Entries Open for Amused Moose Laughter Awards 2013; Deadline Aug 4

£5000 could be yours if you and your Edinburgh Fringe show win Amused Moose Laughter Awards 2013, which is the senior strand of Amused Moose Comedy Awards. Whether you win or not, you can be certain that your show will be watched by more people who could make things happen for you, than would otherwise be the case.

Winning this award provides a great career boost, as both Tony Law who won the shiny moose trophy and cheque in 2011 and Marcel Lucont who won in 2012, willingly confirm - both have got television exposure on the back of it. It has a great reputation amongst comedy cognoscenti for unearthing comedy talent which is 'almost dvd ready' which otherwise might not have been noticed. Importantly, voting at the Final includes votes from Fringe-goers in the audience and a host of industry guests, plus the judging panel - so how your show appeals to the paying public comes into play too.

How it works:

Initially your show is viewed online by comedy industry people, not just in the UK but worldwide, so your show is getting seen by lots of people who can make things happen wherever they are if they like what they see. These industry panellists (mostly producers, artistic directors, reviewers and promoters) are keen to watch online because most shows are entered before the Fringe even starts, so they get ahead of the game.

Therefore to enter you need to film your show - we recommend filming a preview in June or early/midJuly. Filming doesn't need to be at a professional standard, though being able to be seen and heard are both pretty important (though one radio producer on the panel for the last two years watches the first couple of minutes, and then just listens unless it's clear that something visual has just happened in which case she winds back to find out what that was).

The entry details include information about how upload your filming if you don't know how. All details are on www.amusedmoose.com/awards which includes the link to the entry form too.

We're a week or so late with this announcement this year, but were waiting on confirmation of the dates of our Amused Moose Comedy Awards showcases at Soho Theatre on 1, 2 and 3 October. These feature the winner and two runners up, and sometimes one other from the 'Top Ten' finalists, so it was important to wait so that could be included here. London-based comedy industry people are invited en masse. and many do attend who weren't able to see your show in Edinburgh for some reason.

There are a couple of key entry criteria which are worth mentioning now. To be eligible:

• shows must run on at least 18 dates during the Edinburgh Fringe and be listed on the edfringe.com website;
• no-one in the show can have any contract, deal or support of any kind from any dvd (or similar) producer/publisher

That's probably enough information, so we'll just look forward to receiving your entries. Those close at 23.59 on Sunday 4 August.

We're so looking forward to discover this year's breakthrough comedians and their Fringe shows. Bon chance, as Marcel would say (who incidentally hosts the Final, on the afternoon of Sunday 18 August),

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