Terms and Conditions

1. The QuietManDavePrize: Flash Fiction Prize and Flash Non-Fiction Prize (the “Competition”) is organised by the Manchester Metropolitan University (“Manchester Met”).
2. The Competition is open internationally to anyone aged 16 or over who is not excluded by these Rules. There is no upper age limit for entry.
3. Members of Manchester Met staff (who may also be students) are excluded from being eligible to enter. Manchester Met students (who are not also members of staff) are permitted to enter.
4. The Competition shall begin from 08:00 AM British Summer Time (BST) on 2 September 2024 (“Commencement Date”)
5. The deadline for submission of writing (“Entry” or “Entries”) is 5 PM BST on 25th October 2024. Entries received after this deadline will not be considered.
6. Entrants must submit either:
   • Flash Fiction Prize: a piece of flash fiction of up to 500 words in length. There is no minimum word count.
   • Flash Non-Fiction Prize: a piece of flash non-fiction of up to 500 words in length. There is no minimum word count.
   • NB: Submissions must be complete pieces of work rather than extracts from longer works. Titles, blank lines and page numbers are not included in the word count. Prologues, epigraphs, subheadings, footnotes and any other content is included in the word count.
7. Entrants may enter pieces of writing to both prize categories, and may submit as many pieces as they wish to each, but each piece must be submitted as a separate entry with a separate entry form and a separate entry fee.
8. All work submitted for consideration can be on any subject, and written in any style or form, but must be the entrant’s own original writing, and should not have been published in print or have been broadcast on or before 31st December 2024.
9. Work which has been published on websites, blogs or social media sites, or displayed in public settings, can be submitted, but must be taken down before the date of entry and must not be uploaded or displayed again on or before 31st December 2024. Work that has been circulated via, or uploaded to, closed forums (e.g. for the purposes of workshopping on writing courses), or displayed in private settings, can be submitted provided it is not publicly accessible.
10. Simultaneous submissions to other competitions or for publication are permitted, provided the work is not published elsewhere on or before 31st December 2024, and the terms and conditions or licences of those submissions do not prohibit entry to our competition. Work found to be published in print or to have been broadcast or to have appeared on a website outside of these Rules will be disqualified without refund of the entry fee.
11. All work must be typed, clearly legible and written in English (short quotations in other languages are permitted). Entrants should not include illustrations or artwork. Beyond these stipulations, presentation (e.g. font and spacing) is at the entrant’s discretion.
12. Translations into English of work written in other languages can be accepted, provided that the source text is the entrant’s own original work and has not been published; translations into English of work published elsewhere in other languages, or where the source text is not the entrant’s own original work, will not be accepted.
13. Entries will be accepted only online via submission on the competition website: www.mmu.ac.uk/qmdprize. Submission via other means (e.g. by email or in printed format by post) will not be accepted or considered and cannot be returned.
14. All entries will be assigned an ID number and made anonymous upon receipt. Judges will not be privy to entrants’ names during the reading and judging processes. Names will be reattributed to entries only after the long list, short list and winners have been decided. For this reason, please ensure that there are no identifying marks on your writing. Where identifying marks are included, we will make every effort to remove them, but identifying marks are included at the entrant’s own risk and may result in disqualification from the Competition.
15. Entries submitted for consideration may be withdrawn from the Competition by notification in writing (email) to: [email protected]. Where work is withdrawn, entry fees will not be refunded.
16. Amendments cannot be made to entries after they have been submitted. If entrants wish to correct errors in writing, or make any substitutions, they must withdraw their entry from the Competition as above and enter again with payment of entry fee before the deadline for entries. This includes instances where entrants wish to remove or replace entire submissions or part(s) of a submission. No correspondence or discussion about amendments or substitutions will be entered into.
17. Entries will not be returned under any circumstances. Correspondence requesting returns will not receive a response.
18. Manchester Met reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the entrant has breached any of these Rules, or made a false declaration on the entry form.
19. Manchester Met cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the Competition except for injury caused by Manchester Met’s negligence.
20. Manchester Met will act in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018; the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679; and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 including and successor or replacement laws (‘UK Data Protection Legislation’) in relation to your personal data.
21. Manchester Met is the controller of the information you provide. We will only use your personal data for the purposes of administering the competition, contacting our winners and disseminating prizes. We rely upon the legitimate interests lawful basis in order to use your information for these purposes. We will not retain your information for any longer than necessary, Your personal data will only be retained for as long as it is necessary in accordance with the University’s Retention and Disposal Schedule. Specifically, we will retain your personal data for a period of 5 years. We will retain an entrant’s poem or short story for one year. For information on your data subject rights please see: Data Subject Rights. For further information or if you have any questions about the use of your information please contact [email protected] in the first instance
22. The Competition and Rules will be governed by English Law and any dispute will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
23. Manchester Met reserves the right to amend these Rules where it is deemed necessary to do so or where circumstances are beyond Manchester Met’s control. Any changes to the Rules will be posted on QuietManDave Prize website.
24. Submission of an entry will be deemed to imply unqualified acceptance of the Competition’s Rules. In the event of any dispute regarding these Rules or any other matter relating to the Competition, the decision of Manchester Met shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into.
25. In entering the competition, you confirm that you are eligible to do so and eligible to claim any prize you may win. Manchester Met may require you to provide proof that you are eligible to enter the competition.
26. If you are under the age of 18, you must obtain written parental or guardian consent to enter and claim your prize. Manchester Met may ask the winner to provide proof of age.

1. A judging panel chosen by Manchester Met will read entries between them and will select a long-list of entrants and, from that list, a short-list of entrants and, from that list, select the winners. The judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence about their decisions will be entered into. Manchester Met reserves the right to change the panel of judges without notice. The judges reserve the right not to award the prizes, or to reduce the prize money, if, in their opinion, such action is justified for any reason.
2. Long-listed entrants will be notified by telephone or email on or before 28th November 2024.
3. Short-listed entrants will be notified by telephone or email on or before 28th November 2024.
4. Short-listed entrants will be invited to participate in a prize-giving event to take place on 13th December 2024, at which the winners will be announced. Participation in the event is not a requirement of being short-listed for or winning a prize. In cases where short-listed entrants are unable to attend the event, they will be invited to submit a short written statement to be read out at the event on their behalf should they win.

1. The cost of entry is £5 (sterling) per entry (one piece of flash fiction or one piece of flash non-fiction).
2. Sponsored (£0) entries are available to writers in the following categories who might not otherwise be able to enter the Competition: low income/HMRC self-assessment; unwaged/Jobseeker’s Allowance; in receipt of disability benefit, working tax credit or income support; retired and/or in receipt of pension; full-time student. Entrants will be able to indicate on the entry form if they fall within one of the categories and are eligible for sponsored entry. Manchester Met reserves the right to withdraw sponsored entry and require payment of the full entry fee or disqualify an entry from the Competition if, in their opinion, such action is justified for any reason.
3. Payment of entry fees should be made by debit/credit card via the University’s eStore. If an online entrant successfully submits a piece of flash fiction or flash non-fiction but then fails to complete payment at the checkout, you will have until 16th December 2024 to revisit the store and complete payment, or to withdraw from the Competition.
4. Where entrants are unable to complete payment via the eStore, it may be possible for payment to be made electronically via direct bank transfer. We cannot accept payment via PayPal or by telephone. Please consult our Frequently Asked Questions for further details.
5. Direct bank transfer payments from foreign bank accounts: please discuss with your bank whether any charges will be taken and add the value of the charge to your payment. We will not be able to accept payments from overseas accounts where charges will be taken and these are not added to your payment amount. Manchester Metropolitan University is not liable for any additional fees you may incur or any loss, etc. etc.
6. Payment in any form other than debit/credit card is made at the entrant’s own risk. Please do not send cash, cheques or postal orders by mail as we are unable to process these and they cannot be returned.

1. Selected entries may be printed in publications and journals hosted by Manchester Met and may appear in electronic format on the Manchester Met website, or in other electronic forms. Pieces may appear in abridged or edited form. Generally, we will credit you for the entry.
2. The copyright in each entry submitted remains with you as author (where applicable). Entrants are deemed to grant to Manchester Met a non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty free licence over each entry submitted for the duration of the Competition (which is deemed to end on 31st December 2024), and for publicity purposes, whether now known or invented in the future (including any print or electronic publications), thereafter. By submitting an entry you provide the licence set out above and waive any moral rights or similar rights in respect of your work to which you may be entitled (at the time of submission or in the future) under any applicable laws in force anywhere in the world.
3. You must not have infringed the rights of any party or breached any laws by submitting your entry. You warrant that by submitting your entry you will not infringe any trademark, copyright or the intellectual property rights of any third party and will indemnify Manchester Met against any claims, costs or expenses relating to infringement of trademark, copyright or intellectual property rights in connection with your provision of the entry to us.
4. When you submit entries to Manchester Met, you accept that you have created this content and grant the licences set out in these terms and conditions. Your entry shall not be derogatory or defamatory or allow an individual to be personally identifiable. You must notify us on submission if your entry contains any third party intellectual property.
5. By submitting an entry and in accordance with the licence set out above you agree that Manchester Met can store any select entries and retain them for one year.
6. Simultaneous submissions to other competitions or for publication are permitted, provided the work is not published elsewhere on or before 31st December 2024, and the terms and conditions or licences of those submissions do not prohibit entry to our competition. Work found to be published in print or to have been broadcast or to have appeared on a website outside of these terms will be disqualified without refund of the entry fee.
7. Manchester Met will not accept responsibility for entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause, including, for example, as a result of any postal failure, equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind. Please save and store your entry before submitting to us.
8. Manchester Met will not accept proof of posting or transmission as proof of receipt of entry to the competition.
9. Insofar as is permitted by law, Manchester Met and its employees or contractors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the author or accept any liability for any loss, damage or other liability as a result of the individual submitting the entry except where it is caused by the negligence of Manchester Met. Your statutory rights are not affected.
10. To the extent permitted by law, all conditions, warranties and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute or common law are expressly excluded from these terms and conditions.

1. “The QuietManDave Prize” will award six prizes:
   FIRST PRIZE: a cash sum of £1,000 to the winner of the Flash Fiction Prize and a cash sum of £1,000 to the winner of the Flash Non-Fiction Prize.
   SECOND PRIZE: a cash sum of £200 to the runner-up of the Flash Fiction Prize and a cash sum of £200 to the runner-up of the Flash Non-Fiction Prize.
   THIRD PRIZE: a cash sum of £50 to the second runner-up of the Flash Fiction Prize and a cash sum of £50 to the second runner-up of the Flash Non-Fiction Prize.
2. The judges may decide to award each prize jointly and divide the cash sum accordingly (equally or in differing amounts). The maximum number of winners will be two per Prize. The judges reserve the right not to award the prizes, or to reduce the prize money, if, in their opinion, such action is justified for any reason.
3. Payment of cash prizes will be via electronic bank transfer and require completion of a University Fin1C expenses form.
4. Manchester Met will make all reasonable efforts to contact the winner. If the winner cannot be contacted or is not available, or has not provided the required information 14 days after the 28th November 2024, Manchester Met reserves the right to offer the prize to the next eligible entrant selected from the correct entries that were received in accordance with these terms.
5. Manchester Metropolitan University does not accept any responsibility if you are not able to take up the prize.

Queries should be sent in writing to [email protected]. 

Please consult our Frequently Asked Questions page before getting in touch.