PJ O Connor Awards for Radio Drama

For over 30 years the annual PJ O Connor Awards for Radio Drama have celebrated the best in new Irish writing.

The 2015 competition is now open for entries. RTE Radio Drama is inviting candidates to submit radio plays of 40 minutes in duration - with a first prize of 5000 euros for the winning script, as well as runner-up prizes of 4000 and 3000 euro respectively.

Deadline: Friday 27th March 2015.

The Judges’ decision will be announced on Friday 22nd May 2015.

Click here for rules of the competition

Click here for entry form

P J O'Connor Radio Play Competition

Have you got a good ear for dialogue? Can you tell a story? Why not try a radio play?

RTE Radio Drama is inviting radio plays of 40 minutes in duration - with a first prize of 5,000 euros for the winning script, as well as runner up prizes of 4,000 and 3,000 euro respectively.

Deadline is Friday the 17th March 2014.

Link here

They have lots of advice on layout and how to structure a radio play. The writer should be Irish or resident in Ireland.

The main advice I have is
- Listen to some radio plays and get an idea of what works and what doesn't
- Read it out loud!
- Don't have loads of characters - too confusing
- Grab your listeners early and don't let go

Free to enter. One entry only, Irish residents. 

P J O'Connor Radio Play Competition

Have you got a good ear for dialogue? Can you tell a story? Why not try a radio play?

RTE Radio Drama is inviting radio plays of 40 minutes in duration - with a first prize of 5000 euros for the winning script, as well as runner up prizes of 4,000 and 3000 euro respectively.

Deadline is Friday the 28th February 2013.

Link here

They have lots of advice on layout and how to structure a radio play. The writer should be Irish or resident in Ireland.

The main advice I have is
- Listen to some radio plays and get an idea of what works and what doesn't
- Read it out loud!
- Don't have loads of characters - too confusing
- Grab your listeners early and don't let go

Free to enter. One entry only, Irish residents.

The prizes are big, like € thousands.

PJ O'Connor Radio Play

Have you got a good ear for dialogue? Can you tell a story? Why not try a radio play?

RTE Radio Drama is inviting radio plays of 40 minutes in duration - with a first prize of 5000 euros for the winning script, as well as runner up prizes of 4,000 and 3000 euro respectively.

Deadline is Friday the 30th of March 2012.

Link here

They have lots of advice on layout and how to structure a radio play.
The main advice I have is
- Listen to some radio plays and get an idea of what works and what doesn't
- Read it out loud!
- Don't have loads of characters - too confusing
- Grab your listeners early and don't let go

Free to enter. One entry only, Irish residents.

The prizes are big, like € thousands.

Leipziger Hörspielsommer: International Audio Drama Competition

Here's something interesting from our friends, the Germans

Acoustic narration or sound thriller, noise poetry or spoken drama  – the 10th International Audio Drama Competition of Germany's biggest audio drama festival Leipziger Hörspielsommer is looking forward to your production!

The competition offers a platform to young directors, writers and producers of audio dramas to present their works, therefore advocating diversity and liveliness in the world of the audio drama. The three winners will be broadcast by German Radio Station MDR Figaro and receive royalties of 600 € each.

Preconditions are that applicants do not work as professionals and that the productions are either in German or English. (Other languages may be approved as long as they are not essential for the understanding of the plot.)

Deadline: 1 April 2012.

For further information, terms, conditions and the application form please visit the Leipziger Hörspielsommer festival website.

Voices in the Ether

A conference at the RIA on Irish Writing on the Radio.

Unfortunately it's on a Friday so any writer with a full time job can't go. Website here

Venue: Academy House
Date: Friday 3 February

Fee: 25 Euro or 15 for Student/unemployed

9.30am: Registration

10.00am: Welcome

John Bowman (RTE)
Introducing fragments from the RTE Sound Archive: a ‘Who’s Who?’
of Irish writers
11.15am: Coffee

11.45am: Panel:

Gillian McIntosh (QUB)
‘Ulstermen say least when they mean most’: W. R. Rodgers, broadcaster and poet

Hilary Lennon (UCC)
Blacklisted: Frank O’Connor as radio critic

Simon Workman (Carlow College)
‘A mint of golden intonations’: Louis MacNeice and the BBC

Eibhear Walshe (UCC) and Chris Morash (NUI Maynooth)
Voices behind the Glass: Teresa Deevy’s Radio Plays

1.15pm: Lunch (not provided)

2..15pm: Allan Hepburn (McGill University)
Acoustic Modernism: Elizabeth Bowen on the BBC

3.00pm: Coffee

3.15pm: Panel: Producing and Curating Irish Writing:

Doireann ní Bhriain (Radio Producer) (Chair)
Pat Boran (Poetry Ireland)
Anne Devlin (Playwright)
Stephen Douds (BBC NI)
Malachy Moran (RTE)
Clíodhna ní Anluain (RTE)
Anne O’Connor (RTE)

5.00pm: Close

RTE P.J O'Connor awards

The shortlist for this radio play competition was announced on Friday's Arena programme. 17 out of a total 135 submitted. I personally don't recognse any names. Congrats to all.

THE KIDNAP by BILLY O’CALLAGHAN

SPEED-DATING IN THE LAND OF CAT WOMEN by JENNIFER McGRATH

NEW MANCHEGO by THOMAS EMMET

QUAVERS by DAVID McCALL

HARD DRIVE by MICHAEL D. O’CALLAGHAN

READING ICARUS by ASHLEY TAGGART

DE-LIGHTED by TERRY O’BRIEN

THE QUIET WILLOUGHBYS by NEIL FLYNN

SHE’S NOT MINE by ROSALEEN McDONAGH

THE COWBOYS by PETER TRANT

A MOTHER’s VOCATION by BRENDAN O’LEARY

GRENADES by TARA MCKEVITT

JUST IMAGINE by JOHN AUSTIN CONNOLLY

THE GHOST ROOM by OLIVER McQUILLAN

BUZZ ME WHEN YOU’RE DONE by BRIAN FENNELLY

15th AUGUST 1998 by ROSS DUNGAN

THE EULOGY OF HARRY BROGAN by ALAN ARCHBOLD

The final adjudication will be made on June 4th.

The Francis MacManus short story award has loads more entries than this and the shortlist will be announced this Wednesday 19th May.

PJ O'Connor Radio Play for RTE competition

I missed any announcement about this but it's open for submissions. This year it's 55 minutes.

Have you ever considered writing for radio? There are many opportunities and a good way to break in is to try for the RTE P.J. O'Connor competition. Here's the gen:

The aim of the competition is to encourage new writers to radio drama and to increase awareness of the possibilities and scope of radio as a medium in the field of drama.

Rules: For the first time RTÉ Radio Drama is inviting candidates to submit radio plays of 55 minutes in duration (rule of thumb is one page per minute when properly formatted)
Prizes: €3,000 for first prize, €2,000 second, €3,000 third prize.
All plays are planned to be recorded and broadcast. They shortlist between 12 and 20.

If you are a new writer in this medium, there is a great weekend course they offer shortlisted writers in writing for radio. And you may get lucky too. Sometimes they record and broadcast shortlisted plays and you are paid the standard RTE rates.

Deadline: March 31st 2009
Tips: Listen to lots of radio drama. You can get the BBC afternoon play online for a week.

Details here:

P J O'Connor Winners

The winners of this competition for a radio play were announced on the Arts Show on RTE Radio.

Overall winner - Dylan, Thomasina and Me by John Austin Connolly. Prize of €3,000. John was also on the shirtlist for the Francis MacManus story this year.

First runner up - Elvis Is Dead by Shay Healy. Prize of €2,000. Shay is an RTE stalwart.
Second runner up - Happy Hour by Ashley Taggart. Prize of €1,000

The three winning dramas will be broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 on Sunday evenings in July.

About 500 entries, wittled down to a shortlist of 14. The judges for this year's competition were: Writer, Eugene McCabe; Actor and Director, Bairbre Ni Chaoimh and Jesper Bergmann, Chief Dramaturge at The Royal National Theatre, Copenhagen.

Lilters and Lovers by James Corbett, Maherafelt, Co. Derry

Brave Day for It by Derek M. Doherty, Beijing, China

Noah's Transportation by Davy Ferguson, Dunmanway, Co. Cork

Working for the Clampdown by Patrick Fitzsymons, Bushmills, Co. Antrim

Taxi by Ciarán Gray, North Strand, Dublin 3 (won in 2007)

After We Got Back by Sinead Hickey, Dundrum, Dublin 14

How I Created a Financial Crisis by Michael Minihan, John's Hill Waterford

Shrewsbury Road by Kevin Murphy, Dalkey, Co. Dublin (shortlisted in 2007)

A Game Of Confidence by Billy O'Callaghan, Douglas, Cork (blog here)

The Come Back by Siobhan Shine, Menlo, Galway

Icarus O'Neill's Rising Dilemma by Nicholas Wilkinson, Annamoe, Co. Wicklow

RTÉ P.J. O'Connor Radio Drama Awards

Have you ever considered writing for radio? There are many opportunities and a good way to break in is to try for the P.J. O'Connor competition. Here's the gen:

The aim of the competition is to encourage new writers to radio drama and to increase awareness of the possibilities and scope of radio as a medium in the field of drama.

Rules: 28 minute play (rule of thumb is one page per minute when properly formatted)
Prizes: €3,000 for first prize, €2,000 second, €3,000 third prize.
All plays are planned to be recorded and broadcast. They shortlist between 12 and 20.

If you are a new writer in this medium, there is a great weekend course they offer shortlisted writers in writing for radio. And you may get lucky too. Sometimes they record and broadcast shortlisted plays and you are paid the standard RTE rates.

Deadline: March 13th 2008

Tips: Listen to lots of radio drama. You can get the BBC afternoon play online for a week.

Remember:

Don't use too many characters in one scene. Confusing.

Use people's names for the first while so listeners know who the characters are.

Don't use too many characters in the whole thing as there is a limit to the cast numbers.

Start a new scene with a new voice.

Remember the listener can't turn back the page to check what's going on so be clear.

You can go anywhere - Bogner beach, a Bali nightclub, Outer Mongolia, outer space, underwater, Victorian Dublin, Roman Alexandria, Stone Age Kenya.

Use sound effects to allow the listener to picture (if that's the right word) the setting. But don't go over board.

Music is always good for mood.

Other guidelines are similar to short stories. Start in the action so the listener doesn't turn off. Don't use similar sounding names for multiple characters.

PJ O'Connor RTE Radio Play Competition

I'm really confused, concerned and possibly angry. The deadline for this competition was March 18th 2008 and yet there is an announcement on their website of the shortlist on 15th March 2008. How can that be? Most of the plays are submitted in the last week. Weren't they a little concerned that they only got 150 plays when in 2007 they got 200, in 2006 they got 235 and in 2005 they got 365?

An independent panel of actors and writers read all of the plays and chose a total of 13 for the shortlist. The short listed plays are now being read by a panel of judges, Danish theatre critic and playwright Jesper Bergmann, director and producer Selina Cartmell and chaired by actor and writer Mark O'Halloran (Adam and Paul/Garage)

1) Piano Lessons by Sarah Brennan from Donnybrook, Dublin

2) At the Hop by Wayne Denniston from Newtownforbes, Co. Longford

3) Lust for Money by Philip Doherty from Gortnakesh, Co. Cavan

4) 10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 7! 8! 9! 10! by Kevin Gildea from Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

5) Get a Life by Ciarán Gray from North Strand in Dublin

6) The Lottery by Shay Linehan from Dun Laoghaire, Dublin

7) Something's Been Lost by Felim MacDermott from Knocknacarragh, Galway

8) Said the Bear to the Woman by Martin Malone from Kildare Town

9) Living Room by Andrea McCartney from Belfast

10) Will You Swap Knees With Me by John McManus from Knocknacarragh, Galway

11) Home Is Where the Heartache Is by Muireann Ní Aoláin from Ashbourne, Co. Meath

12) Deliver Us From Evil by Billy O'Callaghan from Douglas, Cork

13) Thinking Ahead by Jack Olohan from Rathfarnham, Dublin

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in the RTÉ Donnybrook studios on Tuesday 6 May at 6:30pm

What about mine? I sent it on March 12th, pleased to be in early. Who do I call?

P.J. O'Connor Radio Play Competition

Have you ever considered writing for radio? There are many opportunities and a good way to break in is to try for the P.J. O'Connor competition. Here's the gen:

The RTÉ P.J. O'Connor Radio Drama Awards were established in 1983 to honour the late P. J. O'Connor, former Head of Drama in RTÉ Radio 1, who was noted for his encouragement of new talent. The aim of the competition is to encourage new writers to radio drama and to increase awareness of the possibilities and scope of radio as a medium in the field of drama.

Rules: 28 minute play (rule of thumb is one page per minute when properly formatted)
Prizes: €3,000 for first prize, €2,000 second, €3,000 third prize. All plays are planned to be recorded and broadcast. They shortlist between 12 and 20.

If you are a new writer in this medium, there is a great weekend course they offer shortlisted writers in writing for radio. And you may get lucky too. Sometimes they record and broadcast shortlisted plays and you are paid the standard RTE rates.
Deadline: March 18th 2008 - note the day after Paddy's Day. So you need to post on Friday 14th March (though I believe they are flexible about postmarked dates)

Tips: Listen to lots of radio drama. You can get the BBC afternoon play online. Remember:

• Don't use too many characters in one scene. Confusing.
  
• Use people's names for the first while so listeners know who the characters are.
  
• Don't use too many characters in the whole thing as there is a limit to the cast numbers.
  
• Start a new scene with a new voice.
  
• Remember the listener can't turn back the page to check what's going on so be clear.
  
• You can go anywhere - Bogner beach, a Bali nightclub, Outer Mongolia, outer space, underwater, Victorian Dublin, Roman Alexandria, Stone Age Kenya.
  
• Use sound effects to allow the listener to picture (if that's the right word) the setting. But don't go over board.
  
• Music is always good for mood.
  

Other guidelines are similar to short stories. Start in the action so the listener doesn't turn off. Don't use similar sounding names for multiple characters.

Writing For Radio

The BBC is the main buyer for radio drama, possibly in the world. Before you even start to think about writing for them, listen to as much as you can. They have about two weeks of previously broadcast plays and stories on available to listen to online. The range is diverse as is the subject matter.
Google "Writing for Radio" for some great websites.

Hints:
Build the setting in the listeners head. Use of sound effects can be very effective here. Remember, there is no limitation on where the action can take place. Outer space, a 15th century chateau, The Pyramids, The North Pole, The Trenches, etc.
Music is a great way to get listeners into the mood.
Interior thought is easy to do on the radio compared to, for example, TV or stage. What people say and do and what they actually think are often in conflict so this can be a great tool to use to get inside a character's head.
A radio play only has one chance to be successful. If their attention is not grabbed and held, the listener can change channels at the click of a button. The beginning is everything as far as this is concerned.
Limit the number of characters so as not to confuse the listener. Make each one distinct for the same reason. Use their names in speech more often.
Keep the listeners on their toes by having one short scene after another. Use lots of mini crises and conflicts for cliff-hangers. Use humour too so the tension isn't continuous. Use sound effects to set each scene and don't have consecutive scenes in the same setting. Generally, don't have the last character in one scene being the first one in the next to talk.

Here is some good advice on writing for the 45 minute afternoon play slot. This London-based Theatre writer discusses finding the right producer, which I had never considered before. Otherwise, submit full script to The Writers Room.

The producers look for a writer with some experience, though this need not necessarily be in radio. They also look for a great one or two sentence blurb for them to use to sell the play to the commissioners.

Afternoon Play
45 minutes
14:15-15:00 Monday to Friday
This slots comes right after "The Archers" so I would tend to stay clear of similar, rural type stories and remember the audience demographic. Violence and graphic sex won't go down well. They say "First and foremost we want to tell the listener a good story." Crime, mystery, ghost stories, romance, historical, science fiction have all worked well in this slot. They do use new writers quite a lot for here.
Recent topics include, infertility, London in the 60's, mourning Princess Diana, the feelings of the land over the centuries and burying someone's ashes by the Angel of the North.

Saturday Play
60 minutes
14:30 Saturday
The home of genre fiction: Crime and detective stories, mystery, ghost stories, romance, thrillers. Not an extended afternoon play. Popular high class entertainment. Enjoyment and escapism. Think When "Harry Met Sally," "Gosford Park," "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells," "Into the West."
Recent topics include a dramatisation of the story that was the basis for the film Vertigo and Noel Coward persuading Ian Fleming to spy during the war.

Women's Hour
15 minute serial
10:45 repeated 19:45 5 consecutive weekdays
Study the market for this one. It's tricky to write something that picks up the story easily 5 times for listeners who don't tune in every day so I wouldn't recommend starting here. They often use serialisations of existing novels or biographies. Recent Topics include an affair between a teenage girl and an older son of a wealthy Chinese family and a farce about ladies involved in local action groups.

Comedy Narrative
30 minutes
11:30 Friday
Light and entertaining comedy drama or sitcom.
Recent topics include a comedy drama set in a Carmelite monastery.

The Friday Play
60 minutes
Friday 21:00
Original, contemporary and ambituous writing. Engaging and challenging.
Recent topics include an amnesty of illegal immigrants and teenage crime.

Afternoon Reading
15 minutes
Monday to Friday 15:30
A short story or abridged book often by writers new to radio.
Recent topics include waiting for a light effect, music heals war-damaged people, post operative surgery insights and a mouse looking for enlightenment from a parrot.

Here is a link to the radio play format. One page per minute in this format.

Southend Writers Radio Play Competition

Entrants are invited to submit a radio play with a running time of 25–30 minutes on any topic. The cast of voices will be performed by 6 professional actors (3 male & 3 female). Scripts may be for a smaller or larger cast (by doubling or trebling of roles). The play must be suitable for transmission on day-time radio.

Submissions must be made in printed format, by post, and accompanied by a cheque for £5 registration fee, payable to The Palace Theatre Guild. (£5 per play).
Closing Date for Entries: 20th September 2007

Prizes:
1st Prize £500
2nd Prize £150
3rd Prize £100 People’s Prize

The 10 finalists will receive a public performance of a rehearsed-reading in the Dixon Studio of the Palace Theatre. Performances and judging of the ten finalists will take place during week commencing Oct 22nd.

Entries and cheques should be submitted by post to:

Southend Writers Competition
Palace Theatre Guild
P.O Box 2095, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 4WY, England

Strokestown Poetry and other competitions

Well, I didn't win the Strokestown International Poetry Competition again this year. The shortlisted poets are mostly names I don't recognise apart from Mark Granier whose name appears regularly. At this rate I'll never get to the festival. I don't think I write the right sort of poem to win this type of competition. I have been wondering whether to try UK markets and competitions as perhaps my style is more British.

The Francis MacManus short story RTE radio 1 short story list is out too. Again I only recognise one name Geraldine Mills but the stories are usually varied and interesting to listen to. You can listen online. http://www.rte.ie/radio1/francismacmanus/1012737.html

I was thinking of entering the Dunlavin Festival Poetry competition but they only say 'prizes' so I don't think I'll bother. I want cash and prestige! http://www.dunlavinartsfestival.com/poetry_rules.html

Channel 4 The play's the thing

I wanted to enter this. They are looking from some writers to do a proposal of a radio play, 15 minutes long. They will work with the short listed authors on the proposed play, I think on TV like they did the the West end play last year sometime. But they are looking for UK residents and UK citizens so I only qualify for one of those.

"any person who resides outside the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man and/or is not at a UK citizen or at all material times a "qualifying person" under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988."

They are looking for a synopsis of about 200-300 words telling the story of the play together with at least one scene in radio drama script format and short character descriptions of approximately 20 words per character and a single paragraph by the Entrant explaining why he/she has chosen the particular idea for his/her Submission.