Rules for the 2009/2010 Kids' Short Story Contest
Effective Date: September 26, 2009
Total Prizes - $1000 (in the 2009/2010 contest)
Fees - $0
Eligibility – must be under the age of 18 and live in a location that does not legally prohibit your participation in this contest.
Thanks for your interest in the Happy Dead Trees Short Story Contest for Children. The contest is open to anyone under the age of 18 unless you live in an area where such contests are prohibited by law. If you are 13 years old or younger you must use an account set up by an adult in order to enter any contest on this site. And, you may not include any personally identifiable information in your entry. That means, don’t include anything that a stranger could use to figure out your real name, where you live, etc. If you do not follow the rules you are not eligible to win the contest.
The 2009/2010 Kids' Short Story Contest will award a total of $1000 in cash prizes during the 12-month run of the contest. The contest begins on September 11, 2009 and ends on September 11, 2010. Please watch the Kids' Short Story Contest main page for announcements of winners.
The first monthly prizes will be awarded on the last day of November 2009 if there are at least 200 entries in the contest as of November 15, 2009. If there are not 200 entries by November 15, 2009, the first awards will be made at the end of the first month in which the total number of entries is 200 or higher. New winners will be chosen on the last day of each month in which more than 100 new contest entries are made.
Our editors choose the winner from among all entries, but we will pay particular attention to the 20 most popular entries of each month. Popularity is determined by the total number of registered users who “favorite” the story. We aren't suggesting that you game the system, but it is in your best interest to invite your friends to register on Happy Dead Trees.
With the exception of guaranteeing a total prize payout of $1000, all other contest conditions and rules may change without notice. It is your responsibility to check this page for changes and additions to contest rules. Rules changes will be posted here in a timely fashion. (We have no intention of changing the rules, but we need to leave the option open in case the rules do not enable a sufficiently large number of people to participate in the contest.)