BBC Writersroom & Popcorn Group bring biggest writing award for future fringe writers
BBC Writersroom has joined forces with Popcorn Group for the first time for the annual Popcorn Writing Award, offering a prize fund of £6,000 to the best of new writing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The award celebrates work which artistically questions and addresses current affairs, societal trends and contributes to public debate. Submissions of new writing at the top six venues are eligible, making it the biggest award for theatre at this year’s fringe.
The Fringe is returning this year after 2 years of cancellations and setbacks due to the pandemic, with new writing set to get a boost as venues plan to run full programmes once again this year and bring live performance back to the festival circuit.
Head of New Writing for BBC Writersroom Jess Loveland said: “BBC Writersroom is delighted to be partnering with the Popcorn Group on the Popcorn Writing Award for the first time this year. The Popcorn Award has firmly established itself as a champion of new writing and writers at the Edinburgh Fringe over the past three years and has kept the new writing fire burning bright despite the unsettling and challenging times for theatre over the past two years. As the festival gears up for a return to a more normal full programme in Summer 2022, we are thrilled to be able to work with our friends at the Popcorn Award to discover bold new articles from across the length and breadth of the country.”
All plays submitted for the award will be considered, provided that it is a new piece of writing that has not had a significant run (no more than 7 performances or a play shown online) and are being performed at any of the partnering venues including Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance, Summerhall, Traverse and Underbelly.
All submissions must include the piece of new writing and a 50 word summary of the play, with everything sent to their respective venue for consideration with ‘Popcorn Writing Award 2022// Title of Play// Writer’s Name// Venue Associated’ in the subject heading and submissions are now open until 10am on 24 June.
For more information, visit the Popcorn Group website here.
