Question about publishing contract from a newbie

Can you tell us the name of the actual contest? There may be a thread here already on it...

Contact an attorney in your area. There should be a clause in the contract that states which territory or state laws govern its provisions. Any attorney should be able to dig in and see what's up.

Welcome Arlee

Seconding Sheryl and Leif. A quick consult on a contract shouldn't cost too much from any lawyer, and it's worth whatever you do have to pay for it. Not having a dated contract is... very odd. I'm not a lawyer, so can't say more, but I get the feeling this is a case where you should contact a lawyer. Specifically a publishing attorney, if you can find one.

Be aware that contests with publication as the prize do not have a great track record in general--there are a few exceptions to this but usually those ones are pretty well known, and you'd know if you won one. Not to take away from your accomplishment in writing and submitting to, even winning, a contest. If you head over the General Publishing and Bewares, Recommendations, and Background Check sub-fora you'll find a lot of how-tos on evaluating publishers, agents, and contests. Contract stuff comes up a lot and while the nature of contracts is that we can't really tell you much about yours in particular, you'll gain a lot of valuable knowledge there just by osmosis (I have, anyway ).

How about name the publisher and some of the crack minds here can dig up dirt if it exists.

Is it missing a date in the introductory clause, or the date next to the signatures? (or both?)

Is it worth it to you to pay an attorney for the knowledge? If so, do it. If not, let it be. There are hundreds of (probably more) literary attorneys, if you're near a big city you can easily find one.

Jeff

Try http://alexadsett.com.au/authors/ They can look at it for about $80-90 US (The prices are in Australian dollars)

For Brits and Brit ex-pats I really recommend the Society of Authors, who offer contract vetting as part of their membership services. Membership isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than a contract attorney, and they've agreed monthly direct debits for AW members in the past. The Authors Guild is the US equivalent with the same benefits and there's a Bewares thread with further info.

Seconding EMaree's recommendation. The Society of Authors is wonderful: really worth joining if you can.

I wish you had consulted an agent or attorney before signing. After you've already signed means it may well be too late to worry about it.