The Third Coast Festival also runs a shortform audio competition called Radio Ephemera.
http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/shortdocs_2008_archive_about_RE.asp

Entries can be documentary or fiction, or a hybrid of the two. And there seems to be a trip to Chicago for the winners...

The Third Coast Festival (www.thirdcoastfestival.org/) is held annually in Chicago to celebrate and showcase all forms of audio work.

They've commissioned five short "phone plays" which are well worth a listen at http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/audio_library.asp

More info on the plays:
WAIT FOR THE BEEP
A collaboration with Steppenwolf Theatre to create a
series of mysterious "phone plays"

Imagine this scenario: A cell phone rings and the owner is no where in sight...
so you pick it up. You see that there are unheard messages and, driven by curiosity,

Sparks is the name for a BBC Radio Drama writers initiative which takes place every year (run by the BBC Writers room www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom and the Radio Drama Department). Up to ten writers are nominated by radio drama producers across the UK, and they come together for a 2-day workshop. This time, because the audiotheque was up and running we decided that it would be interesting to get the writers to work in groups of 3, and to give them a Marantz recorder and a mic and ask them to write and record three short audio pieces in the course of a three-hour session.