Submissions open for second annual women in comedy award

Submissions are open for the second annual Comedy Women in Print (CWIP) Prize.

The award was founded last year by actress and stand-up comedian Helen Lederer in response to a perceived lack of support for female comedy writing and as a way of discovering and nurturing new talent.

The prize is returning with author Marian Keyes as the chair of judges, with a new award category honouring graphic novels.

Submissions for the 2020 competition are open now, organisers said.

Lederer said: “The support and interest in CWIP has been overwhelming – and proof that this prize had to happen.

“Someone had to do it and it might as well be me! The testimonials from the authors lifted my spirits.

“Witty writers have really progressed because of the prize and in so many different ways – in fact the support for each other via CWIP has been a revelation.”

The winner of the published award will receive a cash prize of £3000.

For the unpublished category, the winner will receive a publishing contract and a £5,000 advance from HarperFiction.

The graphic novel category winner will also receive a cash prize, to be announced.

At the inaugural ceremony earlier this year, Laura Stevens’ The Exact Opposite Of Okay won in the published novel category while Kirsty Eyre’s Cow Girl won in the unpublished novel category.

International bestselling author Jilly Cooper was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The closing date for all awards is March 2 next year with the shortlists announced on June 1 and the winners announced at a live ceremony in July 2020.