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Terms and conditions

Please read these terms and conditions before entering the 50 Word Fiction competition

  1. The competition will be organised and administered by Scottish Book Trust (the “Organisers”).
  2. Entry to the competition is open to all. However, residents outside the UK (including Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), must be willing to cover postage costs should they win the prize.
  3. Entrants must write a piece of short fiction based on the prompt provided. Entrants may submit only one entry.
  4. Entries should be close to but no more than 50 words. Entries must submitted using the online form. We welcome entries in Scots or Gaelic. If you have any questions about the competition, please send them to: lynsey.may@scottishbooktrust.com.
  5. The Organisers will only ever use personal details for the purposes of administering this competition. We ask for personal details such as names to help us identify winners and will delete personal information within a year of each competition end. We will keep the names and email addresses of the winners to allow us to contact them about potential publication. We will share the postal details of adult winners with The Literary Gift Company and the winners of the Gaelic Category with the Gaelic Books Council so that we can send a prize. If you'd like to have your details withdrawn, please email lynsey.may@scottishbooktrust.com. Please see Scottish Book Trust's Privacy Policy.
  6. Closing time for entries is clearly stated on the competition page. Submissions received after this time will not be considered. Entries will not be returned so please remember to keep a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will be notified but we cannot provide individual feedback on entries.
  7. All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. The Organisers accept no liability if entrants ignore these rules and entrants agree to fully indemnify the Organisers against any claims by any third party arising from any breach of these rules.
  8. Entries must not contain anything which is calculated to bring the Organisers into disrepute.
  9. Entrants retain the copyright in their entries but grant Scottish Book Trust a non-exclusive licence to use their entry for publication on the Scottish Book Trust website as well as for any promotional purpose.
  10. By entering the competition, entrants warrant that they have legal capacity to enter the competition and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
  11. Entries will be judged by members of Scottish Book Trust, Gaelic Book Council and the occasional guest panellist.
  12. The winners will be contacted by a member of the Scottish Book Trust team within a two week period after the competition has closed. If the winner cannot be contacted after reasonable attempts have been made to do so, the Organisers reserve the right to offer the prize to the next best entry.
  13. The prize consists of one mug from The Literary Gift Company for the all-age category, a notebook for teen winners, a selection of books for the young writers category and books for the Gaelic category. The prize is as stated and cannot be deferred or transferred. There will be no cash alternatives. There will be no payment for any story that is published.
  14. The Organisers’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  15. The Organisers reserve the right to amend these Terms and Conditions or cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside its control. In this event, a notice will be posted on the Scottish Book Trust website.
  16. The Organisers, their sub-contractors, subsidiaries and/or agencies cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem with any server, internet access, system or otherwise which may result in any entry being lost or not properly registered or recorded. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.
  17. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of Scotland.