Terms & Conditions
Oozezi Creative Collective Last Updated: June 2026
These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern your participation in any submission, competition, challenge, or bounty hosted by Oozezi Creative Collective (“Oozezi,” “we,” “us,” or “the Collective”), including but not limited to the Poetrymine, Fan-Written Fiction (FWF), Standalone Submissions, and Challenges & Bounties. By submitting any piece of writing through our website, you agree to be bound by these Terms in full.
If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, please do not submit your work.
1. Skill-Based Competitions
All Oozezi competitions, challenges, and bounties are games of skill, not games of chance. Winners are not selected by random draw or lottery. Entries are evaluated based on one or more of the following criteria, as specified for each individual competition or challenge:
- Literary merit, creativity, and originality
- Adherence to a stated prompt, theme, or technical constraint (such as word count, syllable count, or structural requirements)
- Technical execution and craft
- Public community voting, where explicitly stated for that competition
Where a competition is judged internally by Oozezi’s editorial team, the winner is selected based on creativity, adherence to the prompt, and technical execution. Where a competition (such as a Challenge with public voting enabled) is decided in whole or in part by community vote, this will be clearly stated on that competition’s page before you submit.
Because winners are determined by skill, judgment, and merit rather than by chance, Oozezi’s competitions are not lotteries, sweepstakes, or games of chance, and are not subject to gambling regulations.
2. Official Rules
2.1 Eligibility
Entry is open internationally. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older, or have the express permission of a parent or legal guardian to participate if under 18. By submitting an entry, you confirm that you meet this eligibility requirement.
Oozezi reserves the right to request proof of age or guardian consent at its discretion, and to disqualify any entry where eligibility cannot be confirmed.
2.2 Entry Periods
Each competition, challenge, or submission window has its own specific entry period, including a start date and a strict cut-off deadline. These dates, along with the applicable timezone, are published on the relevant submission page or challenge listing prior to the opening of entries.
Submissions received after the stated deadline will not be accepted, regardless of timezone confusion or technical issues on the entrant’s end. Entrants are responsible for submitting with sufficient time before the deadline.
2.3 Prize Details
Where a competition, challenge, or bounty carries a monetary prize, the exact prize amount, currency, and payout method will be clearly stated on that competition’s page. Prizes are typically disbursed via bank transfer; the specific method for any given prize will be confirmed with the winner directly.
Some submission types (such as Standalone Submissions made outside of an active Challenge) carry no prize or bounty. This is disclosed clearly at the relevant point of submission.
Where a prize pot grows dynamically based on community engagement (such as the Poetrymine), the live total displayed at the time of submission or judging reflects the prize available, and the final amount is confirmed once the relevant window has closed.
2.4 Judging & Selection
The method by which a winner is determined will be disclosed for each specific competition, in line with Section 1 above. Oozezi’s decision in selecting winners is final.
2.5 Disqualification
Oozezi reserves the right to disqualify any entry, at any stage, for reasons including but not limited to:
- Submission of plagiarized, AI-generated, or otherwise non-original content
- Failure to meet stated word count, syllable count, or other structural constraints specific to that competition
- Submission of content that is hateful, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise in violation of our community standards
- Multiple entries submitted in violation of a stated one-entry-per-person rule
- Any attempt to manipulate voting, ratings, likes, or comments through artificial means (including bots or coordinated vote manipulation)
- Provision of false information regarding identity, age, or eligibility
Disqualification may occur before, during, or after judging, and Oozezi’s determination on disqualification is final.
3. Intellectual Property Rights
3.1 You Retain Ownership
You retain full copyright ownership of any piece you submit to Oozezi. Submitting your work to us does not transfer, assign, or relinquish your copyright. You remain free to publish, republish, or otherwise use your work elsewhere, including after a competition has concluded, except where you have entered into a separate, explicit agreement stating otherwise.
3.2 License Granted to Oozezi
By submitting a piece, you grant Oozezi a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to:
- Publish your piece on the Oozezi website
- Display, promote, and share your piece (in full or in excerpt) on Oozezi’s social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and any other platform Oozezi operates on
- Use your piece in connection with the administration, promotion, and archiving of the relevant competition, challenge, or the Collective generally
This license does not expire and survives the conclusion of any individual competition. It does not, however, prevent you from also using, publishing, or licensing your own work elsewhere, as described in Section 3.1.
3.3 Attribution
Where Oozezi publishes or shares your piece, we will credit you using the name you provide at the point of submission (your legal name or pen name, per your preference).
3.4 Social Media Sharing Consent
Separately from the general license above, where our submission form includes a specific “social media consent” checkbox, your response to that checkbox reflects whether you give Oozezi explicit permission to share your piece — in full or in excerpt — on our social media channels with attribution. If you do not check this box, we will not feature your piece on social media, though the general publication license in Section 3.2 for use on the Oozezi website itself still applies upon submission.
4. Sponsorship Transparency
Some Oozezi challenges and bounties are sponsored, in part or in full, by external individuals, brands, or organizations. Where a challenge is sponsored, this will be clearly disclosed on that challenge’s page, typically labeled as “Proudly Sponsored by [Sponsor Name].”
Sponsorship disclosure ensures entrants are aware of who is providing the financial backing for a given prize pool. Sponsors do not have influence over editorial judging criteria unless explicitly disclosed as part of that specific challenge’s stated judging method.
5. Data Privacy & Collection
Oozezi collects personal information as part of the submission process, which may include your full legal name, pen name, email address, phone number, social media handles, and (where applicable, for prize disbursement) bank account details.
5.1 How We Use Your Data
Your information is used solely for:
- Administering the competition, challenge, or submission you have entered
- Contacting you regarding the status of your submission, including acceptance, rejection, or publication
- Disbursing prize payments, where applicable
- Sending relevant Collective communications, such as newsletter updates, if you have separately opted in
5.2 We Do Not Sell Your Data
Oozezi does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing or any other purpose.
5.3 Payment Information
Where bank account details are collected for the purpose of disbursing a prize, this information is used exclusively for that single payment and is permanently deleted from our records once payment has been confirmed as processed.
5.4 Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights regarding your personal data, including the right to access, correct, or request deletion of the information we hold about you. To exercise these rights, contact us at the email address below.
Oozezi is committed to handling personal data in line with applicable data protection principles, including those found in Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Nigeria’s Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), regardless of where you are submitting from.
6. General Provisions
6.1 Changes to These Terms
Oozezi reserves the right to update or modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be reflected by an updated “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. Continued use of our submission portals after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
6.2 Limitation of Liability
Oozezi is not liable for technical failures, lost submissions due to internet connectivity issues, or any indirect damages arising from participation in our competitions, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
6.3 Governing Interpretation
These Terms are intended to apply fairly and consistently to entrants regardless of jurisdiction. Where a specific provision conflicts with mandatory local law in an entrant’s jurisdiction, that local law will govern solely with respect to that conflict, without affecting the remainder of these Terms.
6.4 Contact
For questions about these Terms, a specific competition’s rules, or to exercise your data rights, contact us at info@oozezi.com.
By checking the “I agree to the Terms & Conditions” box on any Oozezi submission form, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the Terms set out above, as well as any additional rules specific to the competition or challenge you are entering.