THE COMEDY WRITING AWARD

                    in assoCiation with the comedy unit and the huffington post

What is the comedy writing award?

We know that not every writer is a performer, so this an opportunity for those happier behind the scenes to truly shine. That's why we're happy to be continuing the Comedy Writing Award in 2013, in association with award winning comedy production company The Comedy Unit, and leading news platform The Huffington Post.

Andrea Mann, Comedy Editor of The Huffington Post UK, had this to say about working with the Comedy Writing Award this year: "As someone who likes to champion women in comedy- as well as being a woman myself- I'm delighted, as Comedy Editor of The Huffington Post UK, to be involved in the Funny Women Awards. There are so many brilliant, funny women trying who deserve to have the spotlight shone on them- especially those who work behind the scenes as writers- and I believe these awards help to do just that."

The Prize:

£500 script option fee for a 12 month development period, including three weeks intensive mentoring  to complete the 30 minute script with dedicated access to a professional script editor.

The Criteria:

- Before you begin, please take a gander at The Comedy Unit's useful tips for Comedy Writing HERE

- Short synopsis of the idea- maximum one page

- Entries will be 8-15 pages maximum of a 30 minutes comedy script for television.

- The comedy script must be aimed at television/visual production.

- The comedy script can take the form of a sitcom, sketch, comedy drama, character monologue, anything realy! But it must feel like it would work as a coherent whole across a 30 minute audience experience i.e. ten 3 minute web viral episodes stuck together is NOT a 30 minute script

- The sample does not have to begin at the start of the script, but must run straight through from where it does start

- If you feel it necessary you can add a short paragraph detailing any relevant/key story information that isn't in the script sample (e.g. how the story started before the sample, how it will end after etc.)

- As part of Funny Women's dedication to new talent, only those who have not previously had a paid script commission are eligible to enter.

How to enter:

- Please save your writing award submission in PDF (preferred), .doc or rtf file formats, with the title of the work and your name in the script title.

- Ensure that your name, email address and phone number are included on the document.

- Entrants must be registered for the Funny Women Awards in order to enter (link below). If you have already registered under a performance category (e.g. Main  Award), you DO NOT need to register a second time.

- Please send entries to awards2013@funnywomen.com with 'Comedy Writing Award' in the subject bar

- Closing date for submissions is 31ST AUGUST 2013

- A shortlist of six scripts will be presented to industry judges.* Three finalists will be invited to the Funny Women Awards Final on Monday 23rd September at the Leicester Square Theatre where the winner will be announced.

register now

*You can read about last year's judges, including award winning writers Hattie Naylor and Harry Venning, HERE