Creative Writing Challenge 2020 rules

• The competition is organised by South Essex College
• Entry to this competition is open to anyone except the children or close relatives of employees or any person closely connected with the competition. Primary level entries must be submitted by an adult (parent/guardian) on behalf of the child; this child must have parental permission. You must enter the appropriate category. Winners may be asked to provide proof of age, identity and eligibility
• Entrants can write a poem, a paragraph, a letter, a song or a story, the suggested length is under 500 words but you can submit more if required. The form allows you to upload visually written pieces as well as just your written word. Entry is via an online entry form available here
• If you are a primary age entrant your parent’s details should also be submitted
• The theme of the competition is “When the streets fell empty” and we are aiming to capture stories and written pieces from the point in time when schools and college campuses were shut down and we all had restrictions put on our life. You could write about the impact on you, your community, the key worker heroes, food supply, the environmental impact, how you feel, anything really!
• All stories should be written in English
• Entries will only be accepted online
• We will contact the winners and runners-up by mid-June and ask for your permission to share your work on our website and through other channels
• Entry closes on 29 May at 5pm
• Entrants must enter individually. Only one entry per person is permitted and the story must be wholly written by the entrant only; stories cannot be written by more than one person. If more than one entry is submitted, only the entrant's first submission will be considered
• Entries must be an original piece of fiction and not copied from any other source. Entries can include public figures from present day or from history (e.g. Piers Morgan or Joan of Arc), take place in historical eras (e.g. the English Civil War) or use real-life experiences as a creative springboard as long as the story is FICTIONAL
• Please ensure that you keep a copy of your entry in case of technical issues
• All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. South Essex College accepts no responsibility if entrants ignore these rules and the entrant’s parent, guardian or teacher agrees to indemnify South Essex College against any claim by any third party from any breach of these rules
• Entrants retain the copyright of their entries but their parent or guardian grants to South Essex College a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free licence to publish, broadcast (across all media) and post the entry online and on any other platforms yet to be envisaged
• Entrants agree that South Essex College may publish their work on their website for a period of five years
• Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
  • Originality
  • Creativity
  • Language
  • Enjoyment
• The judges of the challenge will be local authors Greg Fidgeon and Hollie Hughes, and college Principal Angela O’Donoghue
• South Essex College reserves the right to disqualify any entry which breaches any of these rules, brings the college into disrepute or to withhold a prize if in its opinion entries do not reach the required standard
• The college reserves the right to amend these rules or cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion or if circumstances arise outside of its control