The Project: QueerLit Contest (the "Contest") is sponsored by Suspect Thoughts Press, 2215-R Market Street, #544, San Francisco, CA 94114-1612 (referred to herein as the "Promoter").

The Contest begins on or about September 1, 2007 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time ("PST") (the "Start Date"), and ends on or about December 21, 2008 (the "End Date") (referred to herein as the "Contest Period”).

EACH PERSON WHO PARTICIPATES IN THE CONTEST FULLY AND UNCONDITIONALLY AGREES TO COMPLY WITH AND ABIDE BY THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND THE DECISIONS OF THE PROMOTER, WHICH SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING IN ALL RESPECTS.

A. General Eligibility Requirements. The Contest is open only to those who are 18 years of age or older as of the Start Date. Misrepresentation of age, upon discovery by Promoter, will DISQUALIFY the applicable entrant. Directors, Committee Members, Sponsors and Co-Sponsors, and their immediate family members, or those living in the same household as a partner, as such Directors, Committee Members, Sponsors, and Co-Sponsors (collectively, the "Promotion Entities") are not eligible to (i) win prizes or (ii) participate in the Contest in any manner except as expressly provided herein (e.g., reviewing Contest submissions during designated stages of the Contest). The Contest is void where prohibited by law.

B. Published Author. Persons who have achieved the status of "Published" (as defined herein) are not eligible to participate in the Contest (as such terms are defined below). For purposes of these Official Rules, the term "Published" shall mean any individual who, as of the Start Date has received sole or shared writing credit for any full-length published novel of any genre in any form including self-published and ebooks (any novel assigned an ISBN).

C. General Registration Requirements. To be eligible to participate in the Contest, each Contestant will be required to agree to the Participation Agreement, whereby each such Contestant agrees to be bound by all terms and conditions governing the Contest (including, without limitation, these Official Rules).

D. Participation as Reviewer. Each Contestant must read, review, and rate (using a form made available and the criteria identified therein) one randomly assigned Submission from another Contestant.

E. Submission Requirements. Each Submission (actual manuscript) that is entered into the Contest must meet ALL of the "Submission Requirements" set forth below to be considered:

1. The Submission must be written, primarily, in the English language.
2. The Submission must have a word count of over 45,000 words.
3. The Submission must be formatted double spaced, with one inch margins, using a standard 12 pt. serif font such as Times New Roman.
4. The Submission must have page numbers at the bottom on every page.
5. The Submission must begin with a page containing only the title.
6. The Submission must not contain the author’s name or identifying details at any point.
7. The Submission must be the submitting Contestant's original, previously unpublished work.
8. The Submission must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format and only through the website in the manner described on the website (do not send hard copies via mail, fax, or any other means—they will not be accepted, and there will be NO EXCEPTIONS!). Adobe Acrobat files must use the title of the novel as the document name and end with the standard Adobe Acrobat file extension, "novel_title.pdf". (If the title is Project: QueerLit, the document name will be project_queerlit.pdf.) See the FAQS for tips.
9. A Contestant may not submit more than one (1) Submission per contest.
10. Any Contestant or Submission that fails to fulfill all of the Submission Requirements may be disqualified from the Contest upon Promoter's discovery of such failure (if such failure is discovered upon submission, the applicable Submission will not be accepted for processing and review, will not be deemed a Submission, and will not be entered into the Contest).

F. General Rules Regarding The Submission of Novels. Novel Submissions will be accepted electronically beginning at 12:00 a.m. PST on September 1, 2007 (the "Submission Start Date") and ending at 11:59:59 p.m. PST on December 31, 2007 (the "Submission End Date").

G. Judging The Submissions. Starting at 12:00 a.m. PST on January 1, 2008 and ending on or about 11:59:59 p.m. on November 30, 2008 (such period referred to herein as the "Review Committee Period"), Promoter will forward Submissions to Review Committee members and assign to Contestants. Contestants will be required to read, review, and rate one assigned Submission (Submission will be forwarded in PDF file; rating using a basic form also forwarded by email). No Contestant may review his or her own Submission. In the event a Contestant is assigned the same Submission more than once, or is assigned his or her own Submission, such Contestant should contact Promoter to be assigned a different Submission for review.

After the end of the Review Committee Period on November 30, 2008 at 11:59:59 p.m., Promoter will identify the top Twenty-Five (25) Semi-Finalsist, three (3) Finalists, and Winner(s) based on the Review Committee Period Ratings. Promoter will also identify the Grand Prize Winner(s) as selected from all of the contestants by the participating presses. All contestants will be notified of the decisions via email.

H. Contestant’s Review of Submission. Project: QueerLit is in no way responsible for the quality or content of any of the submitted material, but we do hope you enjoy the Submission you review. You may not decline a Submission that you have been assigned to review because it does not suit your personal taste.

A Note On "Sportsmanship"
As a Contestant, one of the agreements you have made is to fairly review your peers. If it is obvious that a Contestant has not done this, the reviewing Contestant will be subject to elimination from the contest. Please be fair and judge your fellow peers with honesty and integrity.

I. Contact With Committee Members. No unsolicited or inappropriate contact with any Committee Member or Coordinator is allowed at any time for any reason throughout any portion of the Contest.

J. The Grand Prize Winner(s). Rebel Satori Press and Suspect Thoughts Press will offer selected contestant(s) a contract for publication of their novel. This standard contract includes but is not limited to an advance against royalties, an industry standard royalty percentage of sales for English language rights, and an industry standard percentage of subsidiary rights sales.

K. Dates, Deadlines, and Awards/Anticipated Number of Contestants. Because of the unique nature and scope of the Contest, Promoter reserves the right, in addition to those other rights reserved herein, to modify any date(s), deadline(s), or awards set forth in these Official Rules or otherwise governing the Contest. Promoter cannot accurately predict the number of Contestants who will participate in the Contest, and is not responsible for awards offered by contest sponsors.

L. Disclaimer of Warranties. The Promotion Entities make no warranties, and hereby disclaim any and all warranties, express or implied, concerning any prize furnished in connection with the Contest. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE CONTEST AND ALL MATERIALS PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. The Promotion Entities are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, reviews, Ratings, or other materials, whether caused or created by Contestants, by tampering or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized as part of the website or the Contest, and Promoter assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to the website. Although Promoter attempts to ensure the integrity of the Contest, Promoter is not responsible for the actions of entrants in connection with the Contest, including entrants' attempts to circumvent the Official Rules or otherwise interfere with the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Contest. Promoter is not responsible for injury or damage to any Contestant's or to any other person's computer, other equipment, or person related to or resulting from participation in the Contest, or downloading materials from or using the website.

M. IMPORTANT—PLEASE READ—GENERAL RELEASE AND LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY. By entering the Contest, Contestants agree that: (1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest, or any prizes awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (2) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest, but in no event will attorneys' fees be awarded or recoverable; and (3) under no circumstances will any Contestant be permitted to obtain any award for, and entrant hereby knowingly and expressly waives all rights to seek punitive, incidental or consequential damages and/or any other damages, other than actual out-of-pocket expenses, and/or any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. Each Contestant acknowledges and agrees that the Promotion Entities are not responsible for any costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising from or in connection with: (i) incomplete, lost, late, misdirected or illegible entries or for failure to receive entries due to any cause, including without limitation human, transmission, or technical problems, failures, or malfunctions of any kind, whether originating with sender, with Promoter, or otherwise, that may limit a Contestant's ability to participate in the Contest or send or receive email notifications requiring action or response by such Contestant; (ii) any injury or damage resulting from participation in the Contest and/or the use of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to, loss or destruction of property, or any claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages related to or based on the entrant's rights of publicity or privacy, or the entrant's claim that he or she has somehow been defamed or portrayed in a false light).

N. Governing Law/Arbitration. This Agreement, the rights and obligations of the Parties, and any claims or disputes relating in any way thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of California, without regard to its choice of law principles which would require application of the laws of another jurisdiction. Any dispute between the Parties arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be submitted to binding arbitration. The arbitration shall take place in California before a single arbitrator, selected pursuant to such rules, and shall be conducted on an expedited basis and in strict confidence. Each party hereby waives any and all rights and benefits which it might otherwise have or be entitled to under federal law or the laws of California or any other state to litigate any such dispute in court, it being the intention of the parties to arbitrate all such disputes. The arbitrator's decision shall be controlled by the terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and any other agreements the applicable Contestant may have entered into with Promoter in connection with the Contest, and shall be final and binding, and shall provide for each party to bear its own costs of arbitration and attorneys' fees. EACH PARTY EXPRESSLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO A JURY. Judgment upon the award of the arbitrator may be entered or enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. If either party shall fail to appear at the hearing on the date designated in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association, or shall otherwise fail to participate in the arbitration proceeding, the arbitrator is hereby empowered to proceed ex parte. If you do not agree to this (or any other provision herein), do not participate in the Contest.

O. Winners List. After the end of the Review Committee Period, the names of the Contestants who comprised the twenty-five (25) Semi-Finalists, three (3) Finalists, Winner(s), and Grand Prize Winner(s), will be posted to the website.