The rights clause is the first place to look

Entering must not transfer anything. Watch for language granting publication, adaptation, audio, film or "perpetual promotional" rights over your work. A licence to name you and quote a line for the announcement is normal; anything wider is a purchase disguised as a contest.

Check what happens to non-winners' work too. Some rules quietly claim a licence over every entry received.

Warning signs, in order of seriousness

A winner selected by random draw among entrants who paid a fee. Depending on where it is run, that structure can be an unlawful lottery, and "void where prohibited" does not cure it.

No published criteria and no named judging process.

A prize with no dollar value attached, or one that turns out to be a discount on the sponsor's own services.

A required purchase — critique, membership, copies — presented as a step of entry.

Upsells arriving immediately after entry: paid feedback, paid "finalist" placements, paid anthologies.

No stated closing date, no stated announcement date, or last year's winners nowhere to be found.

Run this checklist before paying anything

Is the winner judged or drawn, and does the page say so in plain words?

Are the criteria published before entries close?

Is the prize named with a value?

Does entering leave my copyright untouched?

Is there a no-purchase route in?

Are the closing and announcement dates fixed and stated?

Is the forfeiture rule — what voids an entry — written down where I can read it before I pay?

How this house answers that checklist

Judged on merit against criteria published before entries open, never drawn. Five prizes with stated values, one winner in each tier, each tier judged only against itself. Entries close August 10, 2027 and winners are proclaimed September 10, 2027 in the 2027 season. A permanent free tier, so no purchase is necessary to enter or win. Your copyright stays yours.

And the forfeiture rule, stated before payment rather than after: all 23 instruments must be marked to your own name for an entry to stand.

Asked and answered

Is a paid contest automatically a scam?

No. Fees fund prizes and reading. The structure is what matters: judged on published criteria, with a real prize and no rights grab.

Are contest wins worth listing?

A win from a contest with published criteria and a named prize is worth listing. A pay-to-win badge from a mill is not, and readers in the trade know the difference.

Who can I ask before entering?

Search the contest's name with the word complaints, read a previous year's winners, and read the rules end to end. If the rules cannot survive that, neither can the contest.