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Greetings, Aspiring Writer: Fancy a chance to get published, win some sweet Apple products and cash prizes, plus USD500 worth of book vouchers for your school? Well then, join our 7th annual Scholastic Writers’ Award! All you need to do is to submit an original story of 1,000 to 2,000 words (if you are 10 to 14-years-old) or 1,500 to 3,000 words (if you are 15 to 18-years-old) from a list of seven titles. The deadline is Sunday, May 31, 2015 (GMT+8). This contest is open to students age 10-18 of any nationality, who are studying in registered education institutions in Malaysia and Singapore. To ensure that your submission qualifies as a legitimate entry, it is important that you read and follow the instructions in the next few pages very carefully. We have also included a checklist at the end of this document to help you ensure that all rules are adhered to prior to your submission. Navigate easily by clicking on the quick links below:

HOW TO ENTER STORY TOPICS PRIZES

COMPETITION RULES BEFORE YOU SUBMIT ENTRY FORM

Still have questions? Contact us at clubs_support@scholastic.com.sg or call us at 6510 9000. We look forward to reading your wonderful, imaginative stories! Sincerely,

Florence Cheah General Manager – Book Clubs Southeast Asia

The Scholastic Writers’ Award Aims to:

Promote literacy and the use of English in a fun and creative manner.

Encourage creative writing.

Give young writers a chance to realize their talents.

Provide a unique opportunity for schools in Malaysia and Singapore to showcase their students’

achievements.

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STEP

Select one of the seven following titles, and write an original, unpublished story.

1. Heaven Can Wait

2. Haters Will Hate, Fakers Will Fake

3. A Party to Remember

4. Alien Invasion

5. Include in your story all of the following: a black bird a girl/boy in a hurry a bowl of soup noodles

*The three elements above should be highlighted in bold and underlined. Include a Story Title of your own creation. 6. Begin your story with: My life changed forever last Saturday night. One moment, I was reading in bed, and

the next I was standing on the corner of a busy and unfamiliar city street holding a cardboard box. My first thought was that I was dreaming. Then the lights went out.

*The beginning sentence of your story should be highlighted in bold. Include a Story Title of your own creation. 7. End your story with: She continued to dig up the earth with her hands – the hole was nowhere near big

enough yet, but soon it would be. * The ending sentence of your story should be highlighted in bold. Include a Story Title of your own creation

STEP

Type-write your story in A4-sized Word document, double-spaced, and in Times New Roman font-sized 12. Entries should be submitted in one of the groups below according to age:

Group A (10 – 14 years old): Story length: 1,000 – 2,000 words Group B (15 – 18 years old): Story length: 1,500 – 3,000 words

Include a separate cover page containing: (Title No.) Story Title* Total word count of story Full Name (per IC or Passport) NRIC or Passport Number Age & Group School Name State Parent Name Parent Phone Number

Save your story as yourname.GroupAorB.Titleno in <.doc> or <.docx> format. * Please provide a story title of your own if you have selected titles [5], [6], or [7]

HOW TO ENTER

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STEP

Print/detach and fill in the entry form The entry form can be found at the end of this document or from WIZARD and ACE catalogs Issue 1 and 2. Ensure that all details are correct. Entry forms must be certified by a member of teaching staff at the school and completed with an official school stamp. Scan or photograph and save your completed entry form as yourname.schoolname in <.pdf>, <.jpeg>, or <.png> format.

STEP

Submit your story and entry form to writersaward@scholastic.com.sg

Subject Title: Group A or B: (Title No.) Story Title* Email Content: Full Name NRIC or Passport No. Age & Group School Name State Parent Name Parent Phone Number

All submissions should have

two attachments!

Attachment 1: Entry form**

(saved in yourname.schoolname)

Attachment 2: Story in <.doc> or <.docx> format (saved in yourname.GroupAorB.Titleno.)

* Please provide a story title of your own if you have selected titles [5], [6], or [7] ** Entry forms can be scanned or photographed. Ensure details in uploaded entry form are legible.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015

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1. ELIGIBILITY: Open to students who, as of December 31, 2014, will be no younger than 10-years-old, or no older than 18-years-old. Entrants can be of any nationality, but must currently be a primary or secondary school student attending a registered school in Malaysia or Singapore at the time of entry to this competition.

2. COMPETITION CLOSES at May 31, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. Singapore Standard Time (GMT+8). Late entries will not be

accepted.

3. NO PAPER ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED. All stories must be submitted through email as an attached Word

document to writersaward@scholastic.com.sg.

4. ALL ENTRIES MUST:

(i) Be in English.

(ii) Be within the stipulated word limit, no more, no less. The title is not included in the word count.

Punctuation does not count as a word. Each word must be separated by a space. An eligible entry by a Group A

entrant will have 1,000 – 2,000 words. A Group B entry will have 1,500 – 3,000 words.

(iii) Be type-written on an A4-sized Word document, double-spaced, in font size 12, and Times New Roman

font. Save your document as yourname.GroupAorB.Titleno. in <.doc> or <.docx> format

(iv) Be a <.doc> or <.docx> attachment. Do not write your story in the body of the email.

(iv) Include an entry form. Please ensure entry forms are correctly completed with the required signature of

parent/guardian, certified by a teacher from your school and stamped with your school’s official stamp. Scanned or

photographed attachments should be saved as yourname.schoolname in <.pdf>, <.jpeg>, or <.png> format and must

be legible to be eligible. Entry forms can be found:

On the last page of this document

In WIZARD and ACE catalogs, Issue 1 (January – June) and Issue 2 (March – September)

(iv) Include a separate cover page as stated in Step 2 in How To Enter. Stories that do not have this

will not be judged. No exceptions.

5. ONLY ONE TITLE SHOULD BE SELECTED. Combination of two or more titles in the same story may result in

disqualification.

6. ONE ENTRY PER STUDENT. Amendments or substitutions cannot be made to entries after they have been

submitted. If more than one entry is received from the same student, only the first entry will be valid and subsequent entries

will be voided. Submissions that are incomplete or corrupted will be voided and will not be accepted.

7. Each submitted entry must be an ORIGINAL, UNPUBLISHED WORK of which you are the sole author, and does not

infringe upon the intellectual property rights of any other individual or entity.

8. THE DECISION OF THE JUDGES IS FINAL. The judges may choose no winner if they find no entry that, in their estimation, merits publication and the award.

COMPETITION RULES

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9. ONLY SELECTED ESSAYS WILL BE PUBLISHED. Winning entries may not necessarily be published. Likewise, publication does not necessarily mean that the entrant has won a prize. Scholastic reserves the right to edit entries in its discretion for such publication.

PERSONAL DATA 10. Grolier International Inc./Scholastic will collect and store the names and email addresses of all participants and the

additional contact details of winners as anticipated by sections Competition Rules and Notifying The Winners And Claiming

Prizes above. Grolier International Inc./Scholastic will use this personal data for the following purposes:

Managing the relationship between the participants and Scholastic

Communication with participants to answer their queries about the Competition

Communicating the winners and arranging delivery of their prizes

Marketing and publicity in accordance to the point below

11. By entering, the entrants, including the winner, 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 Scholastic. Participants also consent to their personal data being processed by Scholastic in accordance with, and for the purposes set out in this section Personal Data. PUBLICITY AND RIGHTS 12. Grolier International Inc./Scholastic intends to publish the names of the winner[s] on the Scholastic websites, Facebook pages, press releases and in other promotional and marketing material. By entering the Competition, each participant agrees to the use of their name and image and agrees to co-operate with any such publicity or marketing if they win a prize. 13. Copyright for manuscripts selected for awards and/or publishing will be the exclusive property of Scholastic. 14. By entering the Competition each participant grants Scholastic, free of charge, permission to use the entry material (including, without limitation, modifying and adapting it for operational and editorial reasons) in any media worldwide for purposes connected with the Competition. 15. Participants whose entries are judged as “outstanding” grant Scholastic the further permission to publish and exhibit their entry material (including, without limitation, modifying and adapting it for operational and editorial reasons) in print and in any media worldwide for any Scholastic purpose.

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NOTIFYING THE WINNERS AND CLAIMING PRIZES 16. From each group: Twelve (12)

Honorable Mentions will be awarded USD100

each. One (1) Grand Prize Winner will be

awarded a MacBook Air (11-inch, 128GB) and

USD200; one (1) First Runner-Up will be awarded

an iPad Air (16GB with Wifi) and USD200; one (1)

Second Runner-Up will be awarded an iPad Mini

and USD200.

17. Grand Prize Winners’ schools will be

awarded Scholastic Book Vouchers worth

USD500 and a trophy.

18. The winners will be notified by Scholastic by telephone or by email on or before November 1, 2015, and will be given details of how to claim their prize. 19. Claims for prizes must be made in the manner and within the time specified during notification. It is the responsibility of each winner to ensure that they (or their parent/guardian) are able to accept the prize as set out and in accordance with these terms and conditions. 20. All taxes, insurances, transfers, spending money and other expenses (including meals or personal expenses upgrades etc.) as the case may be, unless specifically stated, are the sole responsibility of the prize winner. 21. Prizes are not redeemable for cash, non-transferable, and non-substitutable, except at the sole discretion of the Organizer.

Scholastic reserves the absolute right to amend or edit the aforesaid rules without prior notification.

SUBMISSION OF ENTRY IMPLIES ACCEPTANCE OF ALL RULES

FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE RULES MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION

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Incomplete submissions or stories not adhering to the rules and instructions may result in elimination. Please use the checklist below to ensure all required information is included before submitting your entry to writersaward@scholastic.com.sg.

CHECKLIST

Is your story:

Type-written on an A4-sized Word document

Double-spaced and in Times New Roman font-sized 12

Within the stipulated word-limit

Group A (Age 10 – 14): Story length: 1,000 – 2.000 words

Group B (Age 15 – 18): Story length: 1,500 – 3,000 words

On the cover (first) page of your document, include:

The title no. and story title. Please provide a story title of your own if you have selected titles

[5], [6], or [7]

Personal information:

Full name (as stated on IC or Passport)

IC/Passport No.

Age and Group

Parent name

Parent phone number

School Name

* Refer to Step 2 under How to Enter for further details.

In the email subject title, include: Group: (Title No.) Story Title* In the email body, include:

Full name (as stated on IC or Passport)

Age

School Name

Story No. and Title*

* Please provide a story title of your own if you have selected titles [5], [6], or [7] ** Refer to Step 4 under How to Enter for further details.

Do you have two attachments with your email? Are these attachments properly named as instructed?

Attachment 1: Scanned/photographed copy of completed entry form in <.pdf>, <.jpeg>, or

<.png> format

Attachment 2: Story in <.doc> or <.docx> format

* Refer to Step 4 under How to Enter for further details.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Before You Submit

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ENTRY FORM