Tag Archives: fiction

TOM GRASS PRIZE: CALL TO WRITERS GLOBALLY

Application Deadline: 31st March 2025.

LOCATION: United Kingdom

Entrants are invited to reflect the spirit of adventure in subject matter and/or style in whichever way and in however broad a sense the writer interprets this.

ELIGIBILITY:

Entrants must be over the age of 25 as of 1st October 2024 when submissions open.

Entrants can live anywhere in the world, and we encourage entrants from all backgrounds.

Entries must be written in the English Language.

Entries must be previously unpublished.

To enter the Tom Grass Literary Prize, please submit your piece of between 1,500 and 3,000 words maximum using the website entry form below.

In the subject bar of your submission, please state: Tom Grass Prize, Author name, ‘Title of Piece’.

Material should be submitted in a single Word document, in a clear font, point size 12. Please include with the piece a brief one paragraph outline to introduce or give context to it, including reference to your personal background if you consider this relevant.

The entry must be written in the English Language, in prose, in any genre of Fiction or Non Fiction as long as it reflects, in whichever way the writer interprets, the sensibility of the Tom Grass Prize.

Entrants are permitted only one entry each and entries on behalf of another person will not be accepted. Joint submissions are permitted but should be sent only once, on behalf of both authors, subject to both authors consenting to entering and being eligible.

Entries should be uploaded to the website portal any time between 1st October 2024 and March 31st 2025, with the deadline closing at midnight, UK time, on March 31st 2025. All entries will be read by the Tom Grass Prize team of supporters, who will create a longlist to be submitted to the Jury. A final shortlist of 3 including the winner will be announced at a ceremony in London on 4th June 2025. The winner and shortlist of 3 will be publicly announced simultaneously.

The Tom Grass Prize is free to enter.

BENEFIT:

1st prize: £1,000

Two runners-up prizes: £500 each

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BBC INTERNATIONAL AUDIO DRAMA COMPETITION

Application Deadline: 11.00 GMT on 4 June 2025. 

LOCATION: England

Writers from around the world are invited to submit their scripts for the 29th International Audio Drama Competition (previously the International Playwriting Competition) which is now open for entries. The global competition, hosted by BBC World Service and the British Council, offers the unique opportunity for writers from outside the UK to use the medium of audio drama to tell stories for an international audience.

ELIGIBILITY:

Entry is only open to anyone who at 4 June 2025 is (a) over the age of 18 and (b) not considered to be a resident of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man (“UK”). Professional and previously published writers are eligible to enter, but this is not a requirement of entry. We may require proof of eligibility.

Entrants must not be BBC, BBC Group company, or British Council employees, close relatives of such employees or any person connected to the competition. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.

Entrants should write an audio drama script of approximately forty to fifty minutes’ length on any subject of their choice.

The entrants warrant, by submitting scripts, that each drama:
is the original work of the entrants and does not infringe the rights of any other party
is not an adaptation of an earlier work (for example, a novel)
will not be under contract for, or have been professionally produced in, any medium (an informal script-reading is acceptable; a script-reading with a professional director and in front of a non-paying audience is acceptable, but a performance involving payment to actors and/or a paying audience is not) before 30 September 2026
has not been created or developed with the use of generative AI tools

The winning writers will be deemed to have entered into an undertaking not to accept offers for their entries from other broadcasters or publishers before 30 September 2026.

All scripts submitted must be approximately 40-50 minutes in length – this usually equates to a minimum of 35 pages of A4 paper (or equivalent) and a maximum of 60 pages (note, a rough guide is a minute per page; please read and time your drama before you send it). The drama should have a maximum of six central characters (there may be up to 3 small “doubling” characters too, who don’t have more than a few lines each). Word count approx. 7000-9000 words.

Your script should be accompanied by a short synopsis which outlines the complete story of the drama. This must be no more than 400 words.

There are two prize categories for entry. One is for entrants who speak English as their first language, and the other is for entrants with English as a second language. The BBC may require proof of eligibility for the selected category before announcing a winner.

BENEFIT:

“Prize”: The Cash Prize and the Trip
“The Cash Prize”: £2,500 sterling (or the equivalent in a local currency at the BBC’s discretion)
“The Trip”: a trip to the UK (standard airfare and accommodation for one person) to see the winning drama being recorded and attend a prize-giving event

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