Short Stories for BBC Radio

The BBC Radio Drama Readings Unit welcomes submissions from writers new to radio for their annual series, Opening Lines which is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

The next window for sending in material is: 5th January – 13th February 2015. 

The three successful writers will have their stories broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and be invited to the BBC in London to see their stories being recorded. As well as broadcasting the three strongest stories we publish transcripts of the best stories submitted within this period on the Opening Lines website.

KEY INFORMATION

• Writers who have previously had a story/stories broadcast on network radio or have substantial writing credits in other areas of radio (e.g. comedy and drama) are not eligible for this series.
• One story per writer.
• Please don’t re-submit stories that have previously been considered for Opening Lines
• Stories must be between 1,900 and 2,000 words in length.

Things to bear in mind:

The original short story must work being read out loud i.e. with a strong emphasis on narrative and avoiding too much dialogue, character description and digression. Pay particular attention to how the story opens and closes, the ending would usually link back to the beginning.

Material which explores particularly dark, harrowing themes is not suited to Opening Lines. 

Stories must not contain defamatory, obscene or any other unsuitable material which is likely to cause offence to a wide audience of all ages. 

Link and more details here

Click here to read stories which have featured in recent series.