What Are the Rules?

Registration is now open for the 34th Annual International 3-Day Novel Contest, to take place Labour Day weekend, September 3–5, 2011. Read the rules below and then fill out and submit a registration form, with the entry fee, by September 2 (or by August 5 for the early-bird discount). If you have questions or comments, contact us!

Prizes:
Grand Prize: Publication by 3-Day Books
2nd Prize: $500
3rd Prize: $100
(And, for everyone who commits to the contest, a big creative rush. Plus a fancy certificate!)

The Rules

1. Registration: Paid registration must be sent online or put in the mail by Friday, September 2, 2011. (Fee is $50 if sent on or before Aug. 5, and $55 if sent after that. Forms are available on the registration page.)

2. Preparation: You are allowed, though not required, to develop ideas and an outline prior to the contest. You do not need to submit your outline, and you can change and adapt your idea as you see fit, even after the contest has started. Go with the flow! Keep your outline brief—the shorter it is, the more rewarding the creative experience.

3. Location: Novels may be written using any method, in any location, anywhere in the world. Yes, the honour system still exists! (You’d only be cheating yourself out of the experience! Seriously. We can tell if you didn’t commit to the idea of the contest. If you want to write a normal novel the normal way, send it to a normal publisher.)

4. Writing: The actual writing must begin no earlier than 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, September 3, and must stop by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, September 5. Novels may not be edited outside the contest time frame.

5. Form: The contest exists to help you write the novel you want, so you may write in any genre, or any mix of genres, and on any subject you wish. There are no limits to the novel’s length, but entries average 100 typed pages, double-spaced. Thereabouts. Length is a factor in judging, but it is only one of many. Read a few of our winners if you want to see what kind of stuff has won in the past.

6. Collaboration: You may collaborate with up to one other author on a novel. Fees are per novel, not per writer, so if you are collaborating, you only need to submit one registration form. Include both author names, but only one mailing address.

7. Submitting:You are not required to submit your manuscript for judging, but we suggest you do. It completes the experience—and it’s the only way to get your certificate. If you are submitting, do so as soon as possible after the weekend is over, and by Friday, September 9, at the latest. You can send it by mail to the address below, or (new this year!) submit it online using the instructions emailed to you soon after you register.

8. Witnesses: If you are submitting your novel online, include the contact information for a witness who can attest that you followed all the rules of the contest. If you are sending your novel by mail, include a signed witness statement confirming the same. There are no rules or templates for this statement, just make sure it affirms that you followed the rules.

9. Other rules: Manuscripts will NOT be returned so keep a copy. If you plan to revise it, please save a copy of the work in its original form. All entrants retain all copyright for their work; however, publishing an entry in any form (including self-publishing, chapbooks or web publishing) before the winner is announced will disqualify your novel from the grand prize. After the announcement, we will present the winning author with a publishing contract. At that time, all other entrants may develop, publish, share, blog, dissect, perform, re-imagine or ignore their novels as they wish!
Submission Instructions

By mail: Send typed, double-spaced novels, printed on standard white paper with pages numbered (no folders, clips or staples please), to the address below on or before (ideally before!) Friday, September 9.

Online: Once we have received and processed your registration (please be patient!) we will email you instructions on submitting your novel online.

Once we have received and logged your entry (again, please be patient… this can take several weeks), we will send you an email confirmation letting you know we have it.

3-Day Novel Contest
PO Box 2106, Station Terminal
Vancouver, BC, V6B 3T5
Canada

If you are sending by mail, please do not spend extra money on couriers or special packaging. Use regular mail—the date you send it is what counts, not the date it arrives. SASEs and IRCs are no longer necessary—your entry fee includes the cost of postage for your certificate.

Our team of judges spend the fall and winter reading and rereading your entries. Winners will be announced the following January. Then we distribute the prizes and send all successful entrants a list of the winners, a fancy certificate to prove that you really did it, and a coveted “I survived” sticker.

http://www.3daynovel.com/
http://www.3daynovel.com/register/?rules

Click on the link above and go to the contest official site