The David Nobbs Memorial Trust, established in 2017 after the death of the beloved Reggie Perrin author, has launched its latest annual narrative comedy writing competition, encouraging and championing emerging talent with financial aid.
The competition offers cash prizes to up-and-coming comedy writers, helping them ‘buy time’ for writing. The overall winner of the 2024 competition will take home £1000. Any runners-up will receive £250 per entry.
The contest is aimed at those early in their writing career, but it is not totally ‘open door’. Entrants must have at least one credited broadcast comedy writing credit (see full terms and conditions on their website). 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. Entrants cannot be past winners or finalists.
To enter you must submit the first 10 pages of a half-hour radio or television sit-com pilot script OR four three-minute comedy sketches. You must also submit a 500-word ‘statement of intent’ describing your submission, your writing and broadcast history to date, and your goals for your writing career. The script and statement of intent must be anonymous (ie with no writer name included).
Deadline: 23:59 on Friday 15th March 2024
They aim to announce the finalists in June 2024
Full details of the competition can be found at the Trust website
Source: BBC Writers