Natals Day 2026 — Terms and Conditions

Last updated: [DATE]

These terms apply to Natals Day 2026, the writing contest and anthology programme run by Natals Publication. Entering costs money, so please read them before you pay. By submitting an entry you accept them in full.

1. Who is running this

Natals Day 2026 is organised by Natals Publication (“Natals”, “we”, “us”), an independent publishing house in India. In these terms, “you” means the person submitting an entry, and “your piece” means the writing you send us.

2. What Natals Day 2026 is

Natals Day 2026 invites writers to send us one short piece of up to 700 words, in English or Hindi. Eligible English entries are published in Mosaic. Eligible Hindi entries are published in Sanchay. Both are printed anthologies carrying an ISBN.

This is not a selective competition for publication. Every entry that meets these terms and clears editorial review is printed under your name. Separately, a small number of pieces are chosen for the Natals Day Prize, described in clause 9.

3. Who can enter

• You must be 16 or older. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must consent to your entry and to your name appearing in print.
• Anyone may enter from anywhere, but we ship printed books only within India. If you are outside India, choose the entry-only option.
• You may submit as many pieces as you like. Each piece needs its own entry and its own fee.
• Employees of Natals Publication and their immediate families may enter, but are not eligible for the Natals Day Prize.

4. Entry options and fees

• Entry — Rs. 149 per submission. Your piece reviewed, proofread and published.
• Entry with the Book — Rs. 460 plus delivery. Everything above, plus one printed copy of the anthology.
• Author Kit — Rs. 910 including delivery in India. Everything above, with the printed copy delivered to you.

All prices are in Indian Rupees and include GST where it applies. The entry fee is a fee for editorial review, proofreading, typesetting and administration. It is not a payment for a guaranteed printed page — see clauses 6 and 7.

5. What you send us

• Your piece must be your own original work and must not have been published in print before.
• It must be 700 words or fewer, in English or in Hindi. Entries in any other language cannot be placed in either anthology.
• You are responsible for the accuracy of your name, bio, email, WhatsApp number and delivery address. We print your name exactly as you type it into the form.
• We proofread every piece and may make light corrections to spelling, punctuation, grammar and house style without asking you. Anything that changes the sense of your writing goes back to you for approval first.
• Entries that appear to have been substantially generated by an AI writing tool rather than written by you may be declined.

6. Editorial review, and what we will not publish

Natals has always drawn a line at content that is unsuitable or that could cause harm, and Natals Day is no different. Every entry is reviewed before it goes to print. We may decline to publish a piece, in whole or in part, if in our reasonable judgement it:

• is not your own work, or is copied from another source in whole or in part;
• infringes anyone’s copyright, trademark, privacy or other rights;
• is defamatory, or identifies a real person or institution in a way that could give rise to a legal claim;
• is obscene or sexually explicit, or is otherwise unsuitable for a general readership that includes young readers;
• promotes hatred, contempt or hostility towards any religion, caste, community, region, gender, sexual orientation or disability;
• is likely to disturb public order or communal harmony, or offends against the sovereignty and integrity of India, or is otherwise unlawful in India;
• encourages violence, self-harm or unlawful activity;
• is the subject of an existing dispute, or is likely to attract one;
• is written to promote a commercial product or service;
• exceeds the word limit or ignores the submission requirements in clause 5.

Where the problem is small and fixable, we will tell you and give you one chance to revise within [7] days of our email. Where it is not, we will decline the entry and tell you briefly why. Editorial decisions on this are ours to make and are final. Declining a piece is not a judgement on you as a writer, and we do not publish or circulate the reasons.

7. Fees are non-refundable

The entry fee pays for work we carry out whether or not your piece reaches print: reading it, reviewing it, proofreading it and administering your entry. It is non-refundable once your entry has been submitted. This includes where:

• your piece is declined under clause 6;
• you withdraw your piece after submitting it;
• you miss a revision deadline or stop responding to us;
• your entry is not chosen for the Natals Day Prize;
• you change your mind about taking part.

Two things are protected. If you paid for a printed copy (the Rs. 460 or Rs. 910 option) and your piece is declined, you still receive the book you paid for. And if Natals cancels Natals Day 2026 altogether before the anthologies go to print, we refund every entry fee in full.

Duplicate payments, failed transactions and amounts charged in error are refunded on request to the original payment method.

8. Rights in your writing

• You keep the copyright in your piece. It stays yours.
• You grant Natals a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to edit, typeset, print, publish, distribute and sell your piece as part of Mosaic or Sanchay, in print and digital editions, for as long as those editions remain in circulation.
• You allow us to use your name, bio, author photo and short extracts from your piece to promote the anthology and Natals Day, including on our website, on retail listings and on social media.
• You are free to publish your piece elsewhere once the anthology is out. We ask that you credit the anthology when you do.
• Contributors are not paid a royalty on anthology sales. Sales revenue covers printing, distribution and the Prize.
• You confirm that you hold the rights to everything you send us, and you agree to cover any loss we suffer from a third-party claim arising out of your piece.

9. The Natals Day Prize

[Number] pieces are chosen for the Natals Day Prize by a panel appointed by Natals. Entries in both languages are read together. Winners are announced by [DATE] and contacted on the email and WhatsApp number given at entry.

The panel’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Prizes cannot be exchanged for cash unless the prize is cash. Any tax payable on a prize is the winner’s responsibility. If a winner cannot be reached within [14] days, we may award the prize to another entry.

10. Printing and delivery

• Both anthologies are printed after entries close, so copies are dispatched together rather than on order.
• We expect to dispatch by [DATE]. Delivery usually takes 5–10 working days after dispatch, depending on your location.
• We ship within India only. Delivery is charged separately on the Rs. 460 option and included on the Rs. 910 option.
• If a parcel is returned because the address was wrong or nobody was available, we will re-send it once you pay the delivery charge again.
• If your copy arrives damaged, send us photographs within 7 days of delivery and we will replace it.

11. Dates

• Entries open: [DATE]
• Entries close: [DATE]
• Editorial decisions sent: [DATE]
• Anthologies dispatched: [DATE]

We may extend any of these dates. If we do, we will say so on this page and email everyone who has entered.

12. Your information

We collect your name, bio, email, WhatsApp number, your piece and, where a book is being sent, your delivery address. We use this to run the contest, to produce and deliver the anthologies, and to tell you about Natals publishing services. We do not sell your information to anyone.

Your name and bio appear in a printed book, which cannot be recalled once printed. You can ask us to remove your details from our records at any time after publication, and you can unsubscribe from our emails whenever you like. Our full Privacy Policy applies alongside these terms, and we handle personal data in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version that applies to your entry is the one published on this page on the day you paid. Material changes will be emailed to everyone who has already entered.

14. Liability

Natals is not liable for entries lost, delayed or corrupted in transmission, for failures of payment gateways or courier partners, or for any indirect loss arising out of your participation. Our total liability to you in connection with Natals Day 2026 is limited to the amount you paid us.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of India. The courts at Delhi have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of Natals Day 2026.

16. Talk to us

If anything here is unclear, ask before you pay. Reach us through our contact page or on WhatsApp. We would much rather answer a question early than refuse a refund later.