THE TODAY SHOW / MERCIER PRESS – PUBLISHING COMPETITION– T&C
Email to send manuscripts is : competitions@mercierpress.ie
Entries must be in English or Irish language.
The competition is only open to writers who have never published a full length novel and who have never had a publishing contract for a full length novel and who don’t have a literary agent. At the time of entry entrants must be 18 years or older and resident in the island of Ireland. Proof of age, identity, residency and eligibility may be requested. RTE’s decision as to the eligibility of individual entrants and entries will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The competition is not open to any employee of RTE or Mercier Press or any person involved in the judging of the competition
An entrant may only submit one entry.
Mercier Press will read and evaluate the first 1000 words of each qualifying entry. No feedback will be offered to any entrant not chosen by Mercier Press as the winning entry.
The ‘prize’ is mentorship by Mercier Press to get the chosen manuscript into a publication state. Mercier Press will also have the discretion to publish the finished work as ‘a print-on-demand’ edition (POD) subject to the winning author being willing to enter into a contract with Mercier Press for same on Mercier press standard terms for such POD publications.
Entries must be the original work solely of the entrant and not generated using Artificial Intelligence or similar content generation computer process and must not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere. Entries may have appeared online in private (password protected) peer review sites but should not have been published in any commercial online form including blogs or personal websites.
RTE can disqualify any entrant it reasonably suspects of having used Artificial Intelligence or similar content generation computer process in the writing of the novel.
Submissions must include a complete manuscript between 40,000 – 100,000 words.
No corrections / alterations to manuscripts will be accepted after entry.
Copyright remains with the author. Entrants agree that RTE may use and publish extracts on RTE’s television and digital platforms (including on the RTE website and on RTE social media accounts)
An entrant warrants that their entry is a fictional work and that the entry and all information which the entrant submits and/or provides:
- will not infringe the intellectual property, privacy or any other rights of any third party, and
- will not contain anything which is libellous, defamatory, obscene, indecent, harassing or
threatening
Entrants must agree to appear at RTÉ Cork studios on the TODAY show on a date specified by production if required. Due notice will be given. Normal travel expenses incurred will be paid by RTÉ for this appearance.
The decision of the judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
The prize is being provided by Mercier Press, not RTE, and RTE cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the competition or as a result of accepting or not receiving the prize.
Prize is not transferable and there are no cash alternatives.
Prize winner may be requested to take part in post competition promotional activity and RTE and Mercier Press reserves the right to use the names and contact details of winner, their photographs and audio and/or visual recordings of them in any publicity relating to the competition.
RTÉ shall process any personal data submitted by entrants in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Acts. RTE has a legitimate interest in using the personal data for the purposes of this competition (including without limitation provision to Mercier Press) and for journalistic, artistic and literary purposes and in the public interest.
The closing date for entries is midnight (GMT) on the April 11 th 2025 Winners will be notified by email within eight weeks of the closing date.
The results of the competition will be published on the TODAY show Facebook page and the Mercier Press website.
Entries not complying with competition rules will be disqualified.
The competition and these conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Ireland and all entrants submit to the jurisdiction of the Irish courts.