The 2011 Chortle Student Comedy Award is now open for business…

Now in its eighth year, previous winners and finalists have included Simon Bird, Tom Deacon, Lloyd Langford, Nathan Caton, Joe Lycett and Iain Stirling.

First prize is £1,000 – plus an invaluable leg-up in the comedy industry – with £250 for the runner-up.

Heats – as listed below – take place in February and March, with semi-finals in May and the final at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Cambridge student Phil Wang, who won last year’s title, said the competition was ‘an unforgettable experience’.

The event is open to students aged 18 years or over enrolled in tertiary education at any UK university. You must have five to seven minutes of original material. Entrants should click here to check the rules – including the fact that performances are filmed and posted online, and not removed later.

We also have a low-key ‘audition’ heat for entrants with little experience of live performing, offering the chance to perform shorter (3 mins) set in front on a supportive audience of fellow rookies. Those who do well here will be invited to a further heat, or possibly a bye into a semi-final, at the discretion of the Chortle judges.

Click here to enter before the end of January 23, or email corry@chortle.co.uk if you have any questions.