Survival of the Wittiest

Now here's a reality show I'd watch:

Italian television has created a new show that requires budding writers to create fiction, in front of cameras, if they would like to score a publishing deal:

During the shooting of an episode last month, the expert panel — the novelists Andrea De Carlo, Giancarlo De Cataldo and Taiye Selasi — sat behind a desk while makeup artists darted about blotting foreheads and touching up lipstick. Facing the judges, four contestants perched behind their keyboards, with every typed word projected on screens for all to see, as a timer above their heads counted down and cameras swooped in for close-ups.