Manchester Fiction Prize 2017

1. The Manchester Writing Competition: The Manchester Fiction Prize 2017  (the "Competition") is organised by the Manchester Metropolitan University ("Manchester Met").
2. The Competition is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is not excluded by these Rules. There is no upper age limit for entry.
3. Members of Manchester Met staff (who may also be students) and their spouses are excluded from being eligible to enter.
4. The deadline for entries is 5pm (UK time) on Friday 29th September 2017. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered but fees may still be charged. The online entry system may become busy as the deadline nears, so entrants are advised not to leave submission until the last minute.
5. Entrants must submit a short story of up to 2,500 words in length. There is no minimum word count. Titles, blank lines and page numbers are not included in the word count.
6. Entrants may submit as many stories as they wish, but each story must be submitted as a separate entry with a separate entry form and a separate entry fee.
7. All work submitted for consideration can be on any subject, and written in any style or form, but must be the entrant's own original writing, and should not have appeared in print or have been broadcast on or before 1st December 2017. Work which has been published on public websites, blogs or social media sites can be submitted, but must be taken down before the date of entry and must not be uploaded again on or before 1st December 2017. Work that has been circulated via, or uploaded to, closed forums (e.g. for the purposes of workshopping on writing courses) can be submitted. Work found to be published in print or to have been broadcast or to have appeared on a website outside of these terms will be disqualified without refund of the entry fee.
8. All work must be typed or word-processed, clearly legible and written in English. Entrants should not include illustrations or artwork. Pages submitted by post should be stapled, paper-clipped or loose, so that they can be separated easily for photocopying/scanning. Beyond these stipulations, presentation (e.g. font and spacing) is at the entrant’s discretion.
9. Translations into English of work written in other languages can be accepted, provided that the source text is the entrant's own original work and has not been published (in line with point 7, above); translations into English of work published (in line with point 7, above) elsewhere in other languages will not be accepted.
10. Entries will be accepted only by post or online via the competition website.
11. Postal entries will only be valid if accompanied by a completed entry form and payment. Postal entrants should enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope or postcard if they would like acknowledgement of entry. Acknowledgement will normally be sent out within 28 days of entry, once the entry has been processed and checked.
12. Online entries must be made via the Manchester Writing Competition website: www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk. Online entrants will be required to pay online and will receive an automated email acknowledging receipt at the time of entry.
13. All entries will be assigned an ID number and made anonymous upon receipt. Judges will not be privy to entrants' names during the reading and judging processes. Names will be reattributed to entries only after the short list and winners have been decided.
14. Entries submitted for consideration may be withdrawn from the Competition by entrants by notification in writing (by post or email) to be received by the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Met. Where work is withdrawn, entry fees will not be refunded.
15. Amendments cannot be made to entries after they have been submitted; stories cannot be amended, corrected or substituted. If entrants wish to correct errors in stories, they must withdraw their story from the Competition as above and enter again with payment of entry fee. No correspondence or discussion about amendments will be entered into.
16. Entries will not be returned under any circumstances.
17. Manchester Met reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the entrant has breached any of these Rules, or made a false declaration on the entry form.
18. Manchester Met cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the Competition.
19. Manchester Met will act in accordance with current UK data protection legislation in relation to your personal data.
20. The Competition and Rules will be governed by English Law and any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
21. Manchester Met reserves the right to amend these Rules where it is deemed necessary to do so or where circumstances are beyond Manchester Met's control. Any changes to the Rules will be posted on the Manchester Writing Competition website.
22. Submission of an entry will be deemed to imply unqualified acceptance of the Competition's Rules. In the event of any dispute regarding these Rules or any other matter relating to the Competition, the decision of Manchester Met shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.

A judging panel of practising writers will select a short-list of entrants and, from that list, select the winners. The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence about their decisions will be entered into. Manchester Met reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice. The judges reserve the right not to award the prizes, or to reduce the prize money, if, in their opinion, such action is justified for any reason.

Short-listed entrants will be invited to attend a prize-giving event on the evening of 1st December 2017. The winners will be announced at this event. Short-listed entrants will be notified by telephone on or before the end of Friday 24th November 2017 and asked to confirm attendance at the event by no later than Monday 27th November 2017. In cases where short-listed entrants are unable to attend the event, they will be invited to send a representative (a friend or relative) on their behalf; if a representative is unable to attend, short-listed entrants will be asked to submit a short written statement to be read out at the ceremony should they win.

Fees

"The Manchester Writing Competition: The Manchester Fiction Prize" will award one prize: a cash sum of £10,000.00 to the winner(s). The judges may decide to award The Manchester Fiction Prize jointly and divide the cash sum accordingly. The maximum number of winners will be two. The prize money is generated entirely through entry fees and may be reduced if an insufficient number of entries are received.

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