A Contest for Mystery Writers Sponsored by the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum
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 Official Rules and Guidelines – 2005-06 Mustard Mystery Contest

The Contest. The 2005-06 Mustard Mystery Contest is a writing contest. Chapter One of Murder at the Mustard Museum is complete and appears in the 2005-06 catalog of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum and on this web site.. Contestants will write their best Chapter 2 and a summary of how the story turns out for the opportunity to win the Grand Prize of $5,000.

Who can enter? The 2005-06 Mustard Mystery Contest, is open to all writers and aspiring writers, with the exception of employees of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, sponsors of the Mustard Museum or of this contest, as listed below. Entrants under the age of 18 may must have the written consent of a parent or legal guardian. Only one entry per person. There is no entry fee. No purchase of mustard or products from the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum is necessary.

Collaborative efforts are welcome but only one prize for a winning entry will be awarded.

Judging criteria. Judging will be on the basis of literary merit and the creative use of mustard in the story line. Photographs, drawings, or any other illustrations should not be sent and will not be considered.

Contest “divisions” and prizes. This contest has two divisions or categories. Anyone may enter in the “open” category; the grand prize for the “open” category is $5,000. Writers and aspiring writers who are enrolled in any private or public high school as of November 1, 2005, may also enter their work in the “Young Writers” division; the grand prize for this category is $250. If the overall Grand Prize ($5,000) is awarded to a person in the Young Writers category, only the $5,000 prize is awarded.

Additional prizes for the top ten finishers in each division be awarded and will be posted on this site.

The winners will be announced on National Mustard Day (August 5), 2006, at Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, and will be posted on the contest web site and on the Mustard Museum web site, www.mustardmuseum.com as well as on this site.

Acceptance of entries and deadlines. Entries must be typewritten, double-spaced, page numbered and stapled. Handwritten entries, no matter how brilliant they may be, will not be considered. Neither will email or digital (e.g. CD-ROM) entries be accepted. The entrant’s name should appear only on the entry form (click here) and not on any pages of manuscripts. Remember each entry will consist of two writings – a completed Chapter Two (not to exceed 2,500 words) and a summary of how the mystery turns out (not to exceed 800 words). Contestants must provide three copies of their writing entries (the Chapter Two and the summary)

Entries must be in English.

Entries should be postmarked no later than May 15, 2006 and sent to

Mustard Mystery Contest
Mount Horeb Mustard Museum
P.O. Box 468
Mount Horeb, WI 53572

The word limit for the chapter submitted is 2,500 words. The word limit for the summary is 800 words.

Entries will not be returned. We will not send you comments, feedback, or judges’ reactions.

Taxes. Winners are solely responsible for any taxes that may have to be paid as a result of prizes awarded.

Use of entries. Entries become the property of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum. The winning entry will become the basis for a finished novel to be published by the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum.

Post-Contest Collaboration option. At the conclusion of the contest, after the winning entry has been selected and announced, the Curator of the Mustard Museum may ask the winner to collaborate in the writing of the finished mystery; in that case, the winner shall then receive, in addition to the $5,000 Grand Prize, seven per cent (7%) of the net sales of the finished mystery novel, calculated on the bases of retail sales at the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum and any wholesale sales through the Mustard Museum. The Curator is not required to seek the winner’s participation in finishing the mystery; if the Curator does not request post-contest collaboration or if such collaboration does not result in a finished book, the winner releases the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum and Barry Levenson from any future financial claims that may arise in connection with the book.

Stay tuned for more information on www.MustardMystery.com