The David Nobbs Memorial Trust, founded in 2016 after the death of the beloved Reggie Perrin author, opens its annual new comedy writing competition on Monday, 2nd February. Since its inception, the competition has endeavoured to encourage and champion emerging talent with financial aid, offering cash prizes to help ‘buy time’ for writing. The Trust also supports writers through networking, consulting, and events as part of its broader mission championing the role of comedy for social good.
The overall winner of the competition will be awarded £1,000 and the opportunity of a valuable one-to-one consultation with an established comedy producer or commissioner from the Trust board. Each runner-up entry will receive £250.
Prizes are awarded after judges from across the UK comedy industry cast their expert eye across qualifying entries, which can be submitted from 2nd February until 23:59 on 6th March 2026.
Returning judge Lucy Lumsden, owner of Yellow Door Productions and formerly head of comedy commissioning at both Sky and the BBC, is joined by comedian and award-winning Motherland writer Holly Walsh and comedian, novelist, TV and radio writer Andy Hamilton
The contest is aimed at those early in their writing career, but it is not totally ‘open door’. Entrants are required to provide a broadcast credit for their written material and must accompany their entry with a 500-word Statement of Intent describing their writing career goals. The winner will be announced in July 2026.
Full details of the competition can be found at the Trust website
Deadline: 6 March 2026 at 23.59
Source: BBC Writers