable after publication of the winning image announcements.
8. The prize must be collected by the winner and is nontransferable.
9. Payment to winner is via Paypal only. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Copyright

1. By entering the contest, entrants agree that images submitted can be used by Indie It Press for advertising purposes of Indie It Press.
2. Worldwide copyright of each entry remains with the artist; however, the winners of the first, second, and third place prizes, 2 runners up (4th & 5th), and honorable mentions grant IndieItPress:
   • the right to publish their entry before anyone else in print or online.
   • non-exclusive rights to their entry, including the right to display their entry indefinitely on IndieItPress website and the right to include their entry in an anthology.
   • The right to use for advertising purposes.
3. Entrants who give IndieitPress permission to publish their entry grant IndieItPress:
   • the right to publish their entry before anyone else in print or online.
   • non-exclusive rights to their entry, including the right to display their entry indefinitely on the Reflex Fiction website and the right to include their entry in an anthology.
4. Where an entrant gives IndieItPress permission to publish their entry and their entry is not published on the IndieItPress website, all rights revert back to the entrant.

The information given in these Rules is correct; however, IndieItPress reserves the right to change any of the above without prior notice.

SUBMISSION OF ENTRY CONFIRMS ACCEPTANCE OF THE RULES 

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION of THIS CONTEST and FUTURE CONTESTS.