CUMBRIA-based authors and poets are once again being invited to submit works for a chance to win an esteemed northern writers award.

The 2005 Northern Rock Foundation Writers Award is worth £60,000 over three years and aims to give established writers the chance to be liberated from other work commitments that may limit their writing time.

The annual award for published writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, biography and writers of literature for children and young people, received its official launch this month.

Now in its fourth year, the award, which was hailed as a brave and exciting new initiative' by Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, aims to support writers based in the North East of England and Cumbria over a substantial length of time rather than giving recognition to just one book respectively.

Judging will take place at an awards ceremony in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in March, and writers have until the end of January to submit their entries.

Fiona Ellis, director of Northern Rock Foundation, said: "Each year, an incredibly strong body of work is submitted that represents the very best talent of the North East and Cumbria. We are looking forward to celebrating the success of our fourth winner in 2005."

For details of how to enter the award, visit www.nr-foundationwriters.com