Writing Contest Rules

1. Eligibility

1.1. Global Eligibility: The contest is open to legal residents worldwide, except where prohibited by law or restricted due to applicable economic sanctions.

1.2. Age: Entrants must be 18 years of age or older, or the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence, whichever is greater.

1.3. Payment Access: Winner must be able to receive payment via PayPal, Wise, or international bank transfer. Inkshift is not responsible if a winner resides in a jurisdiction where available payment methods are blocked or restricted.

1.4. Legality: Void where prohibited by law.

2. Submission Requirements

2.1. Word Count: Entries must be between 1,000 and 10,000 words.

2.2. Format: Submit as a .docx or .txt file only. Files must not contain macros, executable content, or embedded media.

2.3. Language: Submissions must be in English.

2.4. Quantity: One entry per person. Attempts to submit multiple entries using different identities or email addresses may result in disqualification of all entries.

2.5. Genre: All genres are welcome.

2.6. Writing Method: Stories may be individually written, AI-assisted, AI-generated, or created through any combination of methods. All approaches are permitted. Entries will be judged solely on the quality of the final story, not on the process used to create it.

3. Content Guidelines

3.1. Originality: Entries must be original works created by the entrant or generated under the entrant’s direction. By submitting an entry, you represent and warrant that you possess all necessary rights to submit the story and that its submission does not infringe upon the rights of any third party.

3.2. Plagiarism: Entries must not contain copied or substantially similar text from any existing work without rights or permission. Use of AI tools is permitted; however, entrants must not intentionally reproduce protected text, derivative content, or identifiable passages from third-party works.

3.3. Previous Publication: Entries must not have been previously published or made publicly available online prior to submission. Private sharing for critique, workshops, or beta reading does not constitute publication.

3.4. Content Standards: Stories must not contain hate speech or illegal content. NSFW content is not permitted, including explicit sexual content, pornographic material, sexual content involving minors, or extreme graphic violence.

4. Rights and Ownership

4.1. Copyright: Entrants retain all intellectual property rights to the extent permitted by law. Submission to this contest does not transfer ownership or copyright to Inkshift.

4.2. License for Contest Administration: By submitting an entry, entrants grant Inkshift a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to reproduce, store, display, and distribute the entry solely for the purposes of contest administration, judging, finalist selection, and winner announcement.

4.3. Winner Publication: The contest winner may be invited to have their full story published on the Inkshift blog. This is optional and not required to claim the prize.

5. How to Enter

1. Visit https://inkshift.io/contest during the entry period.
2. Complete the submission form with your name and email address.
3. Upload your story file.
4. Entry Period: The contest begins September 1, 2026 at 12:00 AM Pacific Time (PT) and ends October 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT.

5.1. No Purchase Necessary: No purchase is necessary to enter or win. Purchasing or using an Inkshift service will not improve an entrant's chances of winning.

6. Judging

6.1. Skill-Based Competition: This contest is a skill-based competition and is not a game of chance.

6.2. Process: Judging will occur in two stages:

• Preliminary Screening: Inkshift may use technological tools to facilitate review, including formatting checks and spam detection.
• Final Judging: Approximately ten finalists will be reviewed and scored by selected moderators from the r/WritingWithAI subreddit. All finalists will receive feedback.

6.3. Criteria: Entries will be evaluated based on Storytelling Quality, Originality, Character Development, and Prose.

6.4. Blind Judging: Identifying information will be removed prior to final judging.

6.5. Decisions: All judging decisions are final.

7. Winner Selection and Notification

7.1. Announcement: The winner will be announced on or before November 30, 2026 via a Reddit post on r/WritingWithAI and via email.

7.2. Response: The winner must respond within 14 calendar days of notification. If the selected winner does not respond within that period or is found ineligible, Inkshift may select the next-highest-ranked eligible entry.

7.3. Payment: The prize will be paid within 30 days after the winner's eligibility is confirmed.

8. Prize

8.1. Grand Prize: One winner will receive $1,000 USD.

8.2. Payment Method: Payment via PayPal, Wise, or international bank transfer, subject to availability.

8.3. Taxes: The winner is solely responsible for any applicable taxes.

9. Disqualification

Inkshift reserves the right to disqualify any entry that violates these rules, is submitted in bad faith, or attempts to circumvent entry limits or judging procedures.

10. Limitation of Liability

Inkshift is not responsible for lost entries, technical failures, or payment restrictions beyond its control.

11. Privacy

11.1. Personal Information: Personal information collected is used solely for contest administration, in accordance with Inkshift’s Privacy Policy.

11.2. AI Training Prohibition: Submitted works will not be used for AI training purposes or incorporated into machine learning datasets.

11.3. Retention and Judging: Entries will be retained through the judging period and deleted after the contest concludes. Anonymized finalist entries may be shared with the contest judges.

12. General Conditions

12.1. Modifications: Inkshift reserves the right to modify or cancel the contest if necessary. Material changes will be communicated via r/WritingWithAI.

12.2. Governing Law: These rules are governed by the laws of British Columbia, Canada.

12.3. No Reddit Affiliation: This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Reddit.

12.4. Sponsor: The contest is sponsored and administered by Inkshift Inc., British Columbia, Canada.