Terms

To view T&Cs for the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition please click here.

1.CHICKEN HOUSE LTD WEBSITES

TERMS OF USE

Including:

chickenhousebooks.com

threadsthebook.com

corneliafunkefans.com

6-days.com

ravenwoodbook.com

These terms ('Terms') apply to the entire contents of the Websites under the domain names above (the 'Websites') and to any correspondence by e-mail between us and you. Please read these Terms carefully before using the Websites. Using the Website indicates that you accept these Terms. If you do not accept these Terms, do not use the Website. This notice is issued by Chicken House Limited ('Chicken House') and its parent company Scholastic Ltd ('Scholastic').

2. LICENCE

2.1 You are permitted to print and download extracts from the Website for your own use to your personal computer or Apple Macintosh ® on the following basis:

(a) no documents or related graphics on the Website are modified in any way; (b) no graphics on the Website are used separately from the corresponding text; and (c) Chicken House’s copyright and trademark notices and this permission notice appear in all copies.

(b) Unless otherwise stated, the copyright and other intellectual property rights in all material on the Website (including without limitation photographs and graphical images) are owned by Chicken House or its licensors. For the purposes of these Terms, any use of extracts from the Website other than in accordance with clause 2.1 for any purpose is prohibited. If you breach any of these Terms, your permission to use the Website automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any downloaded or printed extracts from the Website.

2.2 Subject to clause 2.1, no part of the Website may be reproduced or stored in any other website or intranet or internet or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service without Chicken House’s prior written permission.

2.3 Any rights not expressly granted in these Terms are reserved.

3. ADVERTISERS

3.1 Chicken House shall not be liable to you in respect of any goods or services that are advertised or promoted on the Website by any other suppliers and you should make your own inquiries to ensure that the goods and services offered by those suppliers are suitable for your purposes, are (as the case may be) of satisfactory quality or provided with reasonable skill and care and that you have read and agreed any terms of business under which those goods and services are supplied.

4. PROMOTION AND COMPETITION RULES

4.1. Introduction

4.1.1 These Promotion and Competition Rules (the “Rules”) shall apply to any promotion, prize draw or competition (“Promotion(s)”) promoted or conducted by Chicken House, its subsidiaries or related companies on or via www.chickenhousebooks.com (the “Website”).

4.1.2 Unless otherwise specified, Chicken House of 2 Palmer Street, Frome BA11 1DS (“Chicken House”, “we”, “our”, “us”) is the promoter of the Promotions.

4.1.3 Each Promotion is subject to specific details and, if applicable, additional rules or terms and conditions which will be featured on the relevant pages of the Promotion (“Additional Terms”). If the specific details or additional terms and conditions conflict in any way with these Rules, those Rules shall prevail.

4.1.4 By entering and participating in any Promotion, you (“you”, “entrant”) are deemed to have accepted these Rules, which may be amended from time to time, together with any Additional Terms.

4.2. Eligibility to enter Promotions

4.2.1 Unless otherwise stated, you must be a resident of the UK and aged 18 years or over to enter a Promotion.

4.2.2 For Promotions where participants may be under the age of 18, proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.

4.2.3 Employees of Chicken House, its subsidiaries or related companies, together with their families, members of their household or any persons directly or indirectly connected with a particular Promotion are not eligible to enter such Promotion.

4.2.4 Unless otherwise stated, only one entry per person is permitted. Multiple entries will be deemed invalid.

4.2.5 No purchase is necessary for entry into a Promotion.

4.2.6 Entrants are liable for their costs to access telephone, mobile or computer networks.

4.3. Promotion entries

4.3.1 All entries or answers must be received by Chicken House by the closing date specified in the relevant Promotion. Any entries that arrive any later than this will not be considered.

4.3.2 No responsibility is accepted for late, damaged, lost or mislaid entries and proof of posting will not be accepted as proof of delivery. Incomplete or indecipherable entries will be void. No entries will be accepted by agents, in bulk or from third parties.

4.3.3 Unless otherwise stated, entries will not be returned to you.

4.3.4 By submitting an entry, you grant to Chicken House a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable licence to use, electronically reproduce, distribute, publish, alter and adapt any information or material submitted as part of an entry into a Promotion in any and all media.

4.3.5 Entrants agree to waive any moral rights they may have in any material submitted as part of an entry.

4.3.6 Chicken House reserves the right, but not the obligation, to publish any entry, including on the Website. Entrants acknowledge that the nature of the internet means that such entries will be available to be uploaded and viewed worldwide.

4.4. Winners and Prizes

4.4.1 The winner will be chosen in accordance with the details on the Promotion page.

4.4.2 For prize draws where winners are to be selected at random, the winner will be the first valid entry drawn from all entries received by Chicken House and, where relevant, the second drawn shall win the runner up prize and so on.

4.4.3 For skill competitions, the winner will be selected by an independent judge or a panel of judges, based on the entry criteria set out on the Promotion page.

4.4.4 All decisions of Chicken House or the relevant judges will be final and unchallengeable. No correspondence will be entered into. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.

4.4.5 If you are a winner, Chicken House will make reasonable efforts to notify you within fourteen days after the draw or decision. It is your responsibility to make sure that you can be contacted via the contact details provided and Chicken House accepts no responsibility for the prize if it is unable to contact you.

4.4.6 Names of winners are available from Chicken House upon request up to one month after the closing date by sending an SAE to Chicken House of 2 Palmer Street, Frome BA11 1DS.

4.4.7 Full names of the judges are available on request by sending a SAE to Chicken House of 2 Palmer Street, Frome BA11 1DS.

4.4.8 Failure to claim a prize by the time (or if no time is specified, within 28 days from the Promotion closing date) or in the manner specified for that particular Promotion will make any claim invalid. Chicken House shall then be entitled to withdraw that entrant’s right to the prize and select an alternative winner.

4.4.9 Chicken House reserves the right to publish winners’ and any runners-up’s names and images including on the Website or in any advertising or publicity material published and distributed by or on behalf of Chicken House. Winners must co-operate fully for publicity purposes if so required.

4.4.10 Prizes may not be exchanged, transferred or re-sold and are subject to availability. No cash alternative will be offered. If for any reason a prize is unavailable, Chicken House reserves the right in its reasonable discretion to substitute a similar prize of equivalent or greater value.

4.4.11 Chicken House does not accept any liability for prizes which are lost, delayed or damaged in the post or otherwise not validly received by you.

4.4.12 Where prizes are to be provided by a third party then the winner will be required to complete all appropriate or applicable booking or other formalities direct with such provider and comply with any third party terms and conditions. Chicken House accepts no liability for any promotion run by a third party and such third party is responsible for the fulfillment of its promotion.

4.4.13 Prizes or tickets to cancelled or curtailed events may not be valid for re-scheduled dates.

4.5. Holiday Prizes

4.5.1 Prizes must be taken in accordance with the dates and destinations and number of passengers specified by Chicken House. There will be no cash alternative or alternative destination.

4.5.2 Holidays are non-transferable and subject to availability. Travel dates may be restricted to certain times of the year.

4.5.3 You must hold a valid UK passport with at least 6 months’ further duration (or Promotion entry will be invalid). Chicken House requires written permission from the parent or guardian of any winner who is under the age of 16 and requires such winner to be accompanied by an adult over the age of 18 with a valid UK passport.

4.5.4 Holidays including accommodation and travel are as described. All additional and other expenses including, without limitation, travel to and from airports, food, connections, additional charges and taxes, are the responsibility of winners.

4.5.5 All:

4.5.5.1 travel, holiday, health or other insurance; and

4.5.5.2 passports, visas and other such necessary travel documentation;

shall be the responsibility of the winner and not Chicken House.

4.5.6 Unless otherwise stated, all travel and holiday prizes must be taken within one year of the closing date of the Promotion.

4.6. Cancellation of entries or the Promotion

4.6.1 Chicken House reserves the right in its reasonable discretion to:

4.6.1.1 disqualify any entrant who is in breach of these Rules or the Additional Terms or whose conduct is contrary to the spirit of the Promotion or who Chicken House considers has used improper means (including technical means) to enter and to declare any or all claims or entries based on such conduct as void;

4.6.1.2 declare void any claims or entries resulting from any publication errors on this Website or where there has been error(s) in any aspect of the preparation for or conduct of the Promotion which materially affect the results of the Promotion;

4.6.1.3 add to or to waive any of these Rules or Additional Terms on reasonable notice; and/or

4.6.1.4 cancel the Promotion or any part of it at any time in the event of circumstances beyond Chicken House’s reasonable control.

4.7. General

4.7.1 Chicken House is not responsible, and shall not be liable for any problems related to any telephone network lines, computer on-line systems or equipment, software failure of any email or failure of any entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, telephone lines or the Website or any combination thereof, including but not limited to any injury or damage to an entrant’s or any other person’s computer related or resulting from participation in a Promotion.

4.7.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, Chicken House hereby excludes all warranties, representations, covenants and liability (whether express or implied) relating to Promotions and prizes. Nothing however shall exclude Chicken House’s liability for: (i) death or personal injury as a result of its negligence; (ii) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (iii) any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.

4.7.3 Unless indicated otherwise, Chicken House will only use an entrant’s personal details submitted as part of a Promotion for purposes connection with the Promotion. Chicken House will hold an entrant’s personal data for a reasonable period of time to enable it to send that entrant any prize they have won and to verify that these Rules have been complied with, and for accounting purposes. This data may be passed to third parties to enable such third parties to fulfill any necessary requirements relating to the award of a prize. Any other use of personal data will be in accordance with, and subject to, Chicken House’s Privacy Policy.

4.7.4 These Rules are supplemental to the Website Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

4.7.5 The laws of England and Wales shall govern these Rules and any Additional Terms and any dispute arising out of them shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

5. DISCLAIMER

5.1 While Chicken House endeavours to ensure that the information on the Website is correct, Chicken House does not warrant the accuracy and completeness of the material on the Website. Chicken House may make changes to the material on the Website, or to the products and prices described in it, at any time without notice. The material on the Website may be out of date, and Chicken House makes no commitment to update such material.

5.2 The material on the Website is provided 'as is', without any conditions, warranties or other terms of any kind. Accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted by law, Chicken House provides you with the Website on the basis that Chicken House excludes all representations, warranties, conditions and other terms (including, without limitation, the conditions implied by law of satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and the use of reasonable care and skill which, but for this legal notice, might have effect in relation to the Website.

6. LIABILITY

6.1 Chicken House, any other party (whether or not involved in creating, producing, maintaining or delivering the Website), and any of Scholastic’s group companies and the officers, directors, employees, shareholders or agents of any of them, exclude all liability and responsibility for any amount or kind of loss or damage that may result to you or a third party (including without limitation, any direct, indirect, punitive or consequential loss or damages, or any loss of income, profits, goodwill, data, contracts, use of money, or loss or damages arising from or connected in any way to business interruption, and whether in tort (including without limitation negligence), contract or otherwise) in connection with the Website in any way or in connection with the use, inability to use or the results of use of the Website, any websites linked to the Website or the material on such websites, including but not limited to loss or damage due to viruses that may infect your computer equipment, software, data or other property on account of your access to, use of, or browsing the Website or your downloading of any material from the Website or any websites linked to the Website.

6.2 Nothing in this legal notice shall exclude or limit Chicken House or Scholastic’s liability for:

(a) death or personal injury caused by negligence (as such term is defined by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977; or (b) fraud; or (c) misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter; or (d) any liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

6.3 If your use of material on the Website results in the need for servicing, repair or correction of equipment, software or data, you assume all costs thereof.

7. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

7.1 This legal notice shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Disputes arising in connection with this legal notice shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition Terms and Conditions

Because of the large numbers of entries and the subsequent rise in the costs of administration, a fee of £20.00 (incl. VAT) is payable via our online portal for electronic entries. If you consider yourself in financial hardship, please email competitions@chickenhousebooks.com by midday (UK time) on 31 May for the reduced fee of £15. The fee is non-returnable and is a condition of entry. There is no alternative form of payment available. If your payment does not clear then the entry will automatically be disqualified.

1. The competition will run from midday (UK time) on 1 December 2023 to 11.59pm (UK time) on 1 June 2024.

2. Unless otherwise stated, the competition is open to all entrants aged 18 or over, except employees of Times Newspapers Limited ('TNL'), Lime Pictures Limited (‘Lime’), Chicken House Publishing Limited ('Chicken House') and their associated, affiliated or subsidiary companies, and their families, agents, or anyone connected in any way whatsoever with this competition.

3. Entry is limited to one per person. Entries must be submitted online by the deadline of 11.59pm (UK time) on 1 June 2024.

4. By entering, all eligible entrants agree to abide by each and all of these terms and conditions. The Promoters (as referred to in Clause 22 below) reserve the right, with or without cause, to exclude entrants and withhold prizes for violating any of these terms and conditions. The Promoters reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions. Any amendments will be published on the Chicken House Website (www.chickenhousebooks.com) and on The Times’ Website (http://thetimes.co.uk/competitions).

5. Submission Criteria

Entries must be the original work of the entrant and not previously commercially published and distributed (self-published works are allowed). The entrant must not be represented by a literary agent at any stage of the competition process, and must not previously have had commercially published any whole children’s novel in any country, but may have had published a children’s picture book/graphic novel, an essay, story or poem in an anthology. The entrant must personally submit the entry: any submissions from or found to be from agents will be void and rejected. Entries submitted in previous years are eligible to be resubmitted for this year (excluding any winning manuscripts). The entry must be a full-length manuscript. By full-length we suggest a minimum of 30,000 words and a maximum of 80,000 words (please note these are suggested word counts). The entry should be suitable for a worldwide children’s audience aged between 7 and 18. Each entry must be accompanied by a brief synopsis and a letter of submission explaining the book’s appeal to children. (The synopsis should be no more than a page, and should give an overview of the complete story, including key characters, events and settings.)

Picture books and graphic novels will not be accepted and illustrations will not be considered but may be included. Entries must be written in English. There will be no feedback on any entries except those longlisted or shortlisted, either during or after the competition.

6. There will be one winner of the Times/Chicken House Prize and one winner of the Lime Pictures New Storyteller Award. Subject to submission of a suitable creditworthy entry (as referred to below), the Times/Chicken House Prize is the offer of a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House (which shall be subject to negotiation and completion between Chicken House and the winner. If the negotiations between the parties fail, then the winner will receive the alternative prize set out below). The publishing contract with the Times/Chicken House Prize will be in line with industry standards for a debut children’s novel with a Royalty Advance of £10,000 from Chicken House and will include full volume rights including Film & TV, subject to Clause 9 below. The Times/Chicken House Prize winner will be the entrant whose story, in the opinion of the judges, demonstrates the greatest entertainment value, quality, originality and suitability for children aged 7-18. However, in the event that the judges, in their sole opinion, determine that none of the entries are suitably creditworthy for a worldwide publishing contract the Promoters shall nonetheless select the best entry in accordance with these terms and conditions and award an alternative prize; namely, a full and detailed editorial consultation with Barry Cunningham and the Chicken House editorial team, including creative and technical advice on their entry.

7. Subject to submission of a suitable creditworthy entry (as referred to below), the Lime Pictures New Storyteller Award is the offer of a worldwide publishing contract with Chicken House (which shall be subject to negotiation and completion between Chicken House and the winner. If the negotiations between the parties fail, then the winner will receive the alternative prize set out below). The publishing contract will be in line with industry standards for a debut children’s novel with a Royalty Advance of £7,500 from Chicken House and will include full volume rights including Film & TV, subject to Clause 9 below. The prize will be awarded by Barry Cunningham (Chicken House MD and Chairman of the Panel) and Tim Compton (Co-Head of Kids & Family at Lime Pictures) to a complete fiction manuscript for children aged 7 up to Young Adult that in their view shows great potential for film and TV development. However, in the event that the panel determines that none of the entries are suitably creditworthy for a second worldwide publishing contract, the Promoters shall nonetheless select the best entry in accordance with these terms and conditions and award an alternative prize; namely, a full and detailed editorial consultation with Barry Cunningham and the Chicken House editorial team, including creative and technical advice on their entry.

8. Lime has the exclusive right to consider all shortlisted entries for film/TV development until 14 days after the winners’ announcement. Any subsequent offer for TV/film rights will be subject to separate negotiation and is not part of the Lime New Storyteller Award.

9. Entrants retain all rights to their entries, except in the case of the winners to whom publishing contracts will be offered (as referred to in terms 7 and 8 above). The winners will retain the copyright to the works and shall exclusively license worldwide publishing rights of the entry to Chicken House Publishing Limited on completion of the publishing contract.

10. Selection Criteria

All valid entries received before the closing date will be read by a Chicken House editorially managed team of experienced readers who will select a longlist of approximately 20 entries for both prizes based on the judging criteria set out in Clauses 7 and 8. The longlisted entrants’ names and the titles of their longlisted works will be published in September 2024 (approximately) on the Chicken House Website www.chickenhousebooks.com. Each of the longlisted entrants will be notified and will receive a reader’s report giving editorial advice if they do not reach the shortlist of either prize – those who do reach the shortlist will receive a summary of judges’ comments on their submission. The final shortlist of approximately five entries for both prizes will be selected by Barry Cunningham (Publisher & MD of Chicken House) based on the judging criteria set out in Clauses 7 and 8. The shortlist will be announced online by Chicken House in October 2024 (approximately). The judges will choose winners from these shortlists, to be announced in November 2024 (approximately). The shortlisted entrants shall be notified in writing. If any such entrant decides to withdraw from the competition at the shortlisting stage he/she shall notify Chicken House in writing. Subject to the foregoing provisions of this term all shortlisted entries will then be read by the judges and winners selected based on the judging criteria in Clause 7 and 8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and for the avoidance of doubt, there will be at least one independent judge involved in the judging process.

11. Both winners agree to an interview which may be published by TNL in any of their publications including, but not limited to, The Times or The Sunday Times, and/or their digital publications and either of their Websites.

12. Entrants will retain copyright of their submitted entries, but grant TNL a non-exclusive worldwide, royalty free licence to publish segments/parts/extracts of winning and shortlisted entries (up to 500 words) in any and all media including The Times, The Sunday Times and on its Websites and social media for publicity and news purposes for a period of up to one year from the date of shortlisting. Such publication does not necessarily mean that the entrant has won a prize. TNL does not guarantee that it will publish entries and reserves the right to edit entries in its discretion for such publication.

13. The winners will be notified by the end of November 2024. All reasonable endeavours will be made to contact the winners before this date. If the winners cannot be contacted or are not available, the Promoters reserve the right to select other winners from entries which were received before the closing date.

14. There is no cash or other alternative to the prizes stated. The prizes are not transferable and no part or parts of the prize may be substituted for other benefits, items or additions.

15. For the avoidance of doubt, entrants and the winners will be solely responsible for the payment of all taxes and other amounts due on the sums payable hereunder. Entrants and the winners agree to indemnify TNL, Lime and Chicken House and keep them indemnified in respect of all claims which may be made against them in respect of such taxes or other amounts (including any penalties and interest), together with any costs and expenses incurred by TNL, Lime and/or Chicken House in connection therewith.

16. The judges’ decision is final and binding on the entrants. No correspondence will be entered into.

17. The Promoters will not be liable for any failure of receipt of entries. The Promoters take no responsibility for any entries which are lost, delayed, illegible, damaged, incomplete or otherwise invalid. Other than death or personal injury arising from the acts or omissions of the Promoters, or their employees, the Promoters will not be liable for any loss or damage arising out of the winners’ receipt of the prize.

18. By entering, the entrants, including the winners, agree to allow the free use of their names, photographs and general locations for publicity and news purposes during this and any future promotion by TNL or any associated or subsidiary company of News International Limited.

19. Uses of personal data received by TNL, Lime and/or Chicken House in the course of the competition are subject to current UK data protection legislation and the privacy policies found on the Times Online Website, the Lime Pictures Website and the Chicken House Website. The winners’ names may be published on such websites.

20. Submission of an entry will be deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.

21. The Promoters reserve the right at any time to cancel, modify or supersede the competition (including altering the prize or these terms and conditions) if, in their sole discretion, the competition is not capable of being conducted as specified. The Promoters reserve, in their absolute discretion, the right to substitute a prize of equal value in the event that circumstances beyond their control make this unavoidable.

22. The Promoters of this competition are Times Newspapers Limited (address below) and Chicken House Publishing Limited of 2 Palmer Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1DS.

23. For details of the winners, please send a stamped envelope to Times Newspapers Limited Competitions Department, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF, after 1 December 2024 stating that you wish to receive winner’s details for the Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition.

24. Terms and Conditions printed in The Times/The Sunday Times newspaper or on The Times or The Sunday Times Websites form a part of these terms and conditions. In the event of a conflict of terms these terms and conditions shall prevail.

25. The competition is governed by English law and any dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

NOTE: Clause 12 was amended on 21st June 2023. Please contact competitions@chickenhousebooks.com with any queries relating to this clause.

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