Rules for the Bradt/Independent on Sunday travel-writing competition 2015

1. By entering the competition you agree to be bound by these rules. The Independent’s standard competition rules (located here) also apply.

2.1.The competition is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. Employees of Independent Print Limited (“IPL”), its regular contributors, agents and contractors, the promoters, and individuals connected with any company involved in the competition, including for the avoidance of doubt employees, contractors and authors of Bradt Travel Guides (“Bradt”) and the Competition Partners as defined below and members of the immediate family of the above people are not eligible to participate.

2.2. Previous First Prize winners are not eligible to participate. Previous winners of the Best Unpublished Writer or Best Young Writer categories may not enter the category they previously won, but may enter other categories as relevant.

3. No purchase is necessary.

4. The competition will be launched on 26 April 2015. All entries must be received by midnight BST on the closing date, Tuesday 30 June 2015.

How to Enter

5. There are three prizes in the competition. Both Published and Unpublished writers are eligible to win the First Prize as defined below. Only Unpublished writers are eligible to win the Best Unpublished Writer Prize as defined below. To submit an entry as an “Unpublished” writer you must never have been paid for any piece of writing that has appeared in print or on the internet. To enter the Best Young Writer category you must be aged between 18 and 21 on 30 June 2015; entries for the Best Young Writer category will not be considered for the other two prizes.

6. Only one entry per person is permitted and you may enter only one category (either the main competition or the Best Young Writer category). Joint entries are not allowed and entries on behalf of other people will be excluded.

7.To enter the competition you must submit a piece of writing of between 600 and 800 words on the theme: “Serendipity”, which must be a true story, based on your personal experience and written as a first-hand account, in the first person.

8.1 For full instructions and to submit your entry online visit www.bradtguides.com/travelwriting

8.2 Your personal data may be shared with the competition partners and may be used by them and the promoters for marketing purposes unless you indicate that you do not consent to this by putting “NO MARKETING” in the subject line of your email submission.

9.1 Entries should be submitted online at www.bradtguides.com/travelwriting

9.2 In case of difficulty in accessing the online entry system from 26 April 2015 up to the closing date of midnight 30 June, your entry can be submitted by email as a Word attachment sent to travelwriting@bradtguides.com with the subject field ‘Travel Writing Competition’ and indicating your status as either “Published” or “Unpublished” as defined above. If you are entering the Best Young Writer category, please include this and your date of birth at the top of your email. The email must contain your name, postal address, email address, and telephone number and this information may be shared by the promoters with the Competition Partners and may be used by them and the promoters for marketing purposes unless you indicate otherwise, as in 8.2, above. We are unable to acknowledge receipt or enter into any correspondence about email entries.

Judges

11.1 The panel of judges will include three judges from Bradt, one judge from Travellers’ Tales and the travel editor of The Independent on Sunday. The winner will be announced at an event held at Stanfords travel bookshop in London.

11.2 The identity of the Judges may be requested by sending a stamped addressed envelope to Promotions, Independent Print Limited, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5HF.

Prizes

12.1 The First Prize (as defined below) will be awarded to the entry that the Judges consider to be the best in terms of the quality of the writing and adherence to the theme. The Judges’ decision is final. The Best Unpublished Writer Prize (as defined below) will be selected from entries by unpublished writers only. If the winner of the First Prize is an unpublished writer, the Judges will choose a second entry from an unpublished writer for the Best Unpublished Writer Prize. The Best Young Writer Prize will be awarded to the entry that the Judges consider to be the best among those who specifically enter this category and who are aged between 18 and 21 on 30 June 2015. Proof of age in the form of a scanned copy of a passport or driving licence will be required. Those entering the Best Young Writer category will not be considered for the First Prize or Best Unpublished Writer Prize. The Judges’ decision is final.

12.2 The shortlisted entrants will be notified by phone or email by 24 August 2015. The shortlisted entrants will be invited to an Award Ceremony in September 2015 (date to be announced) at which the three winners will be announced. If any winner cannot attend the ceremony they will be notified by phone or email.

12.3 The winner of the First Prize (the “Competition Winner”) shall win a holiday to Iceland for two (the “Competition Winner’s Prize”) donated by Discover the World (www.discover-the-world.co.uk) that must be taken and travel completed before 31 December 2016. Dates of travel are subject to availability and the Competition Winner must give at least one month’s notice in advance of their desired dates of travel.

• The prize is one seven-night ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ fly-drive holiday for two including the following:

- Two round-trip flights to Reykjavik-Keflavik from the UK with Icelandair*

- Two nights’ accommodation in Hotel Framnes*

- One night in Hotel Cabin*

- Two nights’ accommodation in Icelandair Hotel Klaustur*

- Two nights’ accommodation in Icelandair Hotel Fludir*

- Eight days’ car hire with semi-comprehensive insurance

- Loan of iPad Air with iDiscover travel companion for the duration of the trip only

• *All accommodation is based on both participants sharing a room at all properties and includes bed and breakfast only.

• Restricted dates when the prize winner cannot travel are February, July, August 2016, Christmas and New Year.

• The prize is subject to availability of Icelandair flights operating from the following UK hub airports - London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester.

• The prize is subject to availability of accommodation at the aforementioned hotels and may be substituted by Discover the World for a property within the same approximate region.

• No transfer or substitution of any prize element will be permitted.

• The prize holiday or any of the above listed components may not be sold, traded, transferred, refunded, commissioned or redeemed for cash value.

• Items not included which are the responsibility of the winner include: meals; fuel; travel insurance; excursions; room service; laundry service; all beverages; any telephone calls; merchandise and souvenirs; incidental expenses, additional tips and gratuities; service charges; taxes and all other costs and expenses not otherwise mentioned herein.

• Neither the promoters nor Discover the World are responsible for the winner’s travel to and from any hub airport in the UK.

• At least one member of the party must be aged at least 20 to drive in Iceland and have held a full English or International driving license for at least one year.

• Europcar will require that you present your full driving license (photocard and paper license) and a VISA or Mastercard CREDIT card (debit cards are not accepted). This is compulsory as a guarantee for your vehicle.

• The winner should purchase personal travel insurance prior to travel to Iceland and ensure they have a valid passport.

• General Discover the World terms and conditions apply to all travel arranged by Discover the World.

12.4. The winner of the Best Unpublished Writer Prize (“the Unpublished Winner”) shall win a rail holiday for two to the Cinque Terre, Italy (“the Unpublished Winner’s Prize”), donated by tailor-made rail holiday experts Railbookers (www.railbookers.com, 020 3327 0869), and a place on a travel-writing weekend offered by Travellers’ Tales (www.travellerstales.org).

The holiday must be taken before 31 May 2016. Dates of travel are subject to availability and the Unpublished Winner must give at least one month's notice in advance of their desired dates of travel. Trip details are as follows:

• Five-night holiday for two travelling by rail from London to Zurich (with an overnight stay) and then through the Swiss Alps to the Cinque Terre.

• Rail travel from London to Sestri Levante

• Flight back from Genoa to London

• 5-night hotel accommodation with breakfast

• No transfer or substitution of any prize element will be permitted.

• The prize holiday or any of the above listed components may not be sold, traded, transferred, refunded, commissioned or redeemed for cash value.

• Items not included which are the responsibility of the winner include: meals; travel insurance; excursions; room service; laundry service; all beverages; any telephone calls; merchandise and souvenirs; incidental expenses, additional tips and gratuities; service charges; taxes and all other costs and expenses not otherwise mentioned herein.

• Neither the promoters nor Railbookers are responsible for the winner’s travel to and from London.

• Standard terms and conditions apply

In addition, the winner shall receive a place on a writing weekend hosted by Travellers’ Tales in 2015 or 2016. Transport to the course venue is not included and Terms and conditions on the Travellers’ Tales website apply – see: www.travellerstales.org

12.5 Transport to the departure destinations in the UK is not included.

12.6 The winner of the Best Young Writer Prize (“the Young Winner”) shall win a place on a one-day Bradt Travel Writing Workshop and their choice of five Bradt books (“the Young Winner’s Prize”). The next annual workshop will be held in November 2015 in London – for details of the programme, see www.bradtguides.com/seminar. Transport to the workshop venue is not included.

12.7 Those entering the Best Young Writer Prize will be considered for that prize alone and only those entering the Best Young Writer Prize will be considered for that category. For the avoidance of doubt, an entrant aged between 18 and 21 on 30 June 2015 may enter the main competition but he or she will not then be considered within the Best Young Writer category. By the same token, those entering the Best Young Writer Prize category will not be considered for the First Prize or Best Unpublished Writer Prize.

13. The Competition Winner, the Unpublished Winner and the Young Winner (together the “Winners”) are responsible for organising valid passport(s), securing any necessary visas and complying with any relevant regulations or legislation or customs and immigration requirements relating to the Competition Winner’s Prize, the Unpublished Winner’s Prize and the Young Winner’s Prize (together the “Prizes”). The Winners are also responsible for taking out adequate insurance and obtaining health advice about any vaccinations required and any other health-related matters relevant to the Prizes. We accept no responsibility for any costs associated with the Prizes and not specifically included in the prize descriptions.

14. The Winners must communicate directly with Bradt about the Prizes.

15. All elements of the Prizes including, for the avoidance of doubt, dates and destinations are subject to availability.

16. The Prizes are non-exchangeable, non-transferable, and are not redeemable for cash or other prizes. We reserve the right to change the Prizes or to offer alternatives of similar value. In the event of cancellation by the Winners, for whatever reason, no alternative prize or travel dates will be offered. Once a confirmed booking has been made, reservations may not be changed.

17. In addition to the Competition Winner’s Prize the Competition Winner will be commissioned by The Independent on Sunday to write about the Competition Winner’s Prize on terms and at the rate usually given to freelance contributors by IPL. Publication of the Competition Winner’s commissioned piece shall be at the discretion of the Travel Editor of The Independent on Sunday.

18. In addition to the Unpublished Winner’s Prize the Unpublished Winner will have the opportunity to write a short piece about their prize to appear on The Independent website. There will be no fee payable for this and publication of the Unpublished Winner’s piece shall be at the discretion of the Travel Editor of The Independent on Sunday.

19.If the Competition Winner, the Unpublished Winner or the Young Winner is unable to take up his or her prize for any reason, or if we have not been able, after making reasonable efforts, to make contact with one of the Winners, we reserve the right to award the relevant prize (without notice to the first winner chosen) to an alternative winner, in which case the first winner chosen shall not be eligible for any share of the prize whatsoever. We shall not have any liability in such eventuality.

Intellectual property and other rules about entries

19. Your competition entry must be all your own work. It must not contain any third-party content or infringe the copyright of any third party and it must not be obscene, defamatory or in breach of any applicable legislation or regulations. We reserve the right to exclude entries from the competition that we consider, in our sole discretion, to be in breach of this clause.

20. Your entry must not have been published previously or entered in any other competition anywhere in the world before the winners are announced.

21. The Winners grant IPL and Bradt an exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide licence to first publication; and a non-exclusive licence to publish, syndicate, distribute, reproduce and exploit the material in all present and future media and formats and to sub-license these rights to others. For the avoidance of doubt there will be no payment for such licences.

22. We reserve the right to withhold any of the Prizes if the Judges decide, in their sole discretion, that there are no entries of a suitable standard in the Published, Unpublished or Young Writer categories.

Publicity

24. The promoters reserve the right to publish the names of the Winners and the winning entries themselves, and the Winners are required to give their full co-operation to all requests by the promoters in connection with publicity for the competition, their entry, the Prizes or otherwise.

Miscellaneous

25. IPL and Bradt reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to change the rules of the competition while it is running if it appears to IPL and Bradt that it would be equitable or appropriate to do so. This may include extending the closing date whereupon there will be an announcement of any such extension at the first reasonable opportunity.

26. No correspondence, unless initiated by Bradt or IPL, will be entered into or comment issued on any matters concerning the competition and no reasons given for any decision made by the Judges.

27. We shall not be liable for any circumstances beyond our reasonable control that prevent the competition being fulfilled, a winner or winners being chosen, or any prize being taken up or fully enjoyed by a winner. We exclude liability to the full extent permitted by law for any cost, claims or losses howsoever caused that arise by reason of any person's entry into a competition or the award, or non-award, to them of a prize.

28.Names of the Winners will be available on receipt of a request enclosing a stamped addressed envelope to: Promotions, Independent Print Limited, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5HF.

29. These terms and conditions shall be governed by and interpreted according to English law and the English courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction to deal with any disputes arising in connection with them.

30. Headings in these rules are for convenience only and shall not affect their interpretation.

31. Promoter: Independent Print Limited, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5HF and Bradt Travel Guides, 1st Floor, IDC House, The Vale, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks SL9 9RZ, UK.