Wednesday, July 1, 2009

REAL SIMPLE LIFE LESSONS ESSAY CONTEST

Deadline for this contest is 11:59 P.M. ET on September 7, 2009. To enter online, send your typed, double-spaced submission (1,500 words maximum, preferably in a MS Word attachment) to lifelessons@realsimple.com. To enter via postal mail, submit your essay by mailing your entry to Essay Contest, Real Simple, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, 9th floor, New York, NY 10020. Entries must be postmarked no later than September 7, 2009, and received no later than September 14, 2009. Limit one entry per person or e-mail account. Essays should be submitted in English at a maximum of 1,500 words and typed and double-spaced on 8½-by-11-inch paper. Essays exceeding this length or handwritten may not be considered. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, or incomplete entries; postage-due mail; or entries not received for any reason. Entries become sole property of Sponsor, and none will be acknowledged or returned. By entering, Entrant warrants that his or her entry (1) is original and does not infringe the intellectual-property rights of any third party, (2) has not been published in any medium, and (3) has not won an award.

Winner receives $3,000; roundtrip tickets for 2 to New York City; hotel accomodations for 2 nights; tickets to a Broadway play; lunch with
Real Simple editors; and publication in the magazine. Addition details on their Website at: www.realsimple.com/lifelessonscontest.

2 comments:

Laurie Winslow Sargent said...

Sally, I see that the rules in this contest(like those for the Good Housekeeping short story contest) state: "Entries become sole property of the Sponsor."

Should we assume that this means the writer loses all rights to works, simply by sending those ms in for the contests? And do you think it's worth losing those rights, on the off-chance of winning a prize?

I'm all for submitting to high circ mags (GH claims 24 million readers--wow)I just wonder if it might be better to focus on breaking into these pubs with well-targeted queries instead. I'm curious about your take on this.

Laurie W. Sargent

Unknown said...

I must echo Laurie's question. Perhaps there is an answer posted, but I'm not finding it. I will plan to enter an essay if entry does not mean a permanent loss of all rights for me.
Anne H. Meyer