The judges are Big Finish Creative Director and Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs; writer and Big Finish Producer Dominic Martin; Peter Anghelides, who is the Short Trips range producer; and Gabby de Matteis, former Doctor Who Brand Editorial Manager at BBC Studios.   
 
The Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trip Opportunity honours the memory of the cheerful, much-loved person in the Big Finish production office. “It is now ten years since we lost our dear friend and colleague Paul,” said Nicholas Briggs. “And to honour him, we celebrate the new talent he always fostered so warmly.”

Peter Anghelides said: “All four of us are looking forward to being surprised and challenged by the competition entries. This year, we’re looking forwards to reading brilliant suggestions inspired by the Time War, which is a subject dear to our hearts at Big Finish in our Doctor Who portfolio. 

“This is the first time we’ve allowed competition submissions that include the Daleks – if you wish. You don’t have to include them, or indeed any of the previous characters and settings from the various related Big Finish ranges. We want The Time War to be an inspiration for the competition. Indeed, we’ve already received original and inventive entries with fresh characters, adversaries, locations, concepts and perspectives for a compelling short story. And we want to receive more!”  

The winning Doctor Who audiobook story will be produced and released by Big Finish as part of the annual Short Trips writing opportunity – which closes on 28 June. You can see the terms and conditions and the guidelines on the Big Finish website, so make sure you read and follow those if you plan to send in a new story submission.  

Previous winners are available to download for free here: 

• 2016: Forever Fallen by Joshua Wanisko (Seventh Doctor) 
• 2017: Landbound by Selim Ulug (Third Doctor) 
• 2018: The Last Day at Work by Harry Draper (Second Doctor) 
• 2019: The Best Laid Plans by Ben Tedds (Twelfth Doctor) 
• 2020: Free Speech by Eugenie Pusenjak (Tenth Doctor) 
• 2021: The Lichyrwick Abomination by Joe Vevers (Ninth Doctor) 
• 2022: The World Tree by Nick Slawicz (Eleventh Doctor) 
• 2023: The Hoxteth Time Capsule by Paul Davis (Sixth Doctor)