The David Nobbs Memorial Trust has been established by comedy producers, performers and people who knew and loved David, with the blessing of his family, to honour his memory by supporting new comedy writing in the UK.
The contest is aimed at those early in their writing career – but it is not totally ‘open door’. Entrants must be able to provide a broadcast credit for their written material and accompany their entry with a 500-word Statement of Intent, describing their writing career goals. The winner will be announced in August.
Who can enter?
- Any individual or comedy writing partnership aged 18 or over at the time of submission and currently resident in the UK who meets this eligibility criteria:
- Entrants must have at least one credited broadcast comedy writing credit (see full terms and conditions for criteria).
- Entrants must not be working in broadcast as a full-time comedy writer, or as a full-time freelance broadcast comedy writer at the time of submission.
When to Enter
- The opening date for entries is Monday June 10th 2019.
- The closing date for submissions is midnight on Sunday June 23rd 2019.
- The finalists will be announced by Tuesday July 24th 2019.
What to Enter
- The first 10 pages of a half hour radio or television sit-com pilot script
– OR –
- 4 three-minute comedy sketches.
Your submitted SCRIPT(S) must be anonymous. Please make sure project title is clear but not your name.
Only anonymised scripts will be numbered and forwarded to the judging team.
Only at the end of the process will names be re-associated with the winning submissions by the administrator. Judging will be ‘blind’.
PLUS
- 1. A 500-word ‘statement of intent’ describing your submission, your writing and broadcast history to date, and your goals for your writing career. This must also be anonymous – but identifiable by the project name.
- 2. Proof of previously broadcast work. Must have been broadcast between January 2016 and 31st May 2018 and should be in the form of a URL linking to active or archived material. (Self-published work on any platform does not apply).
- 3. A statement declaring that all the work submitted is original and is the copyrighted work of the person/s named as entrants to the competition.
How to Enter
- Submit all of the required materials listed in the ‘what to enter’ section to: NobbsTrustCompetition@gmail.com
- Please submit with the subject line stating: “Entry: comedy writing competition”
- Attach either a word document or a PDF. In addition, please ensure a copy of the content is pasted into the body of the email. Please make sure the layout of the content is clear and easily followed. Unfortunately they cannot accept hard copy entries.
- Entries must be submitted by the writer/s of the material. Agent submissions will not be accepted. Strictly one submission per entrant can be entered.
- Please include a contact phone number with your submission.
Judges
A panel of established comedy professionals will be appointed by The Trust Board to judge the competition. Their names will be confirmed via The Trust website and social media platforms no later than 3rd June 2019.
Finalists and Winners Announcement
Finalists will be announced on The Trust website on July 24th 2019. Winners will be announced via twitter and the trust website on August 28th 2019
Prizes
- First Prize: £500.
- Runners-up: up to two £250 each.
For full details visit The David Nobbs Memorial Trust website
Deadline: 23 June 2019
Source: BBC Writersroom