Stumbled upon this writing contest last night and thought it would be nice to share it with my one and only reader You know who you are. The contest is open to anyone from anywhere in the world who has never published a book, a novel or a collection of stories yet. You can submit your entry from August 1 to December 1 (mid-night Paris time). The grand prize? A weekend stay in Paris plus 10,000 euros! Admittedly, I think there is something suspicious in this contest because contestants will have to pay a submission fee of 50 euros. But then, most of the writing contest I found in the web are asking for a submission fee so it must be an authentic competition. It aims to give an opportunity to aspiring writers whose voice have not yet been heard. Any topic is welcome however stories aimed at children or young adults will not be considered.

See below for the contest’ eligibility and conditions:

1. The 2011 Paris Literary Prize competition is open to writers over 18 years of age who have not yetpublished a novel, novella or short story collection. No more than 10% of the submitted manuscript can have been previously published in print or electronic form.
2. The work must be submitted in English.
3. The work must be submitted under the author’s own name.
4. Submitted work cannot be under contract at the time of submission.
5. Only submissions received by midnight Paris time 1 December, 2010 will be considered.
6. Entrants must pay the 50€ submission fee to be eligible.
7. The winners must be available on 16 June 2011 for the prize-giving ceremony.
8. The competition is not open to employees of Shakespeare and Company, FestivalandCo or members of the judging panel. Family members of any of the aforementioned are also not eligible.
9. The entry must be the entrant’s own original creation and must not infringe upon the right or copyright of any person or entity.
10. Entrants must be individuals and not a company or organization.
11. Decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging process.
12. No editorial feedback will be provided.
13. Prizes are not transferable.
14. Entrants will retain copyright of their work. However, in submitting your work, you give permission to Shakespeare and Company and The de Groot Foundation to publicize and promote your work if appropriate.
15. The Paris Literary Prize awardees agree to take part in reasonable post-event publicity and to the use of their names, title of work and photographs in such publicity.
16. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.
17. Entries that are incomplete, do not meet guidelines, are corrupted or submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
18. Only submissions which meet all conditions and criteria will be considered.
19. By entering this competition, each entrant agrees to be bound by these terms & conditions.

If you are an unpublished writer this is the perfect opportunity to be heard. The first 3000-word or less of your story should be submitted on or before Dec. 1, 2010. Shortlisted entrants will then submit the completed manuscript of 20,000-30,000 words on March 20, 2011. For more information, check out this link http://www.parisliteraryprize.com/.

Announcement of the winner and runner-ups will be on June 16, 2011. Good luck!