Entry Rules

Entry Rules

Eligibility

  1. The Blooker Prize is open to any "blook"—here defined as a bound and printed book based on either a blog or website—that has been published to date (i.e., by the entry deadline). The term "based on" is here defined as having content that was developed in a significant way from material originally presented on a blog or website. This can include the themes, ideas, characters or outline of the material eventually published as a printed book.
  2. Entries are accepted from any country, but all blooks entered must be printed in English.
  3. Only one qualified entry per family or household will be allowed.
  4. E-books are not eligible; only printed books can be submitted.
  5. A book submitted for one year’s Blooker Prize cannot then be submitted again for the Blooker in any different or future year.
  6. A book shall not be rendered ineligible by reason of having been nominated, short-listed for, or having won any other award or prize.
  7. Judges of the Blooker Prize, their families and households, are ineligible to enter.
  8. All decisions by the judges concerning an entrant's eligibility are final.

Entry

  1. The Blooker Prize is open to submissions made by either publishers or individual authors.
  2. In the event that a publisher submits a blook for entry, it shall be taken as confirmation that the author's consent has been obtained.
  3. If an entry is an anthology, or has multiple authors, the first submission received will be considered the only valid entry.
  4. There is no entry fee and no purchase is necessary to enter.
  5. One (1) copy of the submitted blook, either paperback or hardcover, must be accompanied by a completed entry form to be considered for the Prize.
  6. In the event that an entry is selected to be a finalist (see Selection Criteria below), four (4) additional copies must be supplied.
  7. By submitting a blook and completed entry form, entrants agree to abide by all contest rules.
  8. The prize administrator will send each entrant an acknowledgement upon receipt of submission.
  9. All entry copies become the property of the Blooker Prize and as such, will not be returned.
  10. All contestants acknowledge, as a condition of entry, that The Blooker Prize has the right to use images and excerpts from their blook, the author's name, biographical details, and other relevant information to promote both the contest and the author's work.
  11. The Blooker Prize accepts no responsibility for books which are lost, stolen, otherwise mislaid, or not received by submission deadline.

Selection Criteria

  1. The Blooker Prize will be awarded in three categories:
    • Fiction
    • Non-fiction
    • Webcomic
  2. All submissions will be evaluated by an independent review committee. This committee will select a short-list of approximately five (5) finalist blooks per category.
  3. After the short-lists have been selected, the panel of judges will choose one winner from each category, one of which will be deemed Overall Winner.
  4. Finalists and winners will be selected based on the quality of the writing and the general excellence of the content. Preferred submissions will be those entries that lift the subject matter out of the routine category and give the reader greater insight into the topic covered. The Overall Winner will be the blook judged to have shown to the greatest extent the qualities outlined above.
  5. The decision of the judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Prizes

  1. The total prize money is US $15,000 (approximately £8,175 sterling, or €11,800).
  2. The winner in each category will receive US $2,500.
  3. The Overall Winner will receive the grand prize of an additional US $7,500 (for a total award of $10,000).
  4. The prize organizers will seek to publicize the blooks and authors selected for the shortlist in each category, as well as the category winners and the grand winner.
  5. All prizes, unless otherwise specified, must be accepted within thirty (30) days of winning. The prize organizers will not notify winners when the prize is awarded. It is the responsibility of the winner to accept the prize within the thirty (30) days provided.
  6. In the event that a winner chooses not to accept a prize, or does not claim the prize within the thirty (30) day grace period, he or she forfeits all claim to that prize. The prize organizers then have the right, at their discretion, to award that prize to a contest runner-up.
  7. All prizes are non-transferable and void where prohibited by law.
  8. Winners understand and agree that they are responsible for any and all taxes incurred on prizes received. Entrants should understand that The Blooker Prize may be required to advise the internal revenue service (or equivalent) of the state to which winning author(s) primarily pays taxes. In the case of the United States, this will involve submitting a Form 1099; in order to do this, the winner must provide a completed W-9.
  9. The Blooker Prize, its agencies, affiliates, sponsors, or representatives absolve themselves of any liability, financial or otherwise, resulting from contests staged by The Blooker Prize.