Eligibility:

1.The contest is open to writers aged eighteen (18) years and above who have not traditionally published a solo book-length work. Authors who have published poetry but not prose, self-published authors, and those who have contributed individual stories to anthologies remain eligible.

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2.All submissions must be original and strictly unpublished in any form - personal blogs, websites, and social media platforms or versions. Translations, adaptations, or derivative works are not eligible.

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3.The use of artificial intelligence tools in the creation of the submitted work, as well as plagiarism in any form, is strictly prohibited. All entrants are required to submit a declaration affirming the originality and sole authorship of the work.

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4.Submissions must be made in MS Word format and must be between 2,500 and 4,000 words in length. Manuscripts must be formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, with pages numbered consecutively. To ensure anonymous evaluation, the author’s name must not appear anywhere in the manuscript. The first page must contain only the title of the work and the total word count, which shall not be included in the overall word count.

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5.The file name must consist solely of the story title in capital letters (CAPS) and must not include the author’s name or the words “JAY Yes”.

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6.Where local-language words, phrases, or culturally specific terms that are not self-explanatory are used, a glossary must be provided at the end of the manuscript. The glossary shall not be included in the word count.