My Merry Christmas is pleased to announce our 2nd Annual Christmas Writing Contest.

This event has two purposes: first, to share the memories of Christmas past with our site readers; and second, to showcase the talent of writers and aspiring writers on a beloved topic.

The contest winner will take home a $500 prize.

Judging for this contest will be by the Editorial Staff at My Merry Christmas.com. The theme of this contest is an honored favorite on My Merry Christmas: My Best Christmas.

Submissions must be true stories of Christmas past and can reflect the experiences of the writer or of a friend or family member of the writer. Submissions should be no longer than 3000 words in length. Works showcasing tales of warmth, Christmas charity and humor are encouraged.

Contest details and submission guidelines:

1. Entries must be submitted no later than Saturday, December 16th, 2006.

2. All entries must be in English.

3. All submissions require a $5 entry fee to be eligible for the cash prize.

4. Entry fees will be accepted via online secure payment gateways provided by Pay Pal. You do not need a Pay Pal account. Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards are accepted through Pay Pal.

5. Contest winners will be notified by email on Monday, February 6th, 2007 and the winner will announced shortly thereafter. .

6. All submission guidelines must be met to be considered for the cash prize.

7. Entries may be previously published only if the author has retained full copyrights to the work.

8. Submission constitutes agreement with My Merry Christmas to publish each entry at will. That means your work may or may not actually be published on the pages of this web site. By submitting your entry you are agreeing to allow your work to be published and promoted by My Merry Christmas in any and all associated web sites and newsletters of The Merry Network and in any or all associated offline publications produced by The Merry Network.

9. Entry fees are nonrefundable.

10. Your name, city and state are considered part of your entry and will be published if selected as a site contributor.

11. You may request that your first name and last initial only (Ex: Robert D.) are published with your entry. Check the appropriate box on the entry form when submitting your entry. All other contact information is kept strictly confidential and is not shared with any outside party.

12. Contest contributors may request a free link to their personal web pages or web sites. (Links are subject to approval; they can not go to sites that contain other contests or publishing offers, adult-oriented or similar material outside the accepted range of our own site content, or portal pages connecting to such sites or content.)

13. You keep ownership of your individual creative work; we retain the right to publish it in our publications.

14. By entering, you assert that your entry is your own original material and you own the copyright. You indemnify and agree to hold My Merry Christmas.com and The Merry Network harmless from any liability arising out of the submission or publication of material to which you do not own the copyright.

15. My Merry Christmas.com will not arbitrate copyright conflicts. Concerns over disputed material must be addressed to the entrant, whose contact information will be provided only as legally required.

16. Our total liability for any claim arising from participating in any Merry Network contest, including the use of PayPal as our online payment processor, shall not exceed the cost of one contest entry.