Marley & Me Writing Contest

No purchase necessary to enter or win. Many will enter; few will win.

1. ELIGIBILITY: The Marley & Me Writing Contest (the “Contest”) is open to students currently enrolled in grades 7 through 9 who are legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, except employees and family members of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Weekly Reader Custom Publishing, their parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and public relations agencies. Contest is governed by laws of the USA. Contest is subject to all federal, state, and local laws. Contest is void in Puerto Rico and wherever prohibited by law.

2. SPONSOR: The sponsor of the Contest is Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (“Sponsor”). Weekly Reader Custom Publishing is the administrator of the Contest. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is responsible for fulfillment of prizes. Entrants should look to Weekly Reader Custom Publishing with any questions, comments, or problems related to the Contest. Best Buy Co., Inc. and its affiliates are not sponsors, nor are they associated with this Contest in any way.

3. HOW TO ENTER: Each entering student must write any story from the point of view of an animal in 300 words or less. A completed Contest entry form must be accompanied with each submission. If entries do not contain all necessary information, entrant will be disqualified. Entering students must have a parent or legal guardian’s permission to enter. One entry per student.

Students under the age of 13 on the date of entry may only submit entries by U.S. mail. To enter by U.S. mail, send a completed Contest entry form available online at www.weeklyreader.com/marley (the “Web site”), along with an original story to:

   Marley & Me Writing Contest
   Weekly Reader Custom Publishing
   1 Reader’s Digest Road
   Pleasantville, NY 10570

Students 13 years of age or older upon the date of entry may send entries by U.S. mail or submit original stories and completed Contest entry forms on the Web site. All submissions become the property of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and will not be returned.

4. DEADLINE: Contest is open from 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on December 1, 2008 through 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 30, 2009. All electronic entries must be submitted on the contest Web site by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 30, 2009. All mailed entries must be postmarked by January 30, 2009.

5. JUDGING: Entries will be judged based on the following criteria: creativity and originality (50%); relevance to contest theme (20%); language mechanics (grammar and spelling) (20%); and adherence to contest rules (10%). Winners will be selected by a panel of qualified judges from Weekly Reader Custom Publishing and Sponsor (either staff or those otherwise selected by Weekly Reader Custom Publishing or Sponsor), whose decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest. In the event of a tie, the tied entries will be re-judged based solely on creativity and originality. Information regarding entries and judging will not be disclosed.

6. PRIZES: Student Prizes: One (1) Grand Prize Student Winner will receive a $2,000 Best Buy gift card. In addition, a $500 donation in the Grand Prize Winner’s name will be made to an animal charity of his/her choice. One (1) First Place Student Winner will receive an $800 Best Buy gift card. One (1) Second Place Student Winner will receive a $500 Best Buy gift card. Five (5) Runner-Up Student Winners each will receive a $50 Best Buy gift card. Approximate retail value of prizes is $4,050.

TEACHER PRIZES: One (1) Teacher of the Grand Prize Student Winner will receive a $500 Best Buy gift card. One (1) Teacher of the First Place Student Winner will receive a $350 Best Buy gift card. One (1) Teacher of the Second Place Student Winner will receive a $100 Best Buy gift card. Approximate retail value of prizes is $950.

Only one prize will be awarded per student. All prizes legitimately claimed will be awarded provided a sufficient number of eligible entries are received. Prizes are not transferable; no substitutions are allowed except by the Sponsor who reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value for prizes that become unavailable. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the individual prize recipient. Terms of issuer apply to all gift cards.

7. NOTIFICATION OF WINNERS: Winners will be notified on or around April 3, 2009 via mail, telephone, or email that, subject to verification, they are winners. If a selected entrant cannot be reached after a reasonable effort has been made, or if an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may be selected. If a prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, the selected entrant may be disqualified, and an alternate winner may be selected. Each winning student will be asked to provide the name of his/her sponsoring teacher (the teacher through whom he/she learned about the Contest) so that the teacher prizes may be awarded. All winners (or winner’s parent/legal guardian if the winner is a minor) will be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Publicity within fourteen (14) days of notification, or an alternate winner may be selected.

8. CONDITIONS OF ENTRY: All entrants, as a condition of entry, agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of judges, whose decisions shall be final and binding in all respects, including without limitation, decisions regarding eligibility, winners, and the interpretation of terms in these Official Rules. By entering and participating in the Contest, each entrant warrants that his/her entry is his/her sole, original work, and that it does not infringe upon the rights of any other party. Further, each entrant agrees that his/her entry will not contain any material that is libelous, slanderous, inaccurate, false, incomplete, patently offensive, illegal, pornographic, obscene, or potentially dangerous or harmful in any way. Entries generated by a script, macro, or other automated means will be disqualified. Judges may disqualify previously published essays or those that have won previous awards or competitions. Entries become the property of the Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Entrants/winners and the parent of each student entrant acknowledge and agree that Sponsor has the right to edit, adapt, modify, reproduce, publish, promote, and otherwise use entries in any way it sees fit, including, without limitation, on the Internet, and in advertising, promotional, and marketing materials by Sponsors and the Sponsor affiliates (defined below) in all media now known or hereafter discovered without additional compensation, notice, review or approval. Entry and/or acceptance of prize by winners and prize recipients constitutes permission for the Sponsor and Sponsor affiliates to use the winners’ and prize recipients’ names, addresses (city and state), and/or likenesses for advertising and trade purposes without further compensation or authorization, worldwide and in perpetuity, in any and all forms of media, now known, and hereafter devised, unless prohibited by law. All entrants further acknowledge that if they are chosen as a winner, certain of their personally identifying information may be disclosed to third parties at least as required by law, including, without limitation, on a winners’ list. By entering, participants release and hold harmless Sponsor and Weekly Reader Custom Publishing, and their respective parent companies, divisions, affiliates, subsidiaries, trustees, franchisees, licensees, advertising, promotion and public relations agencies and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents (collectively, the “Sponsor affiliates”) from any and all liability or any injuries, loss, or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, entrants’ access to or use of any participating web site, or arising out of the winner’s acceptance or use of the prize. Neither Sponsor nor the Sponsor affiliates make any warranty, representation, or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, whether now known or hereinafter enacted, relative to the use of any prize, including, without limitation, quality, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose.
Sponsors are not responsible for any computer, telephone, electronic, Internet hardware or software, or any human or technical failures, malfunctions, corrupt transmissions, Internet accessibility, availability or technical error, or unauthorized human intervention, inaccurate capture of entry or other information, or the failure to capture any such information. Further, neither Sponsors nor the Sponsor Affiliates are responsible for any lost, late, illegible, misdirected, mutilated, incomplete or postage-due mail or e-mail. Entries that are incomplete, illegible, or corrupted are void and will not be accepted. Sponsors are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by Web site users, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with the Contest, and assume no responsibility for any error, deletion, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation or transmission, technical error, human error, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to the Web site. Any person who supplies false information, enters by fraudulent means, or is otherwise determined to be in violation of these Official Rules in an attempt to obtain any prize may forfeit the prize won and may be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify any individual found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Web site, or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules. Sponsors reserve the right to seek damages from any person deliberately attempting to undermine the operation of the Contest in violation of criminal and civil law. Sponsors’ failure to enforce any term of the Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Sponsor is not responsible for damage to participants’ or to any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest. If the Contest is not capable of running as planned because of, but not limited to, infection by computer worms, bugs, viruses, tampering, fraud, technical failures, human error or any other causes which Sponsors, in their sole opinion, deem could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, modify, terminate, or suspend the Contest and select the winners from entries received prior to the action taken or as otherwise may be deemed fair and equitable by Sponsors. Each entrant agrees not to knowingly damage or cause interruption of the Contest; prevent others from using the Contest; or obtain or modify another user’s account information without his/her consent.

9. WINNERS’ LIST: For a list of winners, available after May 8, 2009, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by July 17, 2009 to: Marley & Me Writing Contest, c/o Weekly Reader Custom Publishing, 1 Reader’s Digest Road, Pleasantville, NY 10570.

10. The total number of contestants anticipated nationwide for the Marley & Me Writing Contest is 8,000.