2024 Banned Books Display Instagram Contest: Official Rules

The 2024 Banned Books Instagram Display Contest Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MAKING A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. THERE IS NO CONSIDERATION.

By participating in the 2024 Banned Books Display Contest (the “Contest”), each participant unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of the American Booksellers Association, 600 Mamaroneck Ave., Suite 400, Harrison, N.Y. 10528  (the “Sponsor”) and all judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

CONTEST ENTRY PERIOD: The contest begins at 12:00:01 AM Eastern Time (“ET”) on September 22, 2024 and ends at 11:59:59 PM ET on September 28, 2024 (the “Contest Period”). Entries will be accepted until 12:00:01 AM in the time zone of the store’s business address.

ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to legal residents of the United States, including the District of Columbia, thirteen (13) years of age and older. Entrants on Instagram must have a public Instagram profile. Posts must come from the participating store’s Instagram account and not an individual employee’s account.

Void outside the U.S. and wherever prohibited or restricted by law. Employees of Sponsor and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, and the immediate family members of, and/or those living in the same household of each (collectively “Contest Entities”), are not eligible to enter. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

ENTRY: There is a limit of one (1) entry per bookstore. The entry method is as follows:

Post your photo/reel/photo carousel of the store’s display on Instagram tagging the handles of @AmericanBooksellers and @ABFEFreeExpression in the caption AND the photo, along with including #BannedBooksDisplayContest AND #BannedBooksWeek in the caption.

Free Instagram app download to your web-enabled mobile device is available via www.instagram.com. In addition to compliance with these Official Rules, participation via Instagram must also comply with the terms of service of the applicable social media platform (www.instagram.com/about/legal/terms, as applicable). Further, note your entry will not be considered successfully submitted if your Instagram account settings prevent Sponsor from seeing your entry.

Any attempt by a person to use multiple accounts or identities to gain more entries than permitted by these Official Rules shall result in disqualification at the discretion of the Sponsor. Multiple entrants are not permitted to share the same email address or social media account. Proof of submission of entry does not constitute proof of receipt of entry. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of the entrant associated with any entry, the authorized account holder of the social media account associated with the entry at time of submission, will be deemed to be the entrant. The “authorized account holder” is the natural person assigned to the social media account by the applicable social media platform. Potential winners may be required to show proof of being the authorized account holder. Normal Internet access and usage charges imposed by your online service will apply. If you participate from your mobile phone, such activity will be subject to the charges pursuant to your wireless service provider’s rate plan. You further understand that by participating via mobile phone, if you are a potential winner, the Sponsor may contact you via mobile phone, which will be subject to the charges pursuant to your wireless service provider’s rate plan. Please consult your wireless service provider for more information.

JUDGING CRITERIA/PRIZES/ODDS OF WINNING: On or about October 19, 2024, judging will be conducted by representatives of the Sponsor — American Booksellers Association — from among all eligible entries received to award: One (1) Grand Prize, consisting of $500 US — to be distributed in increments of $100 gift cards for up to five (5) individuals who contributed creatively to the display, with any remainder to be spent on food for the store staff, and distributed in a manner to be determined; and (2) Runners-up Prizes, consisting of one print copy per runner-up of The ABA Right to Read Handbook. Judging will be based on the following criteria: creativity, visual impact, and Banned Books Week Messaging. (This is not a chance contest; stores will be judged on their display skills.) All prizes are provided courtesy of the Sponsors. The Sponsors will fulfill the prize awards directly with the One (1) Grand Prize and Two (2) Runners-up Prizes.

WINNER NOTIFICATION AND PRIZE RESTRICTIONS: Each potential winner will be notified via email or a social media message or comment on the social media platform used to submit the winning entry, to verify their eligibility and ability to accept the prize, and to obtain their complete contact information. It is recommended that Instagram entrants confirm that their social media notification settings are turned on, such that they would be notified in a timely fashion of Sponsor’s attempt to contact them via the applicable social media platform. In particular, if the potential winner entered via Instagram, they will be notified by direct message and must allow for Sponsor to contact them via direct message. Any such message or comment will instruct the potential winner to reply within three (3) business days after the time that the notification message or comment was sent/posted. Potential winners must reply as instructed to identify themselves, confirm their eligibility and ability to accept the prize, and provide their complete contact information within such three (3) business day periods, or they will be disqualified. In Sponsor’s sole discretion, a potential winner may only be notified one time as set forth above for attempted prize notification. Sponsor will follow IRS requirements for reporting payments. If a potential winner is a minor in their state of residence, that minor’s parent/legal guardian must co-sign any affidavit or other prize claim agreements.

All taxes (including without limitation Federal, state, and local taxes) in connection with a prize, and the reporting consequence thereof, are the sole responsibility of the applicable winner. Sponsor makes no representations regarding the tax liability associated with any prize. Proof of identity, age, and legal residence may be required to claim a prize. Any winner or potential winner may be disqualified in Sponsor’s sole discretion if: (a) they fails to reply or to provide any required information or properly completed documents within the required time period; (b) they fail to comply with any of the terms of these Official Rules; or (c) if any prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable. In the event of disqualification of a winner, at Sponsor’s sole discretion the prize may be awarded to an alternate winner selected from among the remaining applicable eligible entries via the means of winner determination described herein, pending verification of eligibility. No responsibility is assumed by Sponsor for any incorrect or missing social media account information associated with an entry, or any change of social media account of entrant after entry submission.

Any prize details not specified will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. No prize transfer. Unless otherwise specified herein, no prize substitution except at Sponsor’s sole discretion due to unavailability, in which case a prize of comparable or greater value will be awarded.

GENERAL RULES: By participating, entrants agree (a) to release, discharge and hold harmless contest Entities and Instagram from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind resulting from their participation in the contest or their acceptance, use or misuse of prize including, without limitation, personal injury, death and property damage; and if a winner, (b) to permit contest Entities to use their name, photograph, likeness, statements, biographical information, voice, voice likeness and city and state address for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in all media, in perpetuity, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) and agree to execute specific consent to such use upon request. Entrants further agree that the contest Entities are not responsible for the following: (a) electronic transmissions, entries or submissions that are late, incomplete, inaudible, illegible, damaged, garbled, destroyed, misdirected or not received by Sponsor or its agents for any reason; (b) any problems or technical malfunctions, errors, omissions, interruptions, deletions, defects, delays in operation or transmission, communication failures and/or human error that may occur in the transmission, receipt or processing of entries or related materials; or for destruction of or unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries or related material; (c) failed or unavailable hardware, network, software or telephone transmissions, damage to entrants’ or any person’s computer and/or its contents related to or resulting from participation in this contest; (d) causes beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control that jeopardize the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this contest; (e) any entries submitted in a manner that is not expressly allowed under these rules (all such entries will be disqualified); or (f) any printing errors in these Official Rules or in any advertisements or correspondence in connection with this contest. In the event of any conflict between these Official Rules and any abbreviated rules or advertising distributed relating to the contest, the terms and conditions of these Official Rules shall prevail. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend this contest should viruses, bugs, fraud, hacking or other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the contest. In such cases, winners will be determined from all eligible entries received prior to cancellation. The use of any automated launching or entry software or any other mechanical or electronic means that permits the participant to automatically enter repeatedly is prohibited. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of an entrant based on an email address, the entry in question may be disqualified at the sole discretion of the Administrator and/or Sponsor. Sponsor reserves the right to prohibit the participation of an individual if fraud or tampering is suspected or if the individual fails to comply with any requirement of participation as stated herein or with any provision in these Official Rules.

LEGAL WARNING: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN INDIVIDUAL, WHETHER OR NOT AN ENTRANT, TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE, DESTROY, TAMPER OR VANDALIZE THIS WEB SITE OR INTERFERE WITH THE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST, IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND DILIGENTLY PURSUE ALL REMEDIES AGAINST ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

DISPUTES: Except where prohibited, entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in the state of New York. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, entrant’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor in connection with the contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the state of New York without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the state of New York. The remedy for any claim shall be limited to actual damages, and in no event shall any party be entitled to recover punitive, exemplary, consequential, or incidental damages, including attorney’s fees or other such related costs of bringing a claim, or to rescind this agreement or seek injunctive or any other equitable relief. THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE THEIR RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL WITH RESPECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND ISSUES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS PROMOTION WHETHER SOUNDING IN CONTRACT OR TORT, AND INCLUDING ANY CLAIM FOR FRAUDULENT INDUCEMENT THEREOF.

COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION: Information submitted in connection with the contest will be treated in accordance with these Official Rules. By entering the contest, you agree that Sponsor may share your personal information with the Promotion Parties for the purpose of winner verification in the event that you are chosen as a potential winner. By entering the contest you agree that Sponsor may use the images you submit for promotional purposes.

WINNER LIST: To receive a list of winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: 600 Mamaroneck Ave., Suite 400, Harrison, N.Y. 10528, attn. 2024 Banned Books Display Instagram Contest within sixty (60) days of expiration of the contest Period. The winners will also be named in an issue of Bookselling This Week.

This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram. Any third party trademarks appearing in these Official Rules are the property of their respective owners, are used for descriptive purposes only, and do not imply any sponsorship or endorsement of this contest.