Kitchen Catastrophe Memoir Contest – Official Rules
SPONSOR: Random House, Inc., 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019 (“Sponsor”).
I. HOW TO ENTER
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY. The Contest will begin on August 7, 2012 at 12:01 a.m. (EST) and will end on August 20, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. (EST) (“Submission Period”). To enter the Contest, submit your personal story about the funniest catastrophe you experienced in the kitchen. The story must be 750 words or less. Entries must be in the entrants’ own, original words. No quoting of other material allowed unless attributed. LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. Entrants may enter by completing the entry form and following the instructions for submitting your story on the Contest Page.
By entering the Contest, entrants agree to receive Sponsor’s biographile.com newsletter, unless you opt out when entering. You may also unsubscribe from the newsletter in the future at any time.
II. ELIGIBILITY
This contest is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are age 18 years or older as of August 7, 2012. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void wherever prohibited or restricted by law. Employees of Random House, Inc., its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, and their immediate family members, and persons living in their household are not eligible.
III. SELECTION OF FINALISTS
Sponsor’s editorial department will select five (5) Finalists on or around August 27, 2012 from all eligible entries submitted during the Submission Period. The judging criteria for selection are originality, humor and writing style. The decision of the judges will be final.
IV. SELECTION OF WINNERS
All Finalist Entries will be posted on biographile.com, and two (2) Winners will be selected from among those entries: one (1) Editorial Winner and one (1) People’s Choice Winner. The Editorial Winner will be selected by Sponsor’s editorial department based on the judging criteria used to select the Finalists in Section III above. The decision of the judges will be final. The People’s Choice Winner will be selected based on the number of Facebook “likes” (“Votes”) the entry received from visitors to biographile.com between August 28, 2012 through September 10, 2012 (“Voting Period”). Voters are encouraged to judge entries based on the criteria set forth in Section III above. Anyone may vote, and entrants may vote for their own entry, however only one Vote per IP address will be allowed per day. Any additional Votes will be null and void for the total count. Sponsor’s decisions as to the final number of Votes for each entry are final. In the event of a tie for the People’s Choice Winner, Sponsor will randomly select the winning entry.
V. PRIZES
All Finalists will receive a copy of Dearie by Bob Spitz (ARV $29.95). The People’s Choice Winner will receive a copy of Dearie and the following books by Julia Child: Mastering the Art of French Cooking Boxed Set, Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom, My Life In France and Bon Appetit (ARV $161.83). The Editorial Winner will receive a copy of Dearie and Mastering the Art of French Cooking Boxed Set (ARV $119.90). The Winners may not substitute, assign or transfer prize or redeem prize for cash, but Sponsor reserves the right to substitute prize with a prize of equal or greater value. The Winners will be notified by email of his/her selection as winner and prize on or around September 12, 2012. The return of any prize notification as undeliverable will result in disqualification and the selection of an alternate winner from among the remaining Finalists: for the Editorial Winner, based on Sponsor’s selection of an alternate winner, and for the People’s Choice Winner, based on next highest Vote totals among the Finalists. Taxes, if any, are the Winners’ sole responsibility.
VI. RIGHTS TO THE STORIES
Entrants retain all copyrights and other equivalent rights to submitted entries. However, by entering the Contest, and if selected as a Finalist, each entrant hereby grants Sponsor the nonexclusive and perpetual right to publish, reproduce, display and distribute the entry in print or electronic form, on websites or through any other media for the purpose of promoting and advertising this Contest and Sponsor’s publications and services, including but not limited to the website referenced above. In all cases where such entries are used, Sponsor reserves the right to do so without obtaining the further prior permission of the entrant and without offering any further compensation in any form.
VII. INTERNET
Sponsor is not responsible for any electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other similar causes or causes beyond the control of Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, then, subject to any governmental approval which may be required, Sponsor shall have the right to modify, suspend or terminate the Contest. If technical malfunctions or suspect voting irregularities corrupt the voting process, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to award prizes based solely on the non-suspect votes. In the event of termination, a notice will be posted on biographile.com and all eligible entries received prior to termination will be judged per these Official Rules. Any use of robotic, automatic, programmed or similar methods of participation/voting will void all such submissions/votes by such methods.
VIII. DISQUALIFICATION
SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT IN ITS DISCRETION TO DISQUALIFY ANY PERSON WHO TAMPERS OR IS SUSPECTED OF TAMPERING WITH AN ENTRY AND/OR THE VOTING PROCESS. SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT IN ITS DISCRETION TO DISQUALIFY ALL VOTES FROM VOTERS THAT ARE DEEMED TO BE FRAUDULENT. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT, OR ANY MEMBER THEREOF, TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE WEBSITE, OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PROSECUTE AND/OR SEEK DAMAGES AND/OR OTHER RELIEF FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW.
VIV. DISCLAIMERS
By participating, all Finalists agree that Sponsor, its parent company, assigns, subsidiaries and affiliates, and advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies will have no liability whatsoever, and will be held harmless by Finalists for any liability for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind to person and property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, misuse, or use of the prizes, or participation in this contest. By entering the contest, Finalists consent to of the use of their names and stories in connection with this Contest and for publicity and promotional purposes on behalf of Sponsor with no additional compensation or further permission (except where prohibited by law). For the names of the Winners, available after September 30, 2012, please send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Random House, Inc., Attn: Joe Muscolino, MD 5-1, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. WA and VT residents may omit return postage.
