May 21, 2020
Big Finish Productions have launched their annual Short Trips writing opportunity, seeking new writers to create a Doctor Who short story to be released as an audiobook at Christmas 2020.
The Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trips Opportunity is named after the cheerful, much-loved person at the heart of the Big Finish production office, who passed away suddenly on 8 May 2014.
Now in its fifth year, the competition is open until the end of June. The full list of terms & conditions can be found on the Big Finish website * , and should be read by anyone planning to send in a new story submission over the coming weeks.
Head to the Big Finish website to find some previous entries to download for FREE, and read the terms and conditions before entering. Good luck!
If you've never heard a Doctor Who Short Trip before, you can give one of the previous winners a listen for free to get a sense of how they sound and what can be done in the format. These are the stories previously published as part of the Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trips Opportunity:
2016: Forever Fallen by Joshua Wanisko
2017: Landbound by Selim Ulug
2018: The Last Day at Work by Harry Draper
2019: The Best Laid Plans by Ben Tedds
Make sure you head to the Big Finish website for a full list of the terms and conditions, but here are some of the essentials.
1. Submissions can be set in the universe of Doctor Who at any time in the lives of the Doctor from their first incarnation in An Unearthly Child up to and including the Twelfth Doctor in Twice Upon a Time. The only exception to this is the War Doctor. So, no War Doctor, Ruth from Fugitive of the Judoon or the Thirteenth Doctor!
2. No established monsters can be used, nor established Doctor Who characters. Most television companions from the New Series (2005 onwards) cannot be used, except for Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Donna Noble.
3. The story should not have been published anywhere before, nor should the entry have been submitted to this opportunity before.
Entry is open only to people who have never written for Big Finish before.
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You entrant can send only one submission. Multiple entries will be disqualified.
Prospective writers must submit their entries before 23:59 (UK time) on 30 June 2020. Full details of how to enter, including writers’ guidelines and competition terms and conditions are listed at the Big Finish website.
The winner will be informed by the end of July, and will be officially contracted to deliver a 5,000 word Short Trips story.
Head to the Big Finish website to find some previous entries to download for FREE, and read the terms and conditions before entering. Good luck!
*This opportunity is solely run by Big Finish Productions. We recommend that you read its full terms and conditions on their website before submission and that you refer any questions regarding the competition to Big Finish directly.