THE Six By Six project was, as its name suggests, supposed to be a contest in which there were only six winners.

But the competition to discover talented new York playwrights was so strong that the judges had to round the winners up to a lucky seven.

The magnificent seven - all previously unpublished authors - are aged from 14 to 54.

Two local theatre companies have already expressed an interest in putting on the plays, and the arts service is keen to hear from anyone else who may be interested in staging them, with money and advice available for potential directors.

Anyone interested should call Colin Jackson on 01904 556664.

Updated: 09:44 Friday, December 20, 2002