1. The competition ‘Poetry Rivals’ is organised by Forward Press Ltd, Remus House, Coltsfoot Drive, Woodston, Peterborough PE2 9JX, UK.

2. By entering the Poetry Rivals Competition, entrants agree to be bound by the competition rules and accept the terms and conditions.

3. Forward Press reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition or the rules without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside Forward Press's reasonable control. Any changes will be posted within these terms and conditions.

4. In the event of any dispute regarding the rules, conduct, results and all other matters relating to Poetry Rivals, the decision of Forward Press shall be final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

Qualifying Entrants
5. Employees of Forward Press and members of their families or households are eligible to enter Poetry Rivals but are not eligible to be short-listed for the Top 100 or win any prizes.

6. By entering Poetry Rivals, you hereby confirm that the poem submitted by you is your own original work. You may enter work on a deceased relative’s behalf if you own the copyright posthumous. It must be entered under their name / pen name with you as the listed contact. Forward Press reserves the right to verify the eligibility of all entrants.

7. The postal address you provide with your poem will be used to send any correspondence to so please make sure this is correct.

8. Poetry Rivals is open to all age groups, Forward Press assumes that by using the website and entering Poetry Rivals that you are aged 18 or over or, if you are under 18, that your parents or teacher have consented to your entry into Poetry Rivals and these rules.

9. Forward Press reserves the right to disqualify any entrant if it has reasonable grounds to believe the entrant has breached any of the rules.

10. In the event that any entrant is disqualified from Poetry Rivals, Forward Press in its sole discretion may decide whether a replacement should be selected. In this event, any further entrant will be selected on the same criteria as the original entrant and will be subject to these rules.

Competition Entries
11. You may enter one poem per person. Multiple entries won’t be considered. Please click here for the complete competition rules.

12. There is no purchase required to enter Poetry Rivals and there is no charge to upload entries via the website.

13. Proof of posting or emailing cannot be accepted as proof of delivery. Forward Press cannot accept responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction, alteration of or unauthorised access to Entries, or Entries lost, damaged or delayed as a result of a third party, server functions, technical issues, virus, bugs or other causes outside Forward Press’s control.

14. Forward Press is unable to return any poems, therefore it is recommended you send in a copy and not the original / only copy.

Prizes
15. Forward Press will shortlist the Top 50 under 18s and Top 50 adults who will be invited to attend the Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam. The date and venue will be confirmed shortly.

16. To be eligible for the prize (top adult wins a publishing contract, top under 18 wins a laptop) the short-listed entrants must attend the Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam. Under 18s will need to be accompanied by an adult (1 accompanying adult will be provided with free entry into the Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam). Entrants (and accompanying adults) are responsible for their own expenses. The judges will decide the winner at the Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

17. There is no cash alternative to the prizes. Forward Press reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time.

Intellectual Property Rights & Use of Entries
18. Forward Press do not, unless we agree this with you, claim any rights of ownership in your poem. As such, you retain ownership and copyright of your poem and, although Forward Press will be able to use entries as set out in the rules, you will also have the right to use your poem in any way you choose. Where any poem is to be used in a different way (e.g. we are asking to own this) this will be made clear on the website and you will then be able to choose whether to enter Poetry Rivals. If you win a prize, as a condition of receipt of that prize, your name, photo and your poem will be required for publicity purposes.

19. Forward Press does not guarantee to use or otherwise make available any poem. Forward Press may also, in appropriate circumstances, and at its sole discretion, reject, edit, remove or disable access to poems that appear to be legally or otherwise problematic e.g. infringe the copyright or other intellectual property or privacy rights of others, are defamatory etc. or for any other reason.

20. By entering Poetry Rivals, you hereby confirm that the poem submitted by you is your own original work. You may enter work on a deceased relative’s behalf if you own the copyright posthumous. It must be entered under their name / pen name with you as the listed contact. You hereby warrant that your poem and all information which you submit and/or distribute will not infringe the intellectual property, privacy or any other rights of any third party, and will not contain anything which is libellous, defamatory, obscene, indecent, harassing or threatening.

Liability
21. Forward Press cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering Poetry Rivals or as a result of accepting any prize. Forward Press is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any computer on-line systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment or software, failure of any email or entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, or at any web site, or any combination of these, including any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participation or uploading any material for Poetry Rivals. Nothing shall exclude Forward Press’s liability for death or personal injury as a result of its negligence.

Data Protection and Publicity
22. Winners will be requested to take part in promotional activity and Forward Press reserves the right to use the names of winners, their photograph and poem in any publicity.
23. Any personal data relating to entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the individual’s prior consent. Data relating to entrants will be retained by Forward Press for a reasonable period after any Poetry Rivals books have been published to assist Forward Press to deal with any queries that may arise.

How to contact us
24. You can contact us regarding Poetry Rivals by writing to Poetry Rivals, Forward Press Ltd, Remus House, Coltsfoot Drive, Woodston, Peterborough PE2 9JX, UK or email info@poetryrivals.com