The BBC World Service has opened the window for its 25th international radio play competition. Wait! Before you mouse or thumb over to some other story because you don’t live in the United Kingdom, here’s the thing. This contest is only open to “anyone over 18, living outside the UK – whether you’re a new or established writer.”
The winners from 2013/14 hailed from Zimbabwe, Australia, and Mexico. The winners from 2012 were from Uganda and Jamaica. In fact, back then I wrote a piece about those plays. Kingston resident Janet Morrison’s piece focused on an elderly couple in a fishing village who have to bring up their teenage grand kids. Kampala based writer Angella Emwuron’s play narrated the adventures of an errant child who takes an ill advised trip to that city and makes friends with a street urchin.
The competition is open from October 1 through January 31, 2016. All the rules are here, but a few stand out. You’ve got to send in a script for a 53 minute radio play that includes a maximum of six central characters, plus a synopsis of no longer than 400 words. Your script will compete for one of three prizes: the English as a first language prize, the English as a second language prize, and the Georgi Markov prize for scripts that show “outstanding potential.”
