To mark the 2012 Olympics, for one year only, the BBC National Short Story Award becomes the BBC International Short Story Award.

Booktrust and the BBC's annual showcase of outstanding short fiction launches today with an expanded worldwide quest to find the best international short story of 2012 to mark the Olympic year. The judging panel for the one-off BBC International Short Story Award will be chaired by broadcaster and comedy writer Clive Anderson and the winner announced on BBC Radio 4's Front Row.

For the first time since it launched in 2006, the BBC Short Story Award will see stories from home and abroad going head-to-head for the £15,000 cheque for first place. For one year only authors from across the globe will be eligible to enter alongside UK practitioners.

To reflect the global breadth of the Award in 2012 the shortlist will comprise ten short stories rather than the usual five. Each of the ten shortlisted stories will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over two weeks, showcasing the scope and diversity of the form in the run-up to the winner announcement.

The shortlist will be announced live on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, and the ten shortlisted entries broadcast during the following two weeks. The winner and runner-up will then be revealed at a special event which will also go out live on Front Row. The shortlisted stories will be published in a special anthology and be available for free audio download. Scottish Book Trust will be running four in-depth short story workshops in Edinburgh during the festival season to run alongside the Award.

The Award - one of the most prestigious for a single short story, with the winning author receiving £15,000 - is now open for submissions from publishers, agents and authors from anywhere in the world who have been published in the UK.

Further details here.

London Comedy Writers does not endorse any of the competitions or opportunities listed on this site and cannot be held responsible for their administration. We provide these links in good faith. You must make your own judgment and do your own research before entering any competition or partaking in any opportunity. If you have had a bad experience with any of these competitions or events listed on the website, please contact us so it can be removed.