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Three new comic writers have beaten off tough competition to get the chance to make their mark at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival.

The Scotland – Write Here, Write Now competition from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland comedy department pulled in hundreds of entries from writers who want to get into the laughter business.

Open to anyone over 16 years old who was born or resident in Scotland, the competition attracted 524 entries spanning the generations from teenagers to a 91-year-old. The competition struck a chord across Scotland with entries coming in from the Hebrides and Shetland down to the Borders, as well as from the major cities and towns in the Central Belt.

Joanna Bolouri from Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, Rob Drummond from George's Cross, Glasgow, and Rebecca McFarland from Abbeyhill, Edinburgh, were judged to have produced the best pieces of work. All entrants were asked to send in the opening 10-15 pages of a sitcom or comedy drama set in contemporary Scotland.

The winners will now be mentored by experienced figures from comedy production – Jemma Rodgers, executive editor Comedy, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland, Margaret-Anne Docherty, senior producer, Radio Comedy, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Scotland, and Gregor Sharp, a leading comedy writer in Scotland.

They will help the winners develop their script into a 30-minute piece. Scenes from each script will then be performed at a rehearsed reading by a group of professional actors during the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in August in front of an audience of industry professionals.

Jemma Rodgers said: "We were absolutely delighted not only by the volume of entries we received, but also by the quality.

"There are some very talented unknown writers out there, but in the end we could only pick three winners. The scripts from Joanna, Rebecca and Rob all have a real spark to them, and capture contemporary Scotland in very funny and original ways. We're very much looking forward to working with all three of them to develop their scripts further."

Joanna Bolouri, 32, submitted Lewd Awakenings, which follows the story of thirty-something Phoebe Henderson who is determined to be more adventurous in her love life; Rob Drummond, 28, a freelance performer and writer, was chosen for Early Release, about a unique television project set in a prison; and Rebecca McFarland, 42, a creative partner/copywriter for a creative communications agency, was picked for The Madam Of Morningside, about Monty, a roving anti-capitalist, who is summoned by a grandmother she never knew existed and unexpectedly finds a secret side to the lives of elderly ladies in the well-to-do Edinburgh district.

JG2