Spotlight Books – Rules

Competition

1. The competition closes Sunday 24 February 2019 at 11:59pm. Entries submitted after the deadline will not be eligible.  Submissions cannot be altered after entry.
2. You can submit ONE manuscript in each category (poetry or fiction) or ONE manuscript in one category. Because these will be published as small books, they must be no longer and no shorter than:
   • Fiction: minimum 8,000 & maximum 10,000 words
   • Poetry: 40-45 pages at 20 lines/page (please note. this is a rough guideline as to space, poems do not have to be exactly 20 lines and can span over more than one page.)
3. The competition is ONLY open to people who are under-represented in the literary world--those who find it difficult to access the literary world either because of mental health issues, disability, health or social circumstance. These categories are defined on the Entry Form.
4. The competition is ONLY open to UK residents over 18 years old.
5. The competition is ONLY open to writers who have not previously published a book/stand-alone publication of their own via an established press/publisher (excluding self-published or as part of an anthology).
6. We are open to any and all genres except explicit erotica or writing for children.
7. You can enter online, by post or in person.
8. We can only accept typed entries available in an electronic format. Handwritten entries are ineligible.
9. Please DO NOT put your name on your work. Judging is anonymous.
10. We cannot offer feedback on your work or enter into correspondence about your entry.
11. Winning manuscripts will be published in individual books in partnership with Myriad Editions, and therefore must not have been published previously as books (e.g. single author short story collections/novels, poetry collections/chapbooks, including self-published). Excerpts thereof (e.g. up to 50% of work submitted) which have been previously published are eligible if you retain full copyright/reprint permissions.
12. Finalists will be notified by 1 April 2019 and no earlier. Judges’ decisions are final.
13. If you have entered your work into another competition and win, or the piece is accepted for publication elsewhere, please notify us immediately to withdraw your submission.
14. Employees of Creative Future, Myriad Editions or New Writing South, or those involved in the judging process, are ineligible to enter the competition.
15. Your personal data will be covered by current data protection legislation.

Publication

1. Writers will be offered a standard publishing contract by Myriad Editions, including details of 10% net royalties they will receive on sales.
2. Copyright remains with the author, though by submitting you agree to first publication rights and exclusive worldwide license for five years, to allow us to publish winning work as part of the Spotlight Books series, and on our and our partners’ websites.
3. If selected, you must ensure reasonable availability to work with Creative Future and Myriad Editions to revise/polish your manuscript with editors and proofreaders between April-September 2019.
4. We reserve the right to not publish all six Spotlight Books, or reduce the number of books, where circumstances are beyond our control, or if the judges’ verdict is that the entries is not up to standard.
5. We reserve the right to amend the Rules as deemed necessary or where circumstances are beyond our control. Any changes will be posted on the Creative Future website.

If you have any questions, please get in touch on 01273 234780 or [email protected].