The Love for Southwest Vietnam, Writing Contest Rules - Thanh Nien News

1. Entrants

• - Vietnamese citizens living in Vietnam and abroad;
• - Foreigners living in Vietnam (jury members, staff of Thanh Nien News and sponsors are not allowed).

2. No limit on entries submitted

3. Genres

• 3.1. Prose, essay, chronicle
• The entries must show the love and heart of people in Southwest Vietnam for their own homeland (Southwest Vietnam including provinces: An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Vinh Long); the memories of those who have to leave Southwest Vietnam and move to other places to earn a living; the memories of those who were once attracted to the beauty, culture of Southwest Vietnam…
• 3.2. Commentary
• The entries must include proposals, recommendations, plans to build and develop the economy, culture and society of Southwest provinces. (In response to Resolution No. 13-NQ/TW on April 2, 2022 of the 13th Politburo about socio-economic development, enhancing national defense and security in the Mekong Delta until 2030, 2045).

4. Formatting

• - Entries mentioned in 3.1 must not exceed 1,500 words;
• - Entries mentioned in 3.2 are not limited to the number of words;
• - Entries must be written in Vietnamese or English (organizer is responsible for translating). Entrants are recommended to attach photos or videos (under 2 minutes) which best illustrated their work.
• - Entries (including articles and images/videos) must be unpublished in any media, websites, blogs, social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or books....
• - Language use in entries must be clear, in accordance with fine customs and traditions and not violate Vietnamese law;
• - Entries can be typed or handwritten clearly on A4 paper;
• - The submitted work must clearly state the author's full name, pseudonym (if any), year of birth, occupation, gender, contact address or email, phone number. Each author can submit more than one work but must agree on a full name or a pseudonym.

5. Stages of the writing contest:

• Qualifying round:
• - Entries must meet criteria mentioned above;
• Final round:
• - The Organizing Committee announces the awards (from high to low score) based on the results from the jury.
• The most popular entry: will be awarded to the work with the highest total number of pageviews and likes on Thanh Nien News website.

6.How to submit

• - Submit via email: nghiatinhmientay@thanhnien.vn
• - Send by post to Thanh Nien News headquarter: 268 - 270 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Vo Thi Sau Ward , District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

7. Deadline for submission

• - From announcement to Sep 30, 2022.

8. Awards

• *Awards for prose, essay, chronicle:
• - 1 first prize: 20,000,000 VND;
• - 1 second prize: 15,000,000 VND;
• - 2 third prizes: Each prize is worth 10,000,000 VND;
• - 5 consolation prizes: Each prize is 3,000,000 VND.
• *Awards for commentary:
• - 1 first prize: 20,000,000 VND;
• - 01 second prize: 15,000,000 VND;
• - 2 third prizes: 10,000,000 VND;
• - 05 consolation prizes: Each prize is 3,000,000 VND
• *Extra prize:
• - 1 most popular article award (based on number of pageviews and likes on Thanh Nien News website): 5,000,000 VND;
• - 1 prize for the article with the best illustrations: 5,000,000 VND;
• - 1 prize for the article with the best video: worth 5,000,000 VND;
• - 1 prize for the best article about Dong Thap Muoi: 5,000,000 VND.
• The organizers may consider and decide to adjust the prizes accordingly.

9. General rules

• - Head of the organizing committee: Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan, Editor-in-Chief of Thanh Nien News;
• - Headed by Mr. Hai Thanh, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Thanh Nien News, the jury is composed of writers, poets, researchers, journalists…
• - The author commits to take legal responsibility for his/her work, ensuring there is no copyright dispute. If the awarded works are found to infringe copyright, the organizing committee and jury will consider withdrawing the award and publicly announce the decision;
• - Entries that violate the rules of the organizing Committee, Vietnam's fine customs and traditions or include inappropriate information will be removed without prior notice;
• - The organizing committee is not responsible for the entries which are lost during the submission process;
• - The organizing committee is not responsible for the entrant's incorrect provision of personal information, resulting in failure to contact;
• - The organizers do not return the works participating in the contest in any case and have the full right to use the winning entries for promotional activities, book printing without paying or any costs;
• - The winner is responsible for paying personal income tax by law at the time of receiving the prize;
• - Winners are responsible for informing beforehand whether they are able to attend the Awards Ceremony. If the winner attends the Awards Ceremony without confirming his/her attendance beforehand, the prize money will be transferred according to the information provided by the winner. In-kind awards will be sent to the registered mail provided by the winner and cannot be exchanged for money. The organizing committee is not responsible for the loss or damage of in-kind awards during transportation;
• - The organizing committee only deal with all complaints relating to the contest results within 7 days from the date of announcement of the results;
• - The decision of the organizing committee is final.