OFFICIAL RULES FOR MEDIA PREDICT’S PROJECT PUBLISH
(THE “CONTEST”) 

1. No purchase necessary. Entrants must be residents of the 50 US states or District of Columbia, aged 18 or at least the age of majority in their state of residence, and submissions must be from these jurisdictions. This contest is governed exclusively by the laws of the state of NY and the federal laws of the United States.  You are not authorized to participate in the Contest if you are not located within the 50 United States or the District of Columbia. 

2. How To Enter the Contest:  To enter the Contest and submit a book proposal, visit the web site at www.mediapredict.com (“the Web Site.”)  All entries/submissions must be received no later than 11:59 P.M. E.S.T. on August 10, 2007.  Submissions must follow submission guidelines posted at http://www2.mediapredict.com/submit. The submission must contain a description of the author and the proposed book consisting of at least 2 typed and doubled spaced pages and a chapter excerpt from the proposed book which must be at least 5 typed doubled spaced pages. An entrant’s book description, author description, and chapter excerpt will be referred to collectively as a “Book Proposal.” Book Proposals must be in English, must not exceed 10 pages, must be formatted according to Sponsor guidelines available at http://www2.mediapredict.com/submit, and must include the entrant’s name on each page. Entrants are required to upload their entry via the uploading tools available at http://www2.mediapredict.com/submit and to check a box stating that they have read, understand, and agree to the Media Predict Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. 

3. Each entry must be the sole original creation of the entrant.  If the Book Proposal submitted is a collaborative effort, then the entrant must include the names of all collaborators as part of the entry submission process. Each collaborator must have granted all necessary rights to the entrant to allow the entry to be submitted and the necessary rights to be granted as provided herein.  Each entry must be accompanied by the entrant’s name, street address, daytime telephone number, and email address.  Each entrant including, if applicable, an entrant’s collaborator(s) and an entrant’s agent agrees to comply with the Official Contest Rules, the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use.  The Privacy Policy is available at http://www2.mediapredict.com/privacy.  The Terms of Use are available at http://www2.mediapredict.com/terms.

4. The Book Proposal Must NOT copy the works of others.  Book Proposals must not violate in any way the trademark, copyright, rights of privacy, rights of publicity or any other rights of person(s) or owner(s) of property included therein.  If Sponsor, in its sole discretion has reason to believe that a submission contains any material that may infringe or violate the rights of a third party, Sponsor may disqualify such entry and take all other measures Sponsor may deem appropriate to protect its interests.  Each proposal can only be submitted once and must not have been submitted to any other contest or competition, or been previously published.  Entries that contain any content determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion as indecent, inappropriate, inconsistent with the standards and business interests of the Sponsors, morally objectionable, or is otherwise unfit for publication will be immediately disqualified. Failure to comply in any respect with the Official Rules will result in disqualification of entrant and his/her entry. 

5. (a) By entering, all entrants warrant and represent that their respective entries are their own fully original creations (including the rights of any of the entrant’s disclosed as collaborators), and their respective entries (including, but not limited to, any materials integrated into their entries) will not infringe or violate the rights of any third parties, including, but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks, patents and/or rights of publicity/privacy.

(b) Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, illegible, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected entries, which will be disqualified.  Only fully completed entries are eligible.  Proof of submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by Sponsor.  Entries need not be acknowledged and will not be returned (please keep a copy of your Book Proposal for your own records). The copyrights, if any, in and to the Book Proposals shall not, by mere entry in this Contest, become the property of Sponsor. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware, software, telephone or other communications malfunctions, errors or failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, Web site, Internet, or ISP availability, unauthorized human intervention, traffic congestion, incomplete or inaccurate capture of entry information (regardless of cause) or failed, incomplete, garbled, jumbled or delayed computer transmissions which may limit one’s ability to make a submission, including any injury or damage to participant’s or any other person’s computer, relating to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading any materials in this Contest. 

(c) In the event an insufficient number of qualified Book Proposals are received, Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Contest and shall be under no obligation to award any prize. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Contest in the event the Media Predict Web Site does not attract a sufficient number of users to evaluate entrants’ Book Proposals to the Contest.

6. Entrant acknowledges that Simon & Schuster (the publishing prize supplier) and its respective parent, affiliate and subsidiary companies (collectively the “Designated Entities”) have extensive respective histories in creating, acquiring and developing literary, artistic, musical and other material, including stories, ideas, themes, plots, titles, screenplays, manuscripts, formats and other developments and other materials (collectively, the “Materials”).  Moreover, the Materials which the Designated Entities may hereafter use may have originated with the Designated Entities and may duplicate, parallel or resemble the Entrant’s submission. By submitting an entry, entrants acknowledge that they understand and agree that the Designated Entities’ and/or Sponsor’s use of material containing features and elements similar to or identical with those contained in their submission do not entitle entrant to any compensation.  By entering, entrant waives any right of action against the Designated Entities and their successors and assigns and Sponsor in connection with the Designated Entities’ use of the Material (or any part thereof), whether or not the Material contains features or elements similar or identical to those contained in entrant’s submission.

7.  Selection of book proposals: 
(a) Sponsor will accept submissions for the contest at http://www2.mediapredict.com/submit. Selection of submitted Book Proposals for display on the Media Predict Web Site is in the sole discretion of Sponsor. Not all Book Proposals submitted will be posted on the Web Site.  If a selected author does not have a literary agent, Sponsor will contact such authors to arrange for representation. Sponsor will also accept Book Proposals from entrants who have a literary agent.  If an entrant is already represented by an agent, in order to enter this Contest, the entrant and his/her agent must sign Media Predict’s Author Agreement for Works Already Under Literary Representation and both must agree to the terms and conditions of the Contest, and must agree not to withdraw the Book Proposal from consideration for so long as the work is under consideration as a potential finalist in the Contest, as explained below.

(b) If Sponsor is engaged as an agent for a Book Proposal or otherwise accepts a Book Proposal, Sponsor shall prepare an individual web page displaying the selected Submission. This web page will describe the selected Submission and contain a link to a proposal, which will be stored in a separate file. In accordance with the Media Predict Terms of Use, Sponsor will not post on the site any submissions that Sponsor determines consist of pornographic material, political propaganda, or any content deemed to be racist or hateful in any way toward any identifiable group or class of people.

Once the individual web page displaying the selected Submission is complete and in accordance with the Media Predict Terms of Use, Sponsor will post the Book Proposal on the Web Site so that participants of the Web Site may evaluate the Book Proposal through participation in a prediction market game. Entrants will have the option of allowing their name and state of residence to be displayed along with his or her Book Proposal posted on the Media Predict Web Site. If an entrant wishes to remain anonymous, the entrant will be assigned a blind code or pseudonym and his or her Book Proposal will be posted without the entrant’s name.  Sponsor may remove any Book Proposal from the Web Site at any time and for any reason, including low performance.

8. Judging and Prize:

(a)  Commencement of the prediction market game will coincide with the launch of the Media Predict Web Site on May 21, 2007. On or about September 3, 2007, Sponsor will deliver to Simon & Schuster the results of the top 50 scorers in the Media Predict prediction market game. As noted in Paragraph 11, Book Proposals will be judged by members of the public who register to become traders in the Media Predict prediction market game. Scores shall be determined by calculating the Book Proposal’s average price in the prediction market game over the course of the trading period. Simon & Schuster will select 5 of the 50 top scoring Book Proposals as finalists in the Contest.  In both selecting 5 finalists from the top 50 scorers, and in selecting a grand prize winner from the 5 finalists, Simon & Schuster editors will apply the following criteria when evaluating Book Proposals: non-fiction books will be judged on the basis of writing style, coherence of material presented, and originality, with equal weight given to each, and fiction books will be judged on writing style, originality, plot, characters, setting, and dialog, with equal weight given to each. 

Each of the 5 finalists will be required to submit an additional twenty (20) typed double-spaced pages of written material from the proposed book. The additional 20 pages will be posted on the site and will be provided to Simon & Schuster for review. Failure to provide the additional 20 pages will result in the entrant’s disqualification from the contest and an alternate finalist will be selected. Entrants who are selected as finalists may not withdraw their Book Proposals or submit their Book Proposals to any publishers until 30 days after the Contest ends.  The 50 top scorers acknowledge and agree that Simon & Schuster shall have the right to review their Book Proposals. The 5 finalists acknowledge and agree that Simon & Schuster shall have the right but not the obligation to negotiate with him or her to enter into a contract with him or her for publication of a book based on his or her Book Proposal.  Entrants may not withdraw their Book Proposals or submit their Book Proposals to other publishers so long as such Book Proposals are in contention for the grand prize.  

(b) Grand Prize.  The grand prize winner will be awarded a book contract by Simon & Schuster (Approximate minimum value $2,000). The value of the prize may increase based on the sales of the published book derived from the winning Book Proposal.  The determination of a winner will be made on or about October 9, 2007 and results will be posted on the web site.

(c) Once the grand prize winner has been selected, Sponsor will notify the winner.  Simon & Schuster will negotiate in good faith a publishing agreement with the agent representing the grand prize winner to secure worldwide rights to publish the work if agreement is reached. If the parties fail in good faith to agree on and execute a publishing agreement, Simon & Schuster shall have no further obligation to the grand prize winner or his/her agent. In that instance, Sponsor will provide prize money to the winner in the amount of $2,000 in cash. If the grand prize winner’s book does not pass the legal review, if applicable, Simon & Schuster will not publish the book. Failure to publish the book will NOT result in any liability to Sponsor or Simon & Schuster. The $2,000 cash prize will not be awarded to a prize winner whose book does not pass a legal review, if applicable.  The grand prize winner must sign Simon & Schuster’s publishing agreement in order to have his/her book published. If the winner does not have an agent other than Sponsor to assist in the negotiation of the publishing agreement with Simon & Schuster, Sponsor will arrange for representation with a literary agent or an attorney for the winning entrant.  Sponsor will not take part in any negotiations relating to the publishing agreement. 

(d) In the event that Simon & Schuster determines that none of the 50 finalists are of publishable quality, Sponsor will award to the finalists with the highest scores, (based on the scores assigned by Simon & Schuster) a cash award of $2000 if such work is not otherwise placed for publication by Sponsor within 60 days of Simon & Schuster’s decision not to publish. 

9.  Eligibility: Employees, officers & directors of Sponsor, Simon & Schuster and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates and advertising and promotion agencies and their immediate families (parents, children, siblings, spouse) or members of the same household (whether related or not) of such employees/officers/directors are not eligible to enter. VOID in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. 

10. Notification. Winner will be notified by telephone, email or U.S. mail and will be required to sign and return, where legal, an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability/Publicity Release within seven (7) days of prize notification.   If the winner cannot be contacted, if any prize is returned as undeliverable, or in the event of noncompliance with these Contest Rules and requirements, the prize will be forfeited and an alternate winner will be selected. Upon prize forfeiture, no compensation will be given.  It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to notify Sponsor in writing if the entrant changes his/her email address, mailing address and/or telephone number. (To do so, write to Media Predict Literary Contest 212 East 13th Street, 5A, New York, NY 10003 or email Media Predict at projectpublish@mediapredict.com).  Notification must be received by October 3, 2007.

11.   General: By entering, entrants agree to the evaluation of their Book Proposal via Media Predict’s market prediction game (as described at http://www.mediapredict.com/info/how_it_works) and to the use of their names, likenesses, biographical information, and/or entries for purposes of advertising, trade, or promotion without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.  Additionally, by participating in this Contest, or by accepting a prize, all participants agree to release Sponsor, Simon & Schuster  and their respective parents, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions, and affiliates from any and all liability, for loss, harm, damage, injury, cost or expense whatsoever including, without limitation, property damage, personal injury and/or death which may occur in connection with, preparation for, travel to, or participation in the Contest, or possession, acceptance and/or use or misuse of the prize or participation in any Contest-related activity and claims based on publicity rights, copyright/trademark infringement, intellectual property rights, defamation or invasion of privacy and merchandise delivery.  Neither Sponsor, Simon & Schuster, Inc.,  nor their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies, divisions nor related companies are responsible for any damages, taxes, or expenses that winner might incur as a result of this Contest or receipt of prize.  All taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner.  

12. Additional Terms:  Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend this Contest should (in its sole discretion) virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Contest. In such case, Sponsor will select the winner from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Sponsor.  Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the web site.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

13. Use of Data.  Sponsor will be collecting personal data about participants online, in accordance with its privacy policy.  By participating in the Contest, entrants hereby agree to Sponsor’s collection and use of their personal information and the possible sharing of such information with Simon & Schuster and acknowledge that they have read and accepted Sponsor’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. The Privacy Policy is available at http://www2.mediapredict.com/privacy, and the Terms of Use are available at http://www2.mediapredict.com/terms.

14.  Dispute Resolution / Choice of Law.  Except where prohibited by law, by participating in this Contest, entrant agrees that: All issues and questions concerning the Contest and these Official Rules shall be governed by New York law without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law of any jurisdiction and US federal law as applicable. Entrant agrees that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to this Contest shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in New York County in New York State and entrant hereby consents and submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. Except where prohibited by law, by participating in this Contest, entrant agrees that: (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Contest shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; and (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with participating in this Contest but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain awards for and hereby waives all rights to claim punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased.  

15.  Winner’s list:  The name of the grand prize winner will be posted on the Web Site after the conclusion of the Contest.

Sponsor:  Media Predict, Inc., 212 East 13th Street, 5A, New York, NY 10003.