This is the second contest on Prolific Living. We had heaps of fun and participation from the first contest on photography in October 2009. For me, the reward was the spirit of engaging you, my readers, and the sheer joy of giving prizes away after building so much energy and anticipation. So I decided to do it again with a new theme. I have full confidence any one of you can participate in this contest because at some point or another, we have all been touched by a book in our lives.You may have noticed one of the most prolific(!) categories on this blog is the In Print with 72 reviews of books I have read in the past 4 years. When I realized how much I had missed out on reading in the years past, I decided to make up for lost time and it’s been a fantastic journey of discovery and learning. My selfish purpose in running this particular contest is simple: I want to encourage and inspire you to read more books. Read classics. Read history. Read memoirs and biographies. Read fiction. Read more classics, but read often. It is the best exercise for an active mind and a meditation for the soul.
Now it’s time to get off my soap box and set the game rules for you.
Contest Objective: The objective is quite simple. Tell me the name and author of one book that has touched you deeply. Perhaps this book has even inspired you to change, to grow, to transform, to gain a new perspective or to just feel incredible joy and pleasure for having read it. It can be any book, and I mean any book, even your childhood books. Describe this effect in your contest entry.
How to enter: The description should be submitted below as a comment. Your description can be short or long but with a maximum of 250 words. If you use Microsoft Word, word count is displayed at the bottom. If you use Open office, select Tools then select Word Count and it will display your word count. You can just copy/paste your text into a comment below. When you enter a comment, it will ask for your name, email and a website if you have one. Your email is never displayed and it is only used for spam-protection purposes.
Dates for Contest: I plan to run the contest for 15 days. We are starting on the first day of February and will end on the day after Valentine’s Day, February 1st-15th. The winner will be announced by February 20th at the latest.
Who is Judging: Prolific Living will have 3 judges to make it a fair and impartial contest. We will pick the single best rating. Yours truly will be one of the judges. My IT genius behind-the-scenes of Prolific Living and also my brother, Sina Bahram, will be the other judge. (You can read a book interview with Sina on the science fiction book by Robert J. Sawyer, to which he had contributed!!). My rock and ultimate critique, my husband, Andy Brock, who was looking for a way to get out of playing the contest and luckily found a loophole, is the third judge.
Judging Criteria: We are going to look for genuine writing and heart-felt expressions of the book’s impact on you and your life. This is an exercise in writing and in self-expression so indulge in it and give it your best shot. Be authentic! Be unique! Be original! Be truthful! Use this as an opportunity to pay tribute to the book and the author for whom you feel most gratitude. Oh, I must add that I will look for polished and clean use of the English language so no grammar or spelling faux-pas please!
Prize : There will be a single winner in this contest. I would like to send the winner any Amazon book of your choice up to $20 in value (not including shipping which I will cover). I will have it shipped to your home wherever you may be.
So that’s it. Let our contest begin! Enjoy the entry process and best of luck to you. Thank you for participating and for sharing your perspective!
Feb 17 Update: Winner and Contest results are announced here!!
I am Farnoosh, the founder of Prolific Living. So glad you are here. My mission is to empower you to unblock your creative genius to live your dream life.