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APRIL 9, 2008 at 7:43 AM
Posted by GERI
Source: Business Wire
Last December we told you that Amazon had purchased J.K. Rowling's Tales of the Beedle the Bard for £1,950,000 (USD$3,980,128.89). Now they are giving fans a chance to review the book for a weekend in a writing contest.
The contest is for the chance to win a trip for two to London, England, and spend a weekend with the book (security guards included).
According to the press release
:
The Beedle the Bard Ballad Writing Contest challenges Amazon customers 13 and older to creatively write a short, English-language submission of 100 or fewer words answering one of the following three questions:
Contest submissions will be accepted for two weeks, from April 9 -22, in two age categories: 13-17 and 18 and older. The contest is open to customers in 24 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China and Canada.
An Amazon committee will choose 10 semifinalists from each age group based on creativity and originality of idea as well as the writing style of the submission. On May 5, Amazon will post the semi-finalist submissions from both age groups and allow Amazon customers one week to vote for their favorite entry in each of the two age categories. The winner in each age group will move on to become one of two finalists who will compete for the grand prize. In the final phase, Amazon customers will have one more opportunity to vote for their favorite submission and determine the grand prize winner of the trip to London and weekend with The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which Amazon purchased at auction in December 2007 for $4 million. The proceeds of the purchase benefited The Children's Voice, Ms. Rowling’s charity for orphaned children around the world.
The two finalists will be announced in mid-May. In addition to being eligible for the grand prize, each of the finalists will receive a $1,000 gift certificate redeemable at www.amazon.com. The grand prize winner is slated to be announced on May 22.
The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 and you can enter here (in the U.S.) and here (in the UK). If you are under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian must complete the entry form and submit the entry using the instructions on the form.
Good luck to all who enter.
UPDATE: Thanks to BlogHowarts for letting us know that Amazon has answered the question as to why only fans from certain countries are allowed to enter the contest.
We conducted research to determine our list of more than 20 countries, and focused on those countries where there are large English-speaking populations and where laws would permit the contest. Some countries are legally ineligible for these types of contests. I hope this information is helpful. Thanks for your interest in the contest and we hope to see your entry! Good luck!
Reader Comments (38)
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Auror
Points: 2860
mad_eye muggle says:
Wicked cool!That.....is sooooo awesome!Good luck to those who will join!
Posted Apr 11, 2008 at 7:05 AM EST
Points: 688
*Wonder Witch* says:
Thats so cool but I suck at things like this so I'm not going to enter.
Good luck to all! (hope's someone wins!)
Posted Apr 11, 2008 at 8:33 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2108
phoenix_feathers says:
Well, darn! I was going to enter, but I'm fifteen, and my mom simply won't take the time to fill out the form.. this sucks.
Posted Apr 11, 2008 at 1:41 PM EST
Auror
Points: 3656
Anastasia Popovick says:
Sounds like a great contest and fun too. I would love for JK to publish the stories for us fans. I would so love to hear the stories and share them withmy children.
Posted Apr 11, 2008 at 4:44 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2621
hbluvhp says:
What an interesting contest this sounds like! I love the essay questions and the idea of winning some time with the book with security guards hovering around is kind of intriguing!
Posted Apr 12, 2008 at 10:30 AM EST
Auror
(Moderator)
Points: 2484
Since the Start says:
Wow what a great idea! Hope someone from HPANA wins this one -- good luck :)
Posted Apr 12, 2008 at 2:59 PM EST
Order of Merlin, 1st Class
Points: 1827
Lady Leo says:
That is sooo wicked! I am going to try and write something [which would be highly doubtful being as i barely have much time as it is].
Good luck everyone!
Posted Apr 12, 2008 at 9:18 PM EST
Auror
Points: 2572
Mystique says:
This sucks. I am from an english speaking country, where the laws would allow the contest and we are not on the list. Why??
why are the fans from small countries like mines - Trinidad - constantly left out? It's not right!
Posted Apr 13, 2008 at 1:04 PM EST
Prof. Alfred W. Mandoore
Points: 2445
JAYSTARR says:
Brilliant...It would be awesome to hold and read such a treasure for a day let alone a weekend.
Posted Apr 14, 2008 at 8:38 AM EST
Witch
Points: 580
KarateKid says:
Just thinking about it makes me go all woozy. the idea of holding such a book... WOW. Dude. I love creative writing and all that but I'm too nervous to write anything for this competition just now.
Posted Apr 14, 2008 at 9:04 PM EST
Muggle
Points: 6
Potter's Army says:
It's great to be giving big fans a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Good Luck to everyone!
Posted Apr 23, 2008 at 12:55 PM EST
Rickmaniac to the Core
Points: 2564
snaily says:
Wow! Good luck to all those who enter. I hope someone from HPANA wins this (and lets us know!). If I'd been entering, I would've answered the third question.
Posted Apr 30, 2008 at 10:46 AM EST
Auror
Points: 2011
brenpotterfans says:
That would be amazing to read Tales of the Beedle the Bard.
I can't imagine the wonderful fairy tales she has written.
Posted May 24, 2008 at 8:26 PM EST
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