Contest rules and regulations

From 12:00 am EST on February 5, 2013 to 12:00 am EST on May 1, 2013 ("Contest Period")

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ("CBC") and the Quebec Writers' Federation, Maisonneuve magazine and Véhicule Press (the "Sponsors") 

Entries can also be sent by mail, by sending a completed entry form, a cheque or money order for $15 and 4 copies of the Submission to the following address:

Postal Address: 

Contestants submitting by mail must also complete the official entry form available online at cbc.ca/qwc. A copy of the entry form can also be received requested by writing to qwc@cbc.ca or by calling the Quebec Writers' Federation at (514) 933-0878.

All Submissions must be anonymous. The name of the entrant must not appear anywhere in the Submission to ensure that judging is blind. (Your name and contact information must be provided separately via the online entry form or printing the entry form that will accompany your mailed Submission.) All entries must also be double-spaced in letter format (8½ by 11). Mailed-in entries must be printed single-sided on white paper.

The Submission must never have been published (online or in print) or performed in public in whole or in part. It must not violate the rights of any third party. All Submissions will be deemed final and no revised versions will be accepted after the initial Submission.

All Submissions and all related licences granted to CBC in these rules or entered into with CBC at a later date shall be governed by the applicable collective agreement between CBC and the competent writers' union. Subject to such licences, contestants retain ownership of the copyright in the Submission.

Contestants may submit as many different Submissions as they wish. For each Submission, contestants must pay the non-refundable $15 entry administration fee by cheque or money order payable to "Quebec Writers' Federation" (the title of the entry should appear on the cheque or money order).

Please note:

• No handwritten manuscripts or fax entries will be accepted;

• Entries will not be returned and editorial comments will not be given on the entries;

• Entries should be stapled or bound.  No paper clips;

• All Submissions are final: entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Only online Submissions will receive confirmation of receipt. If you want to receive acknowledgment by regular mail, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope bearing sufficient postage with your entry.

To be valid, entries and payments must be postmarked or sent electronically on or before May 1st, 2013 at 12:00am EST.  

Entry forms and Submissions become the property of CBC and will not be returned to you. 

Submissions: Any Submissions you make will be deemed to be "Submissions" under the cbc.ca Terms of Use available at http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/termsofuse.html#submissions. 

Any Submissions deemed by CBC to be inappropriate or not suitable for its audience will be disqualified at the sole discretion of CBC. 

Submissions should be no more than 1,200 words. All Submissions must be composed by you and be your original work, and must not violate the rights of any third party. By making a Submission, you give CBC a perpetual royalty-free license to reproduce your work and to communicate it to the public for all world territories, exclusive until December 31, 2014 and non-exclusive afterwards. You waive any moral rights you may have in such Submission. You acknowledge that CBC may publish Submissions in whole or in part on any medium (radio, television, internet or other) or platforms controlled or authorized by CBC.

In the event that a Submission is chosen for publication elsewhere before the winners are announced, the author must notify CBC (qwc@cbc.ca) or the QWF (julia@qwf.org) immediately and withdraw the Submission. 

Contest is open to all Quebec residents who are eighteen (18) years of age or older at the Contest opening date. Residency requirements stipulate that you must have lived in QC for the past 6 months.

Employees of CBC, Sponsors and their affiliates, as well as such employees' immediate family (father/mother, brother/sister, son/daughter) or persons living under the same roof are not eligible to enter this Contest.

A blind judging panel ("Judging Panel") composed of three (3) established Canadian writers and/or literary specialists will review all eligible entries received during the Contest Period and select the winner based upon: 

• originality, style, quality of writing, and overall artistic/literary merit.

Ten Submissions will be shortlisted, and the complete  Submissions and names of the authors may be posted on the web sites of the CBC and the Quebec Writers' Federation. The final selection of the first- and second-prize winners and the "readers' choice" prize, will be announced at the QWF Literary Awards Gala in Montreal in November, 2013.

The ten Finalists will be contacted by telephone or by email during the two months following the Judging Panel's decision. The two winners should claim their prize and sign all necessary documents at the QWF Literary Awards Gala held in November. If a winner cannot be reached within 30 days following the first attempt of contact, declines the prize, or fails to return the required release form, the prize shall be forfeited and CBC has the right, at its sole discretion, to select another winner.

An electronic copy of all Submissions that are shortlisted will be required in order to verify word count. Word counts are strictly enforced and Submissions above the specified word count are automatically excluded. Only the original content of the submission is counted; title, quotations dedications are not counted. Our word limits are strict. We use Microsoft Word to verify word counts. Since Word only relies on spaces to delimit words, any term containing a hyphen ("twenty-five") or an apostrophe ("can't", "don't") counts as a single word. Word also counts every article ("the", "a", etc.) as a separate word. Microsoft Word also automatically counts groups of characters (e.g. "xxx") as well as symbols (e.g. "***" or "~~~") as a word.

Two prizes will be awarded to the two best Submissions as selected by the Judging Panel. They consist of:

1) First prize: a cash prize of one thousand five-hundred dollars ($1,500), one broadcast of the Submission on CBC Radio, and publication in Maisonneuve magazine, in an anthology published by Véhicule Press, and on CBC.ca.

2) Second prize: a cash prize of one thousand dollars ($1,000), one broadcast of the Submission on CBC Radio, and publication on the Maisonneuve magazine website, in an anthology published by Véhicule Press, and on the CBC.ca.

A third prize of $300 will be awarded to the Submission

that receives the most votes from the public. 

Acceptance of the cash prizes implies granting of all rights to record and broadcast a reading of the winning entries, in whole or in part, on CBC's network and all rights to publish and reproduce the winning entries in Maisonneuve magazine, Véhicule Press anthology and on the CBC's website or other meduim. The prizes also cover all rights to translation by a person commissioned by CBC, as well as the recording, broadcast and publication of the translation on CBC's French or English network.

Those publications will be governed by Véhicule Press and Maisonneuve  magazine's standard terms and conditions which can be obtained by contacting vp@vehiculepress.com or office@maisonneuve.org.

5.1. Each winner shall sign a release declaring their eligibility as stipulated in Section 2 of these rules; agreeing that their name, image and/or voice may be used for advertising purposes related to this Contest free of charge; and releasing CBC, its Sponsors, their affiliates, as well as their respective directors, officers and employees (the "Contest Parties") from all liability for any damage or loss arising from participation in this Contest or from the awarding, acceptance or use of the prize. 

5.2. The prize shall be accepted as is and may not be exchanged or refunded for an amount of money, sold or transferred. No substitutions will be allowed. Any unused portion of a prize will be forfeited.

5.3. If the prize cannot be awarded as described in these rules, CBC and its Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a prize or prize component with another of comparable value, as determined in their sole discretion.

5.4. Refusal to accept the prize releases the Contest Parties from any obligation toward the winner.

5.5. If a contestant makes any false statement, (s)he will be automatically disqualified from the Contest. Any reference whatsoever to a pre-existing literary work must be explicitly acknowledged by the author in the submission. 

5.6. The Contest Parties assume no liability for any loss, damage or injury, including without limitation: (i) lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, misdirected, late, destroyed, illegible or incomplete entries; (ii) loss, theft or damage to software or computer or telephone data, including any breach of privacy; (iii) fraudulent calls; (iv) inability of any person to participate in the Contest for any reason including mistaken addresses on mail or e-mail; technical, computer or telephone malfunctions or other problems with computer on-line systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, or software; congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination of the foregoing; (v) damage to any person's computer, including as a result of playing or downloading any material relating to the Contest; (vi) any delay or inability to act resulting from an event or situation beyond their control, including a strike, lockout or other labour dispute at their location or the locations of the organizations and businesses whose services are used to administer this Contest; or (vii) prizes that are lost, damaged or misdirected during shipping.

5.7. CBC reserves the right to cancel or suspend this Contest should a virus, bug or other cause beyond their reasonable control corrupt the security or proper administration of the Contest. Any attempt to deliberately damage any website or to undermine the legitimate operation of this Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws.  Should such an attempt be made, CBC reserves the right to seek remedies and damages to the fullest extent permitted by law, including criminal prosecution. 

5.8. All personal information, such as name and contact information, is collected by CBC solely for the purposes of administering this Contest and shall not be used for any other purpose without your express consent. By providing this information, you consent to it being used for the stated purposes. Please see CBC's privacy policy at http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/privacy.html.

5.9. If the identity of a contestant is disputed, the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry will be deemed to be the contestant.  The individual assigned to the e-mail address for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address is considered the authorized account holder.  A selected contestant may be required to provide proof that (s)he is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the selected entry.  All entries must be submitted from a valid e-mail account that may be identified by reverse domain name search. The sole determinant of time for the purposes of receipt of a valid entry in this Contest will be the Contest server.

5.10. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries.  All entries that are incomplete, illegible, damaged, irregular, have been submitted through illicit means, using any robotic, automatic programmed method that artificially increases the odds of winning or do not conform to or satisfy any condition of the rules may be disqualified by the CBC.  CBC is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this Contest.

5.11. CBC reserves the right to amend the Contest rules or to terminate the Contest at any time without any liability to any contestant.  Any amendments to these Contest rules will be posted on www.cbc.ca/qwc.

5.12. By entering, you agree to abide by the Contest rules and the decisions of CBC, its Sponsors and the Judging Panel, which decisions are final and binding on all contestants.

5.13. Contest rules are available on www.cbc.ca/qwc. 

February 1, 2013

CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION