I Am The Next Mark Twain
Contest Rules
I AM THE NEXT MARK TWAIN WRITING CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES
1. ELIGIBILITY. The Contest is open solely to individuals who, at the time of his/her submission of a Contest entry, are both (a) at least thirteen (13) years of age and (b) legal residents of, and physically located in the following country: the United States (i.e., encompassing the fifty (50) states and the District of Columbia, but not any of the United States’ territories or possessions). The Contest is void outside of the geographic areas listed in subsections b. above, and the Contest is void anywhere else where prohibited by law. PLEASE NOTE: If you are (A) under the age of eighteen (18) or (B) a minor in the jurisdiction where you reside, your parent or legal guardian must grant his/her consent for you to be able to enter the Contest. (For purposes of these Official Rules, where you grant us a right, license, or any other type of permission, or where you make a representation or warranty hereunder, “you” means that you are either: (I) a Contest entrant who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and of the age of the majority in the jurisdiction where you reside; or (II) the parent or legal guardian of a Contest entrant who is under the age of eighteen (18) and who is a minor in the jurisdiction where he/she resides, and therefore capable of granting Sponsor rights and permissions on behalf of such Contest entrant.) The Contest is not open to the employees, independent contractors, officers, directors, shareholders, legal advisors or financial advisors of Sponsor or of any of Sponsor’s affiliates or of any of Sponsor’s advertising/marketing/promotion agencies, or to any of the Judges, or to the immediate family members of (i.e., spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, siblings, children, and grandchildren, regardless of whether living in the same household) or those living in the same household as (regardless of whether related) any such employees, independent contractors, officers, directors, shareholders, legal advisors, financial advisors or Judges. To enter the Contest, you must submit an original, unpublished English-language entry, as described in greater detail in Section 2 below.
2. HOW TO ENTER; REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF CONTEST ENTRANTS. The Contest entry submission period begins on April 20, 2009, at 12:00:01 a.m. Eastern Time (”ET”), and ends on May 31, 2009, at 11:59:59 p.m., ET (the “Entry Period”). To enter the Contest, go to www.iamthenextmarktwain.com, follow the instructions on the Contest entry page, complete all of the required information, and click the “submit” button prior to the conclusion of the Entry Period. If you are under the age of eighteen (18) or a minor in the jurisdiction where you reside, then you still must be the sole author of the essay portion of the Contest entry that is described below, but your parent or legal guardian must otherwise complete and submit the Contest entry form to Sponsor. Sponsor will not accept or review paper-copy submissions. The essay portion of your Contest entry submission must be no longer than three hundred (300) words and must be the completed ending to Mark Twain’s original piece, “Conversations with Satan.”
The essay portion of your Contest entry submission must be authored by a single, individual author, and any such essay portion that is written by two (2) or more individuals will be disqualified automatically from the Contest and will not be eligible to be selected for any Prize hereunder. You hereby specifically represent and warrant that the essay portion of your Contest entry:
a. Is your original creation;
b. Has not been copied, in whole or in part, from any other work (as written in any language or in any medium, whether now known or hereafter devised);
c. Is written solely in the English language;
d. Has not heretofore been assigned, licensed, transferred, sold or encumbered, in whole or in part, to any third party, and will not hereafter (at least through the awarding of Prizes hereunder) be assigned, licensed, transferred, sold or encumbered, in whole or in part, to any third party.
e. Has not previously been published, produced or distributed in any audio or visual form, or otherwise exploited in any medium (whether now known or hereafter devised), in whole or in part;
f. Does not defame, and does not infringe or violate the right of privacy, right of publicity, copyright, trademark, service mark, trade secret, or any intellectual property, proprietary or other right(s) of, any third party;
g. Does not include the name or likeness of any actual person(s), without your having obtained the express prior written consent of such person(s) (or of such person’s parent or legal guardian if such person is a minor) in each instance;
h. Does not violate the pornography, obscenity or any other laws of the jurisdiction in which you reside; and,
Provided that Sponsor, in the exercise of its sole discretion, determines that your Contest entry submission meets each of the eligibility requirements set forth in Section 1 above and each of the essay content requirements set forth in Sections 2(a)-2(h) above, and provided further that Sponsor receives your Contest entry submission prior to the conclusion of the Entry Period, then your Contest entry submission will be deemed a “Valid Entry”. Sponsor’s servers and clock will serve as the official clock for the Contest, and your proof of submission will not constitute Sponsor’s proof of receipt. Contest entry submissions will be neither acknowledged nor returned by Sponsor. You specifically agree and understand that Sponsor in no event will be responsible for:
i. Lost, misdirected, late, incomplete, illegible, indecipherable or unintelligible Contest entry submissions or inaccurate entry information, whether caused by you or by any hardware or software used in or associated with the Contest or by any technical or human error that may occur in the processing of completing or submitting your Contest entry; or
ii. Any printing, production, human or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.
The Contest is limited to one entry per individual. If you submit more than one Contest entry, then each of your Contest entry submissions will be deemed disqualified, and you will not be eligible for selection to receive any Prize hereunder. In addition, Sponsor expressly reserves the right, exercisable in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Contest entry submission containing subject matter that Sponsor determines to be offensive, sexually explicit, disparaging or otherwise inappropriate.
3. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS OF ENTRY; RIGHTS GRANTED BY CONTEST ENTRANTS.
a. By submitting a Contest entry, you hereby irrevocably grant to Sponsor, and to Sponsor’s affiliates and agents, the right to use (in whole or in part), without compensation of any kind or amount, such submission, together with your first name and the first initial of your last name, for any and all purposes in connection with this Contest. Such right shall include the right of Sponsor, and its affiliates and agents, to edit the formatting and display of the essay portion of your Contest entry submission, without seeking your approval. In addition, through at least the date when all Prizes in connection with the Contest have been awarded (such time period to be extended in perpetuity with respect to a potential or actual Grand Prize Winner), you hereby irrevocably agree as follows: to the extent that moral rights (e.g., the right to attribution, the right to integrity, etc.) apply in the jurisdiction where you reside, you hereby waive (and to the extent that such moral rights may not be waived, you hereby agree that you shall not assert) your moral rights in your Contest entry submission for purposes of this Contest, including without limitation Sponsor’s use of such submission in connection with this Contest.
b. By submitting a Contest entry, you hereby irrevocably grant to Sponsor, and to Sponsor’s affiliates and agents, the right to post and publish the essay portion of such submission (or any portion thereof), together with your first name and the first initial of your last name, on any web site owned and/or operated, in whole or in part, by Sponsor or any of its affiliates, for public voting, reviews, commentary, blogging and/or any other Contest-related purpose(s), and/or for any other purpose(s) whatsoever. In this regard, you hereby specifically acknowledge and understand that Sponsor’s decision to post/publish all or any part of the essay portion of your Contest entry submission on any web site does not mean that Sponsor has selected your submission to receive a Prize hereunder.
c. To the extent that your Contest entry form contains personal information about you, Sponsor’s collection and usage of such personal information shall be in accordance with and subject to Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, which can be found at that certain web site the URL for which is http://www.harpercollins.com/footer/privacypolicy.aspx. By submitting a contest entry form, you hereby irrevocably and specifically consent to the following: (i) Sponsor and/or its affiliates may transfer your personal information to the United States; and (ii) consistent with Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, Sponsor and/or its affiliates may share your personal information with the Judges and with other third parties whom Sponsor retains to assist in operating and administering the Contest. If you do not agree with anything contained in this Section 3.c. or in Sponsor’s Privacy Policy, then please do not submit an entry into this Contest.
4. CONTEST JUDGING PROCESS.
a. Entry Period (April 20, 2009 through May 31, 2009).
The Entry Period begins on April 20, 2009 at 12:00:01 a.m., ET, and ends on May 31, 2009 at 11:59:59 p.m., ET.
b. Qualification Period (June 1, 2009 – June 15, 2009).
From June 1, 2009 through June 15, 2009, Sponsor will review, evaluate and judge each Valid Entry. Sponsor’s decisions are final, binding and non-appealable in all respects. Valid Entries will be evaluated based on the Judging Criteria. After applying the Judging Criteria to the Valid Entries, Sponsor will select twenty (20) Valid Entries as the “Finalists”:
If fewer than twenty (20) Valid Entries are received, then each Valid Entry will become a Finalist. At the sole discretion of Sponsor, the Qualification Period may be extended for up to an additional seven (7) days with respect to the evaluation of the Valid Entries.
c. Finalists Judging Period (12:00:01 a.m., ET, on June 16, 2009 through 11:59:59 p.m., ET, on June 23, 2009 for Finalists.
Sponsor and the Judges will select the potential “Grand Prize Winner” and ten (10) honorable mentions based on Judging Criteria.
d. Grand Prize Winner Announcement
On or about June 19, 2009 Sponsor will announce the first and last name and the city, state/province (if applicable) and country of residence of the actual Grand Prize Winner (together with the first and last names and the city, state/province (if applicable) and country of residence of the honorable mentions). Such first and last names and such cities, states/provinces (if applicable) and countries of residence will be posted at www.borders.com, www.theharperstudio.com, and www.iamthenextmarktwain.com, and such first and last names and cities, states/provinces (if applicable) and countries of residence additionally may be posted (at the sole discretion of Sponsor) on certain other web sites owned and/or operated by Sponsor or an affiliate(s) of Sponsor. Such announcement date is subject to potential postponement in the event of (i) any extended evaluation in the selection of (A) any of the potential Finalists and/or (B) the potential Grand Prize Winner or (ii) any delay by the potential Grand Prize Winner in the signing and returning on a timely basis to Sponsor of the “Verification and Release” and/or “Copyright Transfer” forms described in Section 6 below and/or the “Tax Documentation” form described in Section 5.c. below. For purposes of clarification, you specifically acknowledge and understand that the potential Grand Prize Winner shall not become the actual Grand Prize Winner unless and until (i) his/her eligibility to participate in the Contest has been verified, (ii) he/she (or his/her parent or legal guardian if he/she is under the age of eighteen (18) or a minor in the jurisdiction where he/she resides) has signed and returned to Sponsor (A) the Verification and Release form, (B) the Transfer of Copyright form and (C) the Tax Documentation form, and (iii) his/her Guest has signed and returned to Sponsor the Verification and Release form.
5. PRIZES. The following prizes will be awarded in the Contest:
a. One (1) Grand Prize. The one (1) Grand Prize, which shall be awarded to the Grand Prize Winner, shall consist of a free copy of WHO IS MARK TWAIN?, their winning piece published on Borders.com for a period of time to be determined in Borders.com’s sole discretion, and a reading at the Grand Prize Winner’s local Borders store. The precise conditions under which the Grand Prize Winner will be permitted to present the reading shall be determined by Sponsor, and may be changed at any time by Sponsor, in the exercise of Sponsor’s sole discretion.
b. Ten (10) Honorable Mention Prizes. An Honorable Mention Prize shall be awarded to each Honorable Mention. Each Honorable Mention Prize shall consist of one (1) free copy of WHO IS MARK TWAIN? and one free download of the audio book read by John Lithgow.
c. General Prize Information. Prizes may not be transferred to any third party(ies), exchanged for any alternative item(s), or redeemed for cash. All Prizes will be awarded “AS IS” and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose). In order to be able to claim a Prize, the Grand Prize Winner and each Honorable Mention must complete, sign and return to Sponsor, within the time period then communicated from Sponsor to such individuals, each of the following forms: (i) a document (in a form supplied or approved by Sponsor) in which such individual represents and warrants that he/she both (A) wrote the essay portion of his/her Contest entry and (B) submitted his/her Contest entry while he/she was a legal resident of, and physically located in, one of the eligible countries set forth in Sections 1
6. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION. Contest entrants who have been selected by Sponsor as potential Finalists will not necessarily receive from Sponsor any separate notification (of any type) of such selection. Rather, the twenty (20) Finalists will learn of their selection by means of the posting on www.theharperstudio.com of their first name, the first initial of their last name, and their Valid Entry at or prior to 12:00:01 a.m., ET, on June 16, 2009. However, Sponsor will attempt to contact each potential Finalist, by phone or by e-mail, starting on or about June 16, 2009, for the purpose of sending to each potential Finalist a Verification of Eligibility and a Liability & Publicity Release (collectively , the “Verification and Release” form). Sponsor will attempt to contact the potential Grand Prize Winner, by phone or by e-mail, on or about June 20, 2009. Each potential Finalist, or the parent or legal guardian of any potential Finalist who is under the age of eighteen (18) (or a minor in the jurisdiction in which he/she resides) will be required to sign and return the Verification and Release form to Sponsor within five (5) business days after the date on which Sponsor initially attempts to contact such Finalist and to send the Verification and Release form to him/her. Furthermore, the potential Grand Prize Winner (or his/her parent or legal guardian if he/she is under the age of eighteen (18) or a minor in the jurisdiction where he/she resides) will be required to sign and return a “Transfer of Copyright” form to Sponsor within five (5) business days after the date on which Sponsor initially attempts to contact the potential Grand Prize Winner and to send the Transfer of Copyright form to him/her. Any potential Grand Prize Winner hereby acknowledges and understands that under such Transfer of Copyright form, he/she will be assigning exclusively, irrevocably, in perpetuity, and on a royalty-free basis to Sponsor (and/or to Sponsor’s affiliates) all copyright ownership and all other proprietary rights in and to the essay portion of his/her Contest entry submission, such that Sponsor (and its affiliates) shall have the unrestricted right to edit such essay in any manner and to use (or not use) such essay for any and all purposes whatsoever (including, without limitation, the creation of derivative works, the inclusion of all or any portion of the essay in a premium or merchandising item, and/or any and all other forms of commercial or non-commercial exploitation), regardless of whether or not related to the Contest. If any Contest entrant who has been selected by Sponsor (pursuant to Section 4.b. above) as a potential Finalist(s) fails to sign and return the Verification and Release form to Sponsor within the applicable five (5) business day period, then even if such potential Finalist has been selected as a potential Grand Prize Winner or Honorable Mention, such Contest entrant shall be disqualified from the Contest and shall forfeit all rights to receive any Prize hereunder, and (in the event such Contest entrant has been so selected as a potential Grand Prize Winner or Honorable Mention) Sponsor will select an alternate potential Grand Prize Winner or Honorable Mention(s) (whichever is applicable) in accordance with the procedures set forth below. If a potential Grand Prize Winner fails to sign and return the Transfer of Copyright form to Sponsor within the applicable five (5) business day period, then such potential Grand Prize Winner shall forfeit all rights to receive and partake in the Grand Prize, and Sponsor will select an alternate potential Grand Prize Winner in accordance with the procedures set forth below. In the event that an alternate potential Honorable Mention needs to be selected by reason of his/her failure (or the failure of his/her parent or legal guardian, if applicable) to sign and return the Verification and Release form to Sponsor within the applicable five (5) business day period, or for any other reason (e.g., the First Prize is returned as undeliverable; etc.), then Sponsor shall select as the replacement potential Honorable Mention the Finalist who is considered next-best by Sponsor; provided, however, that such replacement potential Finalist shall not be entitled to be considered for selection as the Grand Prize Winner. In the event that an alternate potential Grand Prize Winner needs to be selected by reason of his/her failure (or the failure of his/her parent or legal guardian, if applicable) to sign and return the Verification and Release form or the Copyright Transfer form to Sponsor within the applicable five (5) business day period, or for any other reason, then Sponsor shall select as the replacement potential Grand Prize Winner from the Honorable Mentions. Prior to awarding any particular Prize hereunder, Sponsor may, in the exercise of its sole discretion, require any potential Honorable Mention or Grand Prize Winner to sign and return such additional documents that Sponsor may deem necessary or desirable in order to confirm Contest eligibility, any grant of rights/permissions to Sponsor (and to its affiliates), etc.
7. ADDITIONAL TERMS. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Sponsor reserves the right, exercisable in its sole discretion, to modify these Official Rules and/or any aspect of this Contest, and/or to cancel, terminate or suspend the Contest, at any time, in the event that any viruses, worms, bugs, unauthorized human intervention, or other cause(s) beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness, safety or proper conduct of the Contest or of the submission of entries into the Contest. Sponsor is not responsible for any human or other error that may occur in the submission or processing of any Contest entry(ies), and Sponsor is not responsible for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any Contest entry submissions, or for any technical, network, telephone, computer, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or for any inaccurate transmission of, or failure to receive, any Contest entry information on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site. Sponsor is not responsible for injury or damage to your or any other computer (or other equipment) resulting from downloading any materials in connection with the Contest or otherwise resulting from your participation in the Contest. Sponsor hereby expressly reserves the right, exercisable in its sole discretion, to disqualify from any further participation in the Contest, and from eligibility for selection to receive any Prize hereunder, any individual found to be: (a) tampering with (i) the entry or voting process, (ii) the outcome of the Contest or (iii) the operation of the Contest or of the www.amazon.com web site (including, without limitation, by any attempted means to defraud, reverse engineer, disassemble or decompile any computer program(s) used in connection with this Contest); (b) acting in violation of these Official Rules; or (c) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person(s). CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY ANY INDIVIDUAL DELIBERATELY TO DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR AND ITS AFFILIATES HEREBY EXPRESSLY RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK AND OBTAIN DAMAGES AND/OR INJUNCTIVE AND OTHER RELIEF FROM AND AGAINST ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.
8. MISCELLANEOUS. The sole and full copyright ownership in and to the Contest and all accompanying materials belongs to Sponsor. All rights in and to the Contest and such materials are reserved by Sponsor. By entering this Contest, you (and your parents or legal guardians if you are under the age of eighteen (18) or a minor in the jurisdiction where you reside) agree to be bound by each of the provisions of these Official Rules. No transfer, assignment, cash redemption or substitution of any Prize hereunder is permitted, except that Sponsor, by reason of Prize unavailability, may replace any Prize hereunder with a substitute item(s) of substantially equivalent or greater value. You (and your parents or legal guardians if you are under the age of eighteen (18) or a minor in the jurisdiction where you reside) agree (on behalf of yourself and your successors and heirs) that Sponsor, Sponsor’s affiliates, and the respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders, successors, assignees and licensees of Sponsor and each of its affiliates, shall have no liability, and shall be released, discharged, indemnified, and held harmless by you (and by your parents or legal guardians if you are under the age of eighteen (18) or a minor in the jurisdiction where you reside) from and against, to the maximum extent permitted by law, any claim, action, cause of action, demand, judgment, liability, loss, injury, or damage to property or to person, including death, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs, due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, by reason of (a) your participation in the Contest or (b) your receipt, acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any Prize hereunder (or of any product or service obtained through the redemption of any Prize hereunder), even if caused or contributed to by Sponsor’s negligence or other conduct. This Contest is governed exclusively by (i) the laws of the State of Washington, excluding its conflicts/choice of law principles, and (ii) the federal laws of the United States of America. As a condition of participating in this Contest, you hereby specifically agree that any and all disputes which cannot be resolved between the parties, and any and all causes of action arising out of or in connection with this Contest or the receipt, acceptance, use or misuse of any Prize hereunder (or of any product or service obtained through the redemption of any Prize hereunder), shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a federal or state court located in King County, Washington, USA having jurisdiction thereof. Furthermore, in any such dispute, you hereby are prohibited under any circumstances from obtaining an award(s) for, and you hereby waive any and all rights to claim, punitive, exemplary, special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages, including attorneys’ fees, it specifically being agreed and understood that your damages shall be limited to solely your actual out-of-pocket expenses associated with entering the Contest; moreover, you hereby further waive any and all rights to have damages multiplied or increased. This Contest is void in any jurisdiction(s) where prohibited by law. You hereby specifically agree that the decisions of Sponsor, its affiliates and the Judges related to the Contest are final, binding and non-appealable in all respects. By participating in the Contest, you (and your parents or legal guardians if you are under the age of eighteen (18) or are a minor in the jurisdiction where you reside) hereby consent to the use of your names, city and state/province and country of residence, photographs, likenesses, voices and/or biographical information, in any manner, in any medium (whether now known or hereafter devised) or for any Contest-related purpose, including without limitation worldwide display, without any additional compensation of any kind or amount, except where such consent is prohibited by law.
9. FORCE MAJEURE. Sponsor is not responsible if this Contest, or any part(s) or element(s) hereof, cannot be implemented by reason of delays or interruptions caused in whole or in part by Acts of God, acts of war, natural disasters, weather, utility outages, supply/labor shortages, acts of terrorism, or any other occurrences beyond the reasonable control of Sponsor.
10. FINALISTS/WINNER LIST. For a list of the actual Honorable Mentions and the actual Grand Prize Winner, send an e-mail request to: IamTheNextMarkTwain@gmail.com. Such requests must be received by Sponsor by no later than August 1, 2009.
11. SPONSOR. The sponsor of this Contest is HarperStudio (”Sponsor”).
