Benchmark Creative Writing Competition

Terms and Conditions

  1. The competition is organised by Rachel Cochrane in association with Willow Burn Hospice.
  2. The competition is only open to those resident in the UK and aged 18 years and over at the closing date
  3. Entrants will be asked to write an original piece of creative writing to celebrate the launch of Rachel Cochrane’s online radio play Benchmark. Entrants will be asked to answer the following questions and incorporate responses into their submission:   If you had a bench dedicated to you:  Where would it be?  What would it say on the plaque? (30 words max)  Why have you chosen that particular place? (200 words max)
  4. Entry opens on Monday 1st November 2014 at 9am. Entry closes on Sunday 1st February 2015 at midnight. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered but fees may still be charged so please do not wait until the last minute to email your entry.
  5. The winning entries will be announced in the rachelcochrane.com newsletter.
  6. All work must be in typed format, clearly legible and written in English. Entries and payment must be submitted via the dedicated online entry form at https://rachelcochrane.com/entry-form-benchmark-creative-writing-competition/
  7. The entry must be previously unpublished and not have appeared in print, online or in any other format.
  8. The entry must not violate any law, statute, ordinance, regulation or code of practice within the UK.
  9. The entry must not contain any defamatory, trade libellous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing content.
  10. Entrants can only enter individually. Only one entry per person is permitted. If more than one entry is submitted, only the entrant’s first submission will be considered.
  11. Amendments cannot be made to entries after they have been submitted and entries cannot be returned so please remember to retain a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted in respect of their entry and no feedback on any entry will be provided.
  12. All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. Rachel Cochrane accepts no responsibility if entrants ignore these Terms and Conditions and entrants agree to indemnify Rachel Cochrane against any claim by any third party from any breach of these Terms and Conditions.
  13. Entrants retain the copyright of their entries but grant to Rachel Cochrane and Willow Burn Hospice a perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free licence to publish, broadcast (across all media) and post the entry online including the rachelcochrane.com website. This licence will be deemed to include all the necessary rights and permissions to enable such use by Rachel Cochrane to fulfil the prize requirements and to complete the administration of this competition.
  14. By submitting an entry the entrant agrees that Rachel Cochrane may at her sole discretion edit, adapt, abridge or translate the entry for the purposes listed in clause 12 above.
  15. The winner may be required to participate in publicity about the competition and the funds donated to Willow Burn Hospice.
  16. Rachel Cochrane reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions or cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in her opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of her control.
  17. The Competition and Rules will be governed by English Law and any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
  18. The fee to enter will be £5.00 of which 40% will be donated to Willow Burn Hospice.
  19. Any entries for which payment has not been received before Sunday 1st February at midnight will be disqualified.
  20. No refund will be given in the event of an entry being disqualified for breach of the Terms and Conditions.
  21. All entries will be anonymised for reading and judging. The entries will be shortlisted by a team of readers and the 10 shortlisted entries will be assessed by the panel of judges.  The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. The judge is unable to comment on individual entries. Rachel Cochrane reserves the right to change judges or appoint new ones at any time.
  22. No entries from employees or volunteers of Willow Burn or rachelcochrane.com or the judging panel or their families will be accepted.
  23. Through the competition sponsors, Rachel Cochrane will award one prize of a bench to the competition winner with UK delivery. Rachel Cochrane and Willow Burn Hospice will not be responsible for providing or organising a location for the bench to be placed. The bench and its upkeep will be the sole responsibility of the competition winner following delivery by Rachel Cochrane.
  24. The competition prize is as advertised and there are no substitutes or alternatives.
  25. Any data collected will be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Data will be used for purposes of competition and not distributed to any third parties

 Click here to enter the competition