[Linda Rae Posts: 17 Status: Offline WWW]

Last year I sent in two entries to the Green River Writers Contest, then forgot about it. Recently I happened to go to the contest site and saw that the winners had been announced at the end of 2017.  My entries had placed in both categories! I was surprised no one had told me, so I emailed the address listed at the site and gave them again all my contact information. That was about Feb. 20. Now it's March and I haven't heard anything.  All prizes were an amount of cash--mine were $30 and $100. The money would be nice, but I'm really more upset about the fact that no one told me I won and my email wasn't answered. Has this ever happened to anyone else?
                                                                                             

[writerjenn Posts: 309 Status: Offline WWW]

Hasn't happened to me, but two things I would suggest:
Check your email spam filter to see if any notification to you ended up there.
Double-check your original contest entry to see what contact info you provided. If you use multiple email addresses (as many of us do), you may have forgotten which account you used.
If they really never notified you--yeah, they should've. As for the money, it can sometimes take quite a while for that to come through, as we all know ...
And last but not least, congratulations!

[Vijaya Posts: 7,324 Status: Offline Encourage WWW]

First, Congratulations!!! I'm sorry that they didn't contact you but WriterJenn has great advice on figuring out what might have happened. I hope they will get back to you and your prize money too.

[dewsanddamps Posts: 2,310 Status: Online]

Seems unprofessional. Congrats on winning, though, and I hope you get your loot!

[Ev Posts: 3,483 Status: Offline Making learning fun! WWW]

Congratulations on your wins, Linda!! I'm sorry you didn't receive notification or your prizes. I'm betting it's an honest mistake or some glitch with email. I know Chuck Sudduth on Facebook. If you'd like, I'll be glad to send him a private message there and ask him about your situation. Just let me know.

[Betsy Posts: 2,123 Status: Offline PICKY EATERS WWW]

Congratulations, Linda! 

 

I've never had this particular thing happen, but I used to enter all kinds of writing contests.  Assuming this isn't a computer glitch,  here's what you should do.

One thing I know is that, for any legitimate contest, there should be rules posted. You should always read and make a copy of the rules because it's a legal document.  A true writing contest--that is if there are judges that read each entry and determine a winner based on skill or merit--is treated differently under the law than if the contest winners are selected through a drawing. You'll have to check the laws in the state in which the contest was held for the details. Usually the rules should state how  and when the winners will be notified.

The rules should  also state what the criteria for judging are. The contest sponsors are required to follow the rules exactly. (Unfortunately, a lot of people don't know this. And sometimes the sponsors leave out important information.)

Are the rules still posted?  Is contact information given? If so write a very nice letter to the sponsors (a letter, not an email) and mention your problem.  If this is a legitimate contest, they should be willing to follow through. If not, you probably should just let it go.

[Ev Posts: 3,483 Status: Offline Making learning fun! WWW]

Betsy, this is a legitimate contest sponsored by a writing group here in Kentucky.  I've read their rules in the past and considered entering, although I've never ended up doing so.  They do charge a modest entry fee. I'm sure they'll award the prizes.  The impression I've gotten (but I may be wrong) is that different members sponsor different categories in the contest and probably agree to pay the prizes for that category if not enough entry fees cover them.

I've always thought it was a cool thing for a writing group to do and would hate for them to get a bad name for some glitch in the system that's maybe not their fault.  I'll contact Chuck and see if I can find out what's going on.

[AnneB Posts: 3,775 Status: Offline]

I'll contact Chuck and see if I can find out what's going on.

And this ^ is why I  the Blueboards.

[Ev Posts: 3,483 Status: Offline Making learning fun! WWW]

Linda, I emailed Chuck Suddeth and he responded promptly.  He said that he personally sent out all the prize money, so he knows yours was sent [and that would also have been your notification of your wins]. That either the address was wrong or the mail failed. [I've personally been having so much trouble with the USPS recently, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this is their fault.] Once he has your name [I didn't give it to him], he'll check with their treasurer about stopping payment on the previous checks and reissuing you new ones. He said he had not received your email. [So maybe the two of you can figure out what happened there.]

He said to give you his email address and text contact number, so you can get in touch with him.  [I will PM that to you now.]

You will definitely get your prize money.

[Betsy Posts: 2,123 Status: Offline PICKY EATERS WWW]

Thanks for taking care of that, Ev. I'm glad there are still legitimate writing contests around, and that we have winners here on the BBs.

[Debbie Vilardi Posts: 6,842 Status: Offline Language is so cool! WWW]

Nice work, Ev.

Congratz, Linda!

[mrh Posts: 4,753 Status: Online www.marciahoehne.com WWW]

This thread just warms my heart. 

[Vijaya Posts: 7,324 Status: Offline Encourage WWW]

And this ^ is why I  the Blueboards.

Thank you Ev.

[Vonna Posts: 1,799 Status: Offline WWW]

  Hooray for Ev!
to Linda Rae!

[Ev Posts: 3,483 Status: Offline Making learning fun! WWW]

Oh. And I will just pass on something else Chuck shared with me in his email. He said their writing group is a registered non-profit organization and makes no money from the yearly writing contest. They gave out almost $1700 in prizes this past year.

When I think about how much time and effort this contest must involve for that group, it makes my heart happy to know that they're willing to do all this just to create a great place for other writers to submit their work and have an opportunity to win prizes!

[Betsy Posts: 2,123 Status: Offline PICKY EATERS WWW]

Good for them. It's helpful in a cover letter if you can say you've won a contest or two.

[Linda Rae Posts: 17 Status: Offline WWW]

Chuck sent me a pleasant email. He  said he checked  his records and had actually written down 540 instead of 530. If this were a street of houses, it probably wouldn't have mattered, but 530 and 540 are big apartment buildings. My faith in the post office is restored.
Thank you very very much, Ev, for stepping forward and solving all this! 

You're right--all the prizes (15 categories)  add up to a lot, and Green River Writers are very generous.
Now I can focus on being happy. I can't remember ever before having won anything in a writing contest.