The Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trip Opportunity honours the memory of the much-loved colleague and friend at the heart of the Big Finish production office, who passed away suddenly on 08 May 2014.  

Big Finish is searching for an emerging talent to write a Doctor Who short story that will be released as an audiobook at Christmas – and this year, the topic is “The Thirteenth Doctor”.  

The competition runs for five weeks, starting today and closing in the middle of June. 

Commemorating Paul 

Big Finish’s Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs said: “This is always a lovely reminder of Paul, and the good times we shared with him. Having recently been in studio with Jodie and Mandip for our Thirteenth Doctor Adventures, witnessing their warmth and enthusiasm first hand, it occurs to me that matching this era with Paul’s positivity seems highly appropriate.” 

The Thirteenth Doctor 

Range producer Peter Anghelides said: “It’s a big year for Big Finish in 2025, with the launch of The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures. To complement those full-cast audios, we’re offering people the chance to write a short story that features the Thirteenth Doctor. 

“We want to read your proposal for a standalone Short Trip with a brand new idea that showcases her in a short story that we’ll publish at the end of this year. 

“We are not insisting that you must fit in with the events and continuity of Big Finish’s new stories. Your story will be inspired by the character of the Thirteenth Doctor as we saw her on TV. We want your proposal to wow us with its originality and inventiveness. So what fresh characters, adversaries, locations, concepts and perspectives can you devise for a compelling short story? 

“Before you enter the competition, please carefully read the 2025 guidelines below and the accompanying terms and conditions on the Big Finish website. They contain important information that explains eligibility, theme, word count, deadline, and how to submit your story idea. 

“We look forward to reading your entries. Good luck!” 

Helpful advice from previous winners 

Prospective entrants get a feeling for what a successful competition entry looks like by checking out the previous nine winners.  

Recordings of each are available on the Big Finish website as free downloads, along with the final script and the original winning submissions from each year.  

2025 Guidelines and Terms & Conditions  

The competition is to identify talent, enthusiasm, and ability to write to a specification – so everything you need to know is in these guidelines and the accompanying terms and conditions. Please note that no correspondence will be entered into, either during the entry period or afterwards, and the judges’ decision is final.  

Entry into this competition requires that you have read and accepted the full terms and conditions. By entering, you indicate that you have done so. 

SUBMISSION PROCESS:  

All entries must be submitted electronically to [email protected], either as a Word-compatible document or a PDF document, formatted as per these guidelines, and received by Big Finish before 23:59 (UK time) on Thursday 12 June 2025. 

YOUR EMAIL MESSAGE: 

• Include the entrant’s full name and a contact email address only in the body of your email.  
• Include your title (e.g. Attack of the Glurgs) in the Subject line. 
• Don’t include any details of your background or previous writing experience — your submission should speak for itself. 
• Attach your anonymised entry document to the email. 

THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT: 

• The document must consist of two parts in a single document: a one page synopsis that is no more than 500 words, and a one-page excerpt from your story of a further 500 words maximum (prose, not drama script). This is to give an indication of the writer’s ability and intentions for a 5,000-word story, which can change if the full story is commissioned. These word count limits for the synopsis and extract are a strict requirement this year. 
• Name the attached file only with your story title (e.g. Attack of the Glurgs.PDF) 
• Do NOT include personally identifying details in your document (for example, name or email address), or the entry will be disqualified. 

THEME AND CONTENT:  

Submissions should propose a short story featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and set at any time in the Doctor Who universe between The Woman Who Fell to Earth and The Power of the Doctor. 

THINGS YOU MAY DO:  

• You may use any of the Thirteenth Doctor’s regular companions (or none of them): Yaz Khan, Ryan Sinclair, Graham O’Brien and Dan Lewis.  
• Your story should feature the character of the Thirteenth Doctor as we saw her on TV. We want your proposal to wow us with its originality and inventiveness. So what fresh characters, adversaries, locations, concepts and perspectives can you devise for a compelling short story? 

THINGS TO AVOID:  

• Do NOT create a new companion for the Doctor, nor use other companions from TV or elsewhere.  
• Do NOT include other Doctors or Time Lords. 
• Do NOT include any established creatures (e.g. Voord, Zygons, Judoon, Stenza, etc.) or established characters (e.g. Mavic Chen, Harriet Jones, Jack Robinson, etc.) or established Doctor Who organisations (e.g. UNIT, Division, etc.).  
• Do NOT base any fictional characters on any real individual, living or dead; nor include any real individual, living or dead, as a character in your story. 

EXAMPLES:  

If you've never heard a Doctor Who Short Trips story before, we recommend that you listen to some examples, to get a sense of how they sound and what can be done in the format.  

Each of the previous winning stories is available as a free download. When you add them to your Big Finish account, you also unlock bonus content that includes downloads of the original winning submissions and the final studio scripts. 

• 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) 
• 2024: War Stories by Patrick Ross (Twelfth Doctor)