Entries are invited from writers outside the UK for the International Playwriting Competition from the BBC World Service and British Council in partnership with Commonwealth Writers.
The competition is open to new and established writers who live outside the UK. There are three prizes: for a play written by a writer whose first language is English; for a play by a writer for whom English is a second language, and the Georgi Markov Prize.
The winners in the first two categories will each win £2,200 and a return trip to the UK to see the play being recorded for the BBC World Service and for a prize-giving ceremony. The winner of the Georgi Markov Prize, which will be given for an entry which, although not ready for broadcasting, shows outstanding potential, will be flown to the UK and provided with accommodation for two weeks, during which time they will spend a week with the BBC’s drama department and a week with the World Service.