"Is It Fixed?"
...I hear some of you ask. "Don't you just give places to writers you know anyway?"
It's true we do know many of the writers who make it on to the course. But that's because me and the team spend the rest of the year reading work and meeting writers. It's our job to know as many writers as possible. We read submissions from agents, go to the theatre, speak at courses, attend readings, talk to other parts of the BBC, get scripts sent from the Writersroom - all year round. I have - oh - fifteen scripts from writers who's work I've never read on my desk at this precise moment.
However, the joy of the Writers Academy application process is that total unknowns (to us) make it through. I've had a look at this year's short list to give you an idea.
28 writers were shortlisted for the workshops. Of those...
Six were writers who's work we hadn't come across at all
Six had applied in previous years (one of those had got through to the interview stage and one had been shortlisted in previous years)
Six were writers whose work we knew because their agents had sent it to us
Five were writers whose work had been sent to us by the Writersroom
One was a writer I met on a Writersroom course
Two were theatre writers who we'd met after seeing their work
One was recommended to us by Radio Drama
One was recommended to me by a Script Editor
Kulvinder Gill, one of the shortlisted writers in our recent CBBC Competition has helpfully written up his notes from the CBBC masterclass and posted them on the web.
You can read his account of the day on Michelle Lipton's blog.
Just a quick poke to say that we've announced some new roadshows on our roadshow page.
As ever, there'll be the chance to find out how we process the scripts we receive, as well as talking about what we're looking for and giving you the chance to hand in your script directly to us on the way out.
The dates are as follows:
Tuesday September 1 2009 - Glasgow
Wednesday 14 October 2009 - Dundee
EDIT: We're sorry, but the Inverness event has been cancelled due to a lack of demand. All other roadshows are still scheduled to go ahead as planned.
As the Scotland Writes competition inches closer to its deadline, we'll also be inviting people to the roadshows to talk about that, and other opportunities for Scottish writers.
Denis McGrath is in the middle of a series of posts on his blog about the system of writing in the US and Canada.
He's following the scripting process on an ongoing television series from beginning to end, looking at the various drafts and documents you turn in, and who they go to. Why you shouldn't put dialogue in your treatments. And at which points in the process you can get away with putting in a bit of handwavium.
First part
Second part
Third part
Fourth part
More to come, so stay tuned to his blog.
There's a new opportunity from us (along with several screen agencies) for writers in the North of England.
The short of it: If you've had a script commissioned or a professional reading of your work, and you live in the North of England, you're eligible. They want to see a sample of your work, and a pitch for the TV Drama you'd like to develop. Successful applicants then get a mentor, a small bursary, and the time to develop their idea into a full script over several drafts.
Find more details here.
