ANNOUNCING: 2013 MARCH MADNESS LITERARY CONTEST

2013 MARCH MADNESS LITERARY CONTEST — OFFICIAL RULES

The 2013 March Madness Literary Contest (the “Contest”) is presented solely by The Washington Pastime (the “Host”) and is not sponsored by any third party. There will be an entry fee of US $20.00 for all participants, excluding students, who may enter the contest for US $10.00 with enclosed proof of student ID, current class schedule, and a department faculty member e-mail address ending in .edu. The Contest entry period begins on March 1, 2013 at 10:01 a.m. EST and ends on March 15, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST (the “Contest Entry Period”).

1. Eligibility: The Contest is open to all paid entrants at the beginning of the Contest Entry Period, Individuals who do not pay the proper contest entry fee, or who do not submit at least one story during the contest entry period shall not be eligible to participate in the Contest. By entering the Contest, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

2. To Enter: As an Entrant, you may enter the Contest by completing and submitting the CONTEST ENTRY FORM during the Contest Entry Period and posting a story or work of fiction you have written (an “Entry”) that follows standard story submission guidelines for that submission type as per The Washington Pastime’s standard submission policy. Except as otherwise provided in these Official Rules, there are no restrictions associated with Entries, and multiple entries are acceptable, so long as the Official Rules are followed for each entry.

No mechanically reproduced mail-in entries are allowed and any use of robotic, automatic, programmed or the like Entry methods will void all entries by such methods.

3. Prize Selection:

During the period from March 1, 2013 to March 15, 2013 (the “Entry Period”), all participants can submit to “enter” the tournament. An entry shall constitute a particpant’s spot on the bracket pool. At the end of the Entry Period, the Host will (i) organize each story submission randomly, (ii) judge the individual merit of a story solely against the story it is against on the bracket, (iii) advance the better of the two stories presented, (iv) repeat steps i-iii until such a time as the “final four” stories are selected. In the event of an uneven number of participants, all stories will be entered into a random drawing for a “first round bi-” and skip the first round of story selection as an automatic “1 seed”.

On or around March 31, 2013, the senior Editorial Staff of The Host will judge the four (4) final entries (“Final Four”) to determine the Contest winner, as well as contest runner-up. The “Final Four” will be judged according to the following: (a) originality/creativity (30%); (b) uniqueness (30%); and (c) impact (40%). The entrant who earns the highest overall score from the judges will win the contest and be labeled “Champion” with all applicable prize money to be awarded. The decisions of the judges will be final. If any ties must be broken to determine the winner, the judges will choose the “Final Four” entry that is most impactful.

As an entrant, you represent and warrant that your Entry: (i) is original and created by you, and (ii) does not violate the intellectual property or proprietary rights of other parties. You also agree that your Entry is not offensive or defamatory, and does not contain contain vulgar or profane language, or violate general submission guidelines pertaining to your submission type as determined by the Host.

4. Prizes and Odds: The prize to be awarded from the Contest to the winner is to be determined – 50% of the total contest profits for amounts up to and including US $5,000.00 The odds of winning a prize depend on the total number of eligible entries received. No cash or other substitution of prizes is permitted, except at the mutual consent of Host and Champion for a donation (charitable or otherwise) of a portion of Champion’s prize amount to be withheld and properly allocated. Host will not replace any lost or stolen prizes. Champions are solely responsible for any and all federal, state, provincial and local taxes, if any, that apply to prizes. Runner-Up will receive publication in “The Washington Pastime,” token submission payment, a contest voucher, and contest fee or 5% of total contest profits (whichever is greater). Remaining “Final Four” entrants shall receive a voucher for a free, non-expiring contest submission at The Washington Pastime and 50% of their contest entry fees returned. PROFIT IS DETERMINED BY SUBTRACTING 15% OF TOTAL MONEY RECEIVED DURING CONTEST ENTRY PERIOD (HELD AS COST OF CONTEST OPERATION), UP TO $500. Therefore, profit shall be 85% of total contest revenue, or total contest revenue minus (-) US $500.

5. Notification of Grand Prize Winner: Sponsor will notify the Champion by e-mail within five (5) business days of selection of the Champion. The Champion may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility and publicity/liability release within seven (7) days of notification. If a selected winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize and/or, where applicable, an affidavit of eligibility and publicity/liability release is not timely received, is incomplete or modified, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected from remaining valid, eligible “runner-up” or “final four” contestants. In the event of a dispute regarding who submitted an Entry, the Entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail account specified in the Entry. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.

6. General Rules: The Contest is offered by Host, The Washington Pastime, 3875B Steppes Ct., Falls Church, VA 22041 which is not responsible for (a) late, lost, delayed, damaged, incomplete, illegible, or misdirected Entries, responses, or other correspondence, regardless of how delivered to Host; (b) theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alterations of Entries; or (c) phone, electrical, network, computer, hardware, software program or transmission malfunctions, failures or difficulties.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Host and its affiliates, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, sponsors and agents, including advertising and promotion agencies, and assigns, and any other organizations related to the Contest, harmless, from any and all claims, injuries, damages, expenses or losses to person or property and/or liabilities of any nature that in any way arise from participation in this Contest or acceptance or use of a prize, including without limitation, any claim that your Entry infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third party.

In no event will Host be liable to you for any direct, special, incidental, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with your participation in the Contest, whether such liability arises from any claim based upon contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, and whether or not Sponsor has been advised of the possibility of such loss or damage. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

7. Additional Conditions: Except where prohibited, by participating in the Contest, you consent to the use of your name, photo and/or likeness, biographical information, Entry and statements attributed to you (if true) for advertising and promotional purposes, including without limitation, inclusion in Hosts’s newsletters, marketing materials, the Contest Collection page and Host’s Medium or corporate websites, without additional compensation. Allow six (6) to eight (8) weeks for delivery of prize.

Host reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Contest in whole or in part, in the event of fraud, technical or other difficulties or if the integrity of the Contest is compromised, without liability to the entrant. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant or winner, as determined by Host, in its sole discretion. The Contest is subject to these Official Rules and all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations apply. These Official Rules are governed by the law of the State of California, without reference to rules governing choice of laws. Any action, suit or case arising out of, or in connection with, this Contest or these Official Rules must be brought in either the federal courts or state courts located in Falls Church, Virgina.

Personal Information: Host may collect personal data about entrants online, in accordance with its privacy policy and as may be more specifically set forth in these Official Rules. Please review these Official Rules and Host’s Privacy Policy. By participating in the Contest, you agree to Host’s collection and use of your personal information in accordance with that privacy policy.

8. Winner’s List, Official Rules: For a copy of these Official Rules, send your request and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to 2013 March Madness Literary Contest, The Washington Pastime, 3875B Steppes Ct., Falls Church, VA 22041 or (for Winner’s list only) send an email message to contest@washingtonpastime.com with “Winner’s list” as the email subject and contest name specified in the body of the e-mail.

9. Hosts’s Address: 3875B Steppes Ct., Falls Church, VA 22041