"The WELL Online Writing Awards Contest" -- Official Rules

The Contest is brought to you by Salon Internet, Inc. ("Salon.com"), and The WELL. ("the Sponsors").

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER. CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL UNITED STATES RESIDENTS.

Eligibility:

Contest is offered only within the 50 United States. Contest is open to all persons who are legal residents of the United States and are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Employees, officers, and directors of Sponsors, their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, their immediate family members and persons living in their same household are not eligible to participate in the Contest. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. No purchase necessary to enter.

How to Enter:

Participants must submit an original essay. Entries must be 1,500 words or fewer. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PDT on November 19, 1999. E-mail all submissions to contest@well.com, making sure to put entry title in the subject header. Entries MUST BE included in the body of the e-mail, along with the author's name, mailing address, phone, and e-mail address. No attachments will be accepted.

One entry per author. Multiple entries, whether electronic or postal, will be discarded. NO PHONE INQUIRIES, PLEASE.

Prize Details:

The Grand Prize winner will receive a $500 cash prize. The total cash value of the Grand Prize is $500. Membership to The Well is $120 cash value per year. Complete prize cash value for this promotion is $980.00.

A winner from each of the four catagories will be selected. All four winners will have their essay and names published on The WELL after they have signed an affidavit of eligibility for the prize.

All prizes are non-replaceable and cannot be redeemed for cash, bartered or sold. Winners will be required to sign and return a release of liability, affidavit of eligibility and, where lawful, a publicity consent agreement, all within 14 days of notification.

If a selected winners cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize(s) or fails to timely return the complete and executed affidavit and releases as required, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected.

As part of the contest, the winning compositions will be posted on The WELL's Website. Therefore, entrants must submit pieces (a) to which they own the copyright, or which (b) can by permission of the copyright owner, be posted on The WELL's Website for a period not to exceed 1 year following the contest.

As a condition of receiving the prize(s), the winner(s), within 7 days of notification, will be required to sign an agreement granting to Salon.com publication rights to the entries(s), and to use the author's name in connection with the business of Salon.com, and acknowledging that the prize(s) shall be the author's sole compensation for such rights. The agreement will also contain the author's representation that the work submitted is original to the author and does not infringe on the rights of any third party.

Selection of Winner:

The winners will be selected from all eligible entries by judges. See contest home page for list of judges. The winners will be notified by phone, e-mail or mail. Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, technical skill and distinct voice, as well as adherence to essay specifications. The winners will have 7 days from notification to accept their prizes. Sponsors are not responsible for and shall not be liable for late, lost, misdirected or unsuccessful efforts to notify winner. By entering, participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the judges, which shall be final. Sponsors, agents and representatives of Sponsors, their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, are not responsible for and shall not be liable for:

(i) late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible or postage-due entries;

(ii) any condition caused by events beyond the control of the Sponsors that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted;

(iii) any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of the prize, or acceptance, possession, or use of the prize, or from participation in the Contest; or

(iv) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest. Salon.com reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to suspend or cancel this Contest at any time. By participating in the Contest, participants agree to release and hold Sponsors and the employees, officers, directors, shareholders, agents, representatives of Sponsors, their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, harmless from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with the Contest or resulting from acceptance, possession or use of any prize, including without limitation, personal injury, death and property damage, and claims based on content of the story, including but not limited to publicity rights, copyright infringement, defamation or invasion of privacy. The winners will be selected and announced once all affidavits of eligibility have been satisfactorily completed and returned.

Winners' List:

For a complete list of winners, please send a note requesting "The WELL's Online Writing Awards" Winners' List and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to "The WELL's Online Writing Awards Winner's List, 22 Fourth Street, 16th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Please email contest@well.com if you have additional questions.