Laughing Stock 2011 - Terms and conditions

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1.  To be eligible to enter you must meet the following criteria:
    * You must be 18 or over as at 21st February 2011.
    * You must be a UK resident (including Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), or a resident of the Republic of Ireland. 
    * You must not previously have had a full network commission for comedy (for any broadcaster) though we do not consider individual sketches for existing shows to comprise a full network commission.
   * You must not be a BBC employee or any person connected to the scheme or their close relative.
Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested. The BBC’s decision as to the eligibility of individual entrants will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

2.  Entrants must submit:
    * a script for television comedy between 15-30 minutes/pages in length and
    * an outline for how the series would develop
The idea must be legibly typed and must be no longer than one side of A4 paper.
The script must be for television comedy and must be between 15 and 30 pages in length. The script must be legibly typed and formatted.
All entries must be written primarily in English. Any part of the entry not written in English must be accompanied by a translation.
For more information, please visit the website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

3.  Submission for entries opens on 13th December 2010. Entries received before this date will not be considered.

4.  Entries must be submitted by post to the following address:
Laughing Stock,
BBC Writersroom,
Grafton House,
378-381 Euston Road,
London,
NW1 3AU  

5.   The BBC will only ever use personal details for the purposes of administering the scheme. Please see the BBC’s Privacy Policy.

6.  Closing date for entries is Monday 21st February 2010. Submissions received after this date will not be considered.
The BBC cannot accept any responsibility for any problem with the postal service which may result in any entry being lost or delayed. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt.
Entries will not be returned so please remember to keep a copy. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted and no feedback on any entry will be provided.

7.  Entrants can enter individually or as part of a writing team of up to a maximum of 3 people. If entering as a group, all entrants must meet the entry requirements. Only one entry per person is permitted including any group entries. If you submit more than one entry, only the first entry received will be considered.

8.  All entries must be the original work of the entrant and must not infringe the rights of any other party. The BBC accepts no liability if entrants ignore these rules and entrants agree to fully indemnify the BBC against any claims by any third party arising from any breach of these rules.

9.  Entries must not contain defamatory, obscene, offensive or any other unsuitable material. Original ideas must be suitable to be broadcast by the BBC. 

10.  Entrants retain the copyright in their entries but grant to the BBC a non-exclusive licence to broadcast their entry across all media, as well as use it on any online platforms. 

11.  Entrants permit the BBC to edit or change entries in any way it may in its sole discretion consider necessary for the purposes of use in the scheme and the uses set out above.

12.  By applying for the scheme, entrants warrant that they have legal capacity to enter the scheme and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

13.  Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
a.    The originality and strength of the idea
b.    The accomplishment and quality of the writing of the sample script
c.    The strength of voice and potential in the writer
14.  Entries will be judged through the following process: 

Stage One
All entries will be reviewed by a team BBC of script-readers, who will assess the sample scripts against the criteria outlined above and select a shortlist of up to 25 entries.

The BBC reserves the right not to read the whole script if it is clear that the quality of the writing or subject matter is unsuitable or is in breach of any of these terms and conditions.

Stage Two
Up to 25 shortlisted entrants will be contacted by the BBC team and invited to attend a one-day workshop on Tuesday 5th April 2010 (final date to be confirmed by the BBC).  If a shortlisted entrant cannot be contacted after reasonable attempts have been made to do so or is unable to attend the workshop, the BBC reserves the right to offer the prize to the next best entry.

During the workshop entrants will be asked to take part in various individual and/or group writing exercises and tasks. The workshop will be attended by members of the judging panel and the entrant’s participation at the workshop may be taken into consideration during the final selection of entrants.
After the workshop, the judging panel will review the scripts submitted by the shortlisted entrants and will select up to 10 shortlisted entrants to take part in a week long residential writers workshop.

15.  The selected entrants for the residential will be contacted by a member of the BBC team by Tuesday 31st May 2011. If a selected entrant cannot be contacted after reasonable attempts have been made to do so, the BBC reserves the right to offer the place on the residential workshop to the next best entry.

16.  The selected entrants will have the opportunity to attend a week long intensive residential writer’s workshop during the week commencing 6th June 2011. Travel, accommodation and meals will be provided but no other costs or expenses will be paid by the BBC. The opportunity is as stated and cannot be deferred or transferred. There will be no cash alternatives.

17.  Following the residential workshop, writers will be given the opportunity to resubmit their work. However, the BBC is not obliged to commission or produce any scripts or ideas submitted.

18.  Entrants will retain the copyright in any script or pitch idea developed by the entrant as a result of being selected for the scheme but will grant the BBC a non-exclusive licence to broadcast their work across all media, as well as use it on any online platforms, subject to being commissioned on usual contractual terms.

19.  The names of the all selected entrants and any entrant whose entry is broadcast or used on-line will be made public. Entrants must agree to take part in any post-scheme publicity if required.

20.  The BBC’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

21.  The BBC reserves the right to disqualify any entry which breaches any of these terms and conditions.

22.  The BBC reserves the right to cancel this scheme at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, and if circumstances arise outside its control.   In this event, a notice will be posted on the following website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

23.  The BBC reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any stage, including changing or substituting the prize. In this event, a notice will be posted on the following website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/.

24.  These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

25.  The BBC’s code of conduct for competitions applies to this scheme. You can read more about it here: BBC Competitions Policy.