SI Leeds Literary Prize 2016: Summary of Terms & Conditions

1.                     THE AWARDS
Please refer to the full Terms & Conditions on the Prize website for all details of the awards.

2.                     ELIGIBILITY
2.1       The Award is open to published and unpublished women writers, over the age of 18, of Black or Asian descent who are resident in the UK. Ethnicity will be self-defined by entrants. As a guideline, Black or Asian descent in the context of the Award signifies

           – any Black background, including:-

            – Black African
            – Black Caribbean
            – any other Black background
            – any Asian background, including
            – Bangladeshi
            – Indian
            – Pakistani
            – Thai
            – Malay
            – Philippine
            – Vietnamese
            – Chinese
            – Japanese
            – countries in the Middle East
            – any other Asian background
            – any mixed background, including
            – Asian and White
            – Black and White
            – Any other background from more than one ethnic group.

Under the terms of Positive Action in the Equality Act 2010, these eligibility criteria are justified on the following grounds:
§    That the Award Partners reasonably think that Black and Asian women writers suffer a disadvantage linked to their race and gender, and have a disproportionately low level of participation in the UK writing industry and bestseller lists
§    That the action taken by the Award Partners encourages this group to overcome this disadvantage and encourages participation
§    That the prize is a proportionate response to the issue.
2.2       The Award is open to unpublished* novels and/or collections of short stories of any genre of no less than 30,000 words.
2.3       *Manuscripts that have been previously published will not be eligible. However, whilst the main body of the novel or collection of short stories should comprise unpublished work, submissions will be accepted where no more than 25% of the work has been previously published.  Manuscripts currently available for sale online, either in full or in significant proportion (i.e. more than 50% of the total manuscript) will be ineligible.  Manuscripts either partially or wholly available online for no charge will be eligible.
2.4       Entrants must warrant that the entry is a complete original work of fiction and is entirely the author’s own work; that it does not infringe any existing copyright, moral or other rights of any third party, contains nothing obscene, libellous, unlawful or defamatory of any living person or corporate body.
2.5       Memoirs, biographies and autobiographies are not eligible.
2.6       Entries must be in English.
2.7       Authors may submit more than one novel or collection of stories. An additional entry fee for each submission is required (see HOW TO ENTER below).
2.8       The Award is not open to employees of Peepal Tree Press, Ilkley Literature Festival and members of SI Leeds (the Award Partners) or anyone connected with the Award or their direct family members.
2.9       Entries that are submitted posthumously will not be eligible for the Award.

3.                     COPYRIGHT AND TERMS OF USE
3.1       By submitting a novel or collection of short stories to the Award the entrant acknowledges and agrees that excerpts (chosen by the Award Partners) of the winning, or other short-listed, novel or collection of stories may be read out or reproduced as part of the Award Partners’ promotion and documentation of the Award, including Award Partners’ marketing and publicity literature, events, and websites and as a feature of the 2016 Ilkley Literature Festival or any other agreed speaking opportunities free of any fees or royalty payments.
3.2       The Award Partners undertake to ensure that copyright of all manuscripts entered for the Award is protected.

4.                     JUDGING
Please refer to the full Terms & Conditions on the Prize website for all details of the judging.

5.          HOW TO ENTER
5.1       Manuscripts must be submitted online following the process outlined on the Award website.  Entries can be submitted from 1 January 2016.
5.2       Manuscripts should be submitted in their entirety, i.e. as a finished novel or a finished collection of short stories. Incomplete works are not eligible. Authors may not add to or alter their manuscript after it has been entered for the Award.
5.3       The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript. Your manuscript will be judged anonymously.
5.4        The Entry Fee for each manuscript submitted is £18.00 payable through the online submission process.
5.5       Entries must arrive by 30 April 2016. Late entries will not be eligible.
5.6       The Award Partners reserve the right to cancel the Award at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.  If cancelled, the entry fee would be refunded.
5.7      The Award Partners reserve the right to refuse entry to the Award for any reason at its absolute discretion.
5.8       By submitting a manuscript the entrant agrees to attend the Award ceremony in the event of being shortlisted for the Award and also, in the event of winning the Award, to undertake a mutually acceptable limited programme of activities to promote the Award. Entrants are responsible for all reasonable costs associated with attending the Award ceremony.
5.9       The entrant agrees that she will contribute where possible to press and publicity activities for the Award and hereby grant the Award Partners all necessary rights in her contribution for press/publicity activities for the Award for all media in perpetuity.
5.10     Entrants will be deemed to have read and accepted these rules and to have agreed to be bound by them when entering the competition.
5.11     These rules and the entry submitted in accordance with them shall constitute a contract governed by the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.