WRITERS in the region are being given the chance to win £60,000 in the UK's largest literary competition.

The search is on for the winner of the annual Northern Rock Foundation Writer's Award, which has previously been won by the late Julia Darling, poet Gillian Allnutt and writer Anne Stevenson.

The award is worth £60,000 over three years, and allows a North-East writer the freedom to work without having to worry about money or work commitments.

To launch the competition, organisers have designed a calendar featuring 12 people from across the region telling how they would make use of three years of free time.

Fiona Ellis, director of the Northern Rock Foundation, said: "Our award is hard-won as there are some brilliant writers living and working in the North-East.

"Our aim is to encourage the highest literary standards, and the international reputation of our previous winners is testimony to the rigours of the judging process."

The award is unlike many literary competitions, because it supports a writer's work for three years rather than giving recognition for a book already in print.

Claire Malcolm, director of New Writing North, which manages the award for the Northern Rock Foundation, said the award was important, not only because it was the largest in the UK, but because it gave three years of freedom in which to write. She said: "The number and quality of entries in previous years has been extremely high, and we anticipate an even bigger response this year."

The judging panel will include award-winning poet Don Paterson, novelist Maggie Gee and author and critic DJ Taylor.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in March at the Baltic arts centre, in Gateshead.

Deadline for entries for the award is January 30. To enter, call Ms Malcolm on 0191 488 8580 or go to www.nr-found ationwriters.com