Terms and Conditions for the Michael Gifkins Prize for an Unpublished Novel

1. The manuscript must be an unpublished work of fiction of between 40,000 and 120,000 words, and must be written in English.
2. The manuscript submitted must be complete, and suitable for adult readers.
3. The competition is open to living writers who are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents of New Zealand, whether they have been published before or not. Manuscripts entered in the competition must not be on submission to, or under contract with, any other publisher.
4. It is a condition of entry that Text Publishing has the option to acquire worldwide publication rights in any manuscript submitted to the competition until the winner has been announced.
5. Self-published works in print or ebook may be submitted, but they must be withdrawn from sale if the manuscript is shortlisted.
6. Writers previously published by Text are ineligible.
7. Those entering the competition warrant that:
   1. The entry is an original work.
   2. That it is in no way whatever an infringement of any existing copyright or licence or any other right of any person.
   3. That it contains no defamatory matter, or any matter which invades any individual’s rights of privacy.
   4. All statements in the work purporting to be facts are true.
8. Each entry must be received by electronic submission, submitted by link on authors.org.nz, and must contain the following:
   1. A completed entry form
   2. The complete manuscript (double spacing preferred) without the author’s name included.
   3. A synopsis of no more than 200 words.
   4. Author bio of no more than 50 words.
9. The submission is not valid until an entry fee of NZ$45 has been paid to the nominated New Zealand bank account.
10. All entries must be received by midnight New Zealand time on the date the prize closes annually
11. An author may submit more than one manuscript, but each entry must be accompanied by a separate entry form and payment.
12. Hand-delivered submissions or posted submissions will not be accepted.
13. A shortlist was announced in the second quarter of 2024, and the winner will be announced in the third quarter of 2024.
14. Shortlisted manuscripts will not be returned so writers must not submit any original documents.
15. The winner will be notified by phone and/or email.
16. The winner will be announced via media release and on authors.org.nz and textpublishing.com.au.
17. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into either during or after the selection process.
18. Chance plays no part in determining the winner. Entries will be judged on the basis of literary merit and commercial potential.
19. Only one prize will be awarded.
20. NZSA and Text Publishing take no responsibility for lost or misdirected entries.
21. The winner receives a prize of NZ$10,000 which constitutes an advance against royalties and a contract for world rights with Text Publishing.
22. The winning entry will be published by Text Publishing under the terms of a publishing agreement, which will be negotiated in line with industry norms.
23. The prize is not transferable and not redeemable for any other goods or services.
24. Text Publishing and NZSA reserve the right not to offer a prize if, in their reasonable opinion, no entry is received which is of an acceptable standard to warrant publication.
25. Those entering this competition have opted in to Text Publishing’s marketing database and may receive marketing information from Text Publishing. The personal information that entrants provide to NZSA is collected for the purpose of notifying the winner of the competition and for Text Publishing’s direct marketing. It will not be disclosed to any other organisation. Entrants may opt out of Text Publishing’s marketing database at any time.
26. Those entering the competition accept the conditions of entry as prescribed and give their consent for their manuscripts to be considered for the prize.