challenge monthHurray! It is finally here! Our September Reading Challenge Month is upon us and I am so excited.

So I know we have a couple of days before the official start on September 1, but I wanted to take a few minutes to make sure everyone is caught up on exactly how things are going to work for this event. First off, just in case any of you have missed my lead up posts, here is a mini recap: The month of September is going to be Reading Challenge Month. Each week will have a different challenge theme and the folks here at Joyfully Jay will be reviewing a variety of books in that theme. Readers can play along by commenting on Challenge Month review posts, or reading their own challenge books. You can find more basic information about the event here in these three posts:

Ok, so now is time for the nitty gritty. How exactly is this going to work? And let’s not forget, how can you all enter to win the fabulous prizes?

1. Comment on the Challenge Month review posts

Each week we have between 8-10 reviews running that fit that week’s challenge theme. Each post will be marked in a few ways. First, you will see the Challenge Month badge on all posts. You will also see a tag in the pink box at the bottom that says “Reading Challenge Month 2015.” And finally, each week I will publish a list of all the books we are reviewing that week that fit the challenge (on Monday this week, on Sunday all the other weeks).

All you need to do to earn an entry is leave a relevant comment on a Challenge Month review post. I am not looking for anything fancy, I’d just like to see more than “please enter me.” You can enter one time at every review post that week. (Of course, you are welcome and encouraged to chat in the comments with the reviewer and other readers, but only one comment will count for entry.) That means that if you comment on every challenge post that week, you can earn between 8-10 entries for that week’s prize.

2. Read along with that week’s theme and tell us about it

You can also play along by taking the challenge yourself and reading a book that fits the weekly theme. It can be any book that fits; it doesn’t have to be the same books we are reading. Have fun with it. The idea is to challenge yourself a bit and try something you may not have picked up otherwise.

Each Friday there will be a Weekly Wrap Up post. That is where you will enter if you have read along that week. You just need to leave a comment with a mini review of your book. Don’t panic! I am not looking for anything fancy here. Just tell us what you read, who wrote it, and what you thought. If you want to tell us why you chose it, that is great too. This doesn’t need to be a full length review. A short paragraph is fine. Everyone who reads along and leaves a comment will get 10 contest entries.

 

Ok, so got it? Leave comments on reviews for one entry each, leave a mini review of a book on Friday and get 10 more entries. The weekly contests will all stay open until the Sunday two days following so you have some time to leave your reviews and comments. Then I will pick a winner for each week. Huge thanks to Samhain, Dreamspinner, and Less Than Three Press for donating some fabulous prizes (that you can check out here).

Then, at the end of the month, we will select a grand prize from all the entries earned over the four weeks. Big thanks to Riptide Publishing for donating our wonderful grand prize!

So those are the basics, but read below to get the official and detailed rules. I hope that this all made sense, but if I missed anything or if things are unclear, please let me know. And be sure to check in tomorrow for the official kick off of our first weekly theme: New-to-Me Author Week!

Official Rules

  • Leave a relevant comment on any Challenge Month review post to earn one entry. You can enter one time per review post.
  • Leave a mini review on our Friday Wrap Up posts for the read along book you read to earn 10 entries.
  • The weekly contests will all stay open until the Sunday two days following and close at 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be chosen each week from the entries earned that week.
  • At the end of the month, we will select a grand prize from all the entries earned over the four weeks.
  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each review post and once for the weekly read along. Duplicate entries will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.