“Inkshares” Contest To Award $599 ‘Oculus Rift’ To Winning Novelist

The world is full of aspiring writers who would love to see their written works finally published and their talents recognized. “Inkshares” has been providing writers this chance without needing to pay for anything, though they would still need to meet certain standards in order to be published. This time around, Inkshares is partnering with Nerdist for a contest where novelists will write about video game-themed stories and the winner of the contest will get a virtual reality headset, “Oculus Rift.”

Writers who are interested in joining the contest can visit Inkshares to read the official guidelines. However, the gist of it is that writers will submit drafts of their novels, which should center on the theme; video game. Applicants are warned to be careful when using names, places, and assets that are protected by copyright though since the books will not be published as a result.

The winners will be decided based on the number of unique downloads they get between June 1 and July 15, 2016. By the end of the contest, three writers will have their novels published by Inkshares, but only one will receive an “Oculus Rift.”

The headset costs $599 upfront when ordering from “Oculus,” but this doesn’t include taxes and shipping fees, so buyers could be looking at a much higher expense. As such, getting one for free on top of having a novel published definitely has its appeal. Considering how many fan-fiction stories have been written by gamers, there shouldn’t be any shortage of interested applicants either.

According to Nerdist, they entered a partnership with Geek & Sundry and Inkshares in order to discover talented individuals who want to become published writers but lack the resources. Inkshares will crowdfund the book to have it published while the two gaming sites will help feature the book and increase its exposure.