Terms, Conditions & Guidelines for Participation and Submissions

    1. The Contest opens on 16thJuly 2025.
    2. The contest closes on 31st October 2025. Only entries received before midnight on that date will be considered. No entries will be accepted after the submission deadline has passed, unless the deadline is extended by ILA.
    3. All entries must be submitted online in .doc format only at submissions@insolvencylawacademy.com. Do not put your name, phone number and email address on the short story.
    4. Stories must be written only in English. It should range between 2500 to 3000 words. Stories must not exceed 3000 words (including footnotes).
    5. Stories must be typed, double-spaced, on single-sided sheets and in a readable, 12-point font. Use one-inch margins all around; indent each paragraph 3 to 5 space. Do not include illustrations or pictures in the manuscript. Do not use fancy or script fonts for the text, except when stating character thoughts, which must be in italics.
    6. The story should be easy to read, with proper grammar, punctuation, and correct spelling. Each page must be numbered, and the title of the story must appear at the top of each page.
    7. The contest is open to persons above 18 years of age. 
    8. Only one entry per person is admissible. If a person submits more than one entry, all entries will be rejected and attract disqualification. The individual submitting the entry must be the author or a co-author of the story. Submissions on behalf of others or of stories not authored by the participant are not permitted.
    9. The short story should involve any or many elements of corporate insolvency or bankruptcy, as understood or perceived in common parlance or in its technical form. Insolvency or bankruptcy may either be a central or a dominating theme, or a turning point in the story. The use of legal jargon or technical language is not required.Name of real persons or insolvency cases should not be used. Entries must be in good taste.
    10. Stories must not have been already published on any social platform or in any book or otherwise, or should have featured amongst the winners in any competition.
    11. Once submitted, stories cannot be altered or withdrawn. Submissions will not be returned, so authors are advised to keep a copy for their records. There will be no correspondence regarding submitted stories until the jury’s decision is announced.
    12. Any plagiarised work will be disqualified along with any other work submitted by the entrant.
    13. The ILA staff, members of Jury, Pre-Jury and ESG Chairs are not eligible to enter the competition.
    14. A Jury will select the winner for the award and the collection of stories without being influenced by gender, caste, religion, and nationality of the entrant or any criterion or factor.
    15. A Pre-Jury comprising of internal and external resources identified by ILA shall shortlist 20 entries for review by the Jury. 
    16. All entries will be considered anonymously by the members of Pre-Jury and the Jury. In the absence of consensus, the decision of Jury shall be taken by majority. In the event of a split, the chairperson/President ILA shall have the casting vote. The decision of the Jury shall be final and no queries or challenge will be entertained in that respect thereof.
    17. A story selected by the Jury for award and/or publication shall be the copyright of the author.
    18. By submission of entry, the participant is deemed to have given consent to ILA and the publisher to publish the story on any platform or mode at the sole discretion of ILA or use the story for screenplay or script for any documentary, film or TV/OTT series. No royalty or payment will be paid by ILA or publisher for publishing the story. ILA is not bound to publish the stories if the Jury is of the view that there are not adequate number of stories that qualify to publish a book.
    19. If a story is selected by the Jury, the author will not publish the story on any other platform, book, website, social media or any other public platform without prior express written consent of ILA. Such consent shall not be granted by ILA before the book is published.
    20. ILA has the absolute discretion to modify, amend, alter or withdraw and terms of the short story contest. ILA may withdraw, re-schedule, cancel or postpone the short story contest, or reject any story received, without assigning any reason.
    21. All disputes shall be subject to jurisdiction of courts in New Delhi, India.