1. Terms and Conditions By entering this competition you agree to accept and be bound by these terms and conditions and acknowledge that failure to comply with them may result in disqualification. This competition shall be void where prohibited by local law including where in The Promoter or Financial Times’ reasonable opinion we cannot accept an entry or provide a prize due to sanctions, laws or banking restrictions. It is the responsibility of entrants to ensure that they are able to participate in the competition in compliance with local laws and regulations.

2. Entrants This competition is open to anyone aged between 18 and 35 years of age as at midnight GMT on Thursday September 24 2020 except for employees of The Random House Group Limited (“Promoter”), the Financial Times Limited (the “Financial Times”), any group companies of the foregoing and their families and any other company connected with this competition. There is no fee to enter. The Promoter will only accept one entry per entrant. Multiple or incomplete entries will be deemed invalid.

3. Dates Essay entries will be accepted until midday (GMT) on Thursday September 24 2020 (“closing date”). The winning entrant and runners-up will be notified by the Promoter by telephone in the week beginning November 2 2020. The winner and two runners-up will be announced in the Financial Times by November 14 2020. If the prize is declined or unclaimed by the winner, or if the winner cannot be contacted from the details supplied within 30 business days (“business day” meaning Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays) of notification, a replacement winner may be chosen at the Promoter’s discretion and will be notified by the Promoter. The original entry that was chosen will then be disqualified

4. Prizes The following prizes shall be provided:

(a) £1,000 (one thousand pounds Sterling) to the winning entrant

(b) £300 (three hundred pounds Sterling) to each runner-up

(c) Publication by the Financial Times in an FT publication (which may include on ft.com) subject to clause 12 below

(d) E-publication by the Promoter of the winner’s winning entry; e-publication by the Promoter of the two runners-up entries

(e) One mentoring session for winner with a member of the Promoter’s editorial staff

5. Copyright /Ownership Entrants will own and retain all copyright in their own entry.

6. Entry Specifications Entrants are advised to retain a copy of their entries as the Promoter will be unable to return any submitted entry. Each entry must be:

(a) in English

(b) an original work of which the entrant is the author and which has not been previously professionally or commercially published in any language and is not in breach of any third party rights

(c) a complete essay in itself; (ie not a fragment of a larger work) and

(d) submitted via the competition landing page on ft.com with the following specifications: no more than 3,500 words on any subject matter.

6.1 To ensure anonymity for the purposes of a fair judging process, entrants must not include their names on the body of their essay. Essay documents which include the entrant’s name will be rejected from this Competition.

6.2 There will be no acknowledgment of receipt for entries submitted by post.

7. Unacceptable Entries Entries received after the closing date and/or which are not in accordance with the entry requirements set out at clause 6 will not be accepted. The Promoter will not be responsible for delayed, undelivered or lost entries.

8. Warranties By submitting an entry, you warrant to the Financial Times and the Promoter that your entry is original to you, does not infringe copyright or any other intellectual property right and does not defame or invade the privacy rights of any third party, or infringe any other legal rights, regulations or laws.

9. Events Events may occur that render the awarding of the prizes impossible due to reasons beyond the control of the Promoter and the Promoter may, at its absolute discretion, vary, amend, suspend or withdraw the prizes or amend these terms and conditions with or without notice.

10. Judges The competition will be judged by six independent judges who will (at their sole discretion) apply the criteria of which entries demonstrate emerging talent and write with creativity and flair. The judges’ decisions will be final and no correspondence will be entered into in relation to their decisions or the competition.

11. Winning entrant and runners-up The winning entrant and runners-up grant the Financial Times and the Promoter a non-exclusive, royalty-free worldwide, irrevocable licence, for the full period of any intellectual property rights in the competition entry to use the publication of their entries in any Financial Times publication, including on ft.com and elsewhere at the Promoter’s discretion. The winning entrant and runners-up undertake to complete any necessary documentation to formalise any necessary licences. If you do not agree to grant us and the Financial Times these rights, please do not submit materials to us. The Financial Times and Promoter each reserve the right to edit the winning and runners-up entries in respect of the above publication.

12. Data Your personal details will be collected by the Financial Times for the purposes of this competition and will be processed in accordance with any applicable data protection legislation and the FT privacy policy. The Financial Times will share personal data relating to the winning and runner-up entries with the Promoter only for the purposes of administering the prizes. The names and regions of the winner and runner-up entries may be published by the Financial Times. If you wish to object to the publication of this information, please email Privacy.Officer@ft.com upon entry. For more information on your rights and how we use your data, please read our Privacy Policy

13. Miscellaneous:

13.1 The decision of judges and results of the competition are final and no correspondence will be entered into. The prizes are non-transferable and non-refundable.

13.2 The winner and/or runners-up may be required to complete and return an eligibility form proving their age.

13.3 The Financial Times accepts no responsibility for or liability arising from the competition or for participants taking up (or not taking up as the case may be) any prizes. The Promoter and the Financial Times reserve the right to hold void, cancel, suspend, or amend the prize competition where it becomes necessary to do so. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Financial Times and the Promoter will not be liable where an entrant has breached local laws and/or regulations in connection with the Competition.

13.4 These terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Disputes arising in connection with this Competition shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

14. The Promoter The Promoter’s contact details are: The Bodley Head, an imprint of The Random House Group Limited, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA. Any enquiries relating to the prize should be emailed to: weekend.readers@ft.com

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
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