Rules

How the contest works:

Every Tuesday, I will post my Haiku for the week and send out an announcement to all members and subscribers. To enter the monthly contest, you post your haiku as a comment to that post. It’s that simple.

Once a month, I will post a work of art and my art-inspired haiku and send out an announcement to all members and subscribers. To enter the monthly Art-Inspired Haiku content, you post your art-inspired haiku as a comment to that post. Again, it’s that simple.

When a vote is opened, I will post a link to the voting page and send an announcement to all members and subscribers.

Eligibility:

52 Haiku is open to anyone with a PayPal account who chooses to join the challenge. Why must you have a PayPal account? Because this is how you will be paid, should you win one of the monetary prizes.

To qualify for the vote, each entered poem must follow the following format:

Also, please be aware that spam entries will be deleted.

Contest Dates:

Although you can submit as many Haiku per week as you wish, your name will only go into the monthly drawing once per week. The 2008 contest begins on Jan. 1, 2008, and ends on Dec. 31, 2008.

At the end of each month, I will select at least one poem from each week and open it up to a vote for “Best Haiku of the Month.” The winning poet will receive 10% of the funds raised for that month.

For example, poems posted in January will be selected for a vote for “Best Haiku of January” in early February. The winning poet will receive 10% of the funds raised by 52 Haiku during the month of January.

Also, each month there will be a special Art Inspired Haiku contest. During the first full week of each month, a piece of art — painting, photograph, digital art — will be posted on the site. Anyone who is a member of 52 Haiku may enter the contest by writing a Haiku inspired by that work of art. At the end of the month, members and visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite. The artist will also be able to choose his or her favorite. The winning poet or poets (there is a chance of two winners) will have their poem(s) highlighted, along with the art on a special page at 52 Haiku. Also, the artist may choose to use the poem(s) in promotions of their work. Additional prizes may become available, and will be announced on the site.

At the end of the year, members of 52 Haiku will have an opportunity to vote for the “Best Haiku of the Year,” selecting from the 12 monthly winners. The winning poet will receive 10% of funds raised for that year.

Voting for “Best Haiku of December” will take place the first week of January 2009. Voting for “Best Haiku of 2008″ will take place once the December winner has been determined and announced, which should be no later than the last week of January 2009.

A similar vote will take place for a “Best Art Inspired Haiku of the Year.”

Selection:

Poems will be selected by popular vote among 52 Haiku members and visitors using an online survey form. To be notified of the opening of a vote, sign up under “Send Me Updates.”

Prizes:

There will be 12 monthly prizes equaling 10% of total funds raised by the website (through membership fees, product sales, etc.) for the month for which the prize was won.

There will be a grand prize awarded at the end of the year, chosen from the 12 monthly winners, that will equal 10% of the total funds raised by the website (through membership fees, product sales, etc.) for the year for which the prize was won.

Additional prizes may become available throughout the year and will be announced on the website.

Decisions:

All decisions are final and are gathered via an online vote by members and visitors of 52 Haiku.

Fees:

You must be a member of 52 Haiku in order to enter the contest. Membership is $2 per month, $5.50 for 3 months, $10 for 6 months or $19 for the year. You can enter all contests on the website as many times as you like, however, only one entry per week will be counted toward the weekly vote.

Copyrights:

The author retains all copyrights to the submitted poem(s). However, the winning art-inspired poems can be used the artists for no additional payment.

Notification:

Winners will be announced on the website after votes have been tallied, which may take 1-2 weeks. Also, individual winners will be notified by email so that arrangement can be made to deliver their prize.

Privacy Policy:

52 Haiku collects personal information for the purpose of notifying contest winners. All information submitted is kept in confidence, and used solely for notification purposes and shall not be made public by 52 Haiku. 52 Haiku does not lease, lend, sell, or share personal information collected. Minor children must have parental permission to enter the contest.

Email Messages

If you are a member of 52 Haiku, or sign up for updates under “Send Me Updates,” you will receive the following types of email messages:

• Notification of when a vote becomes open, about twice a month.
• Notification of when a new entry period has been opened, about 5-6 times a month.
• Notification of winning poems, about twice a month.
• Notification of new sponsors and prizes.
• Occasional news that doesn’t fit the above descriptions.

Legalities:

A small membership fee is necessary for entry into the contest. This helps fund the prizes and pay for management and maintenance of the website. Void where prohibited. All rights reserved.