91Èȱ¬

There is a constant hunger for brilliant, original stories and storytellers at the 91Èȱ¬ and for that reason the team here at 91Èȱ¬ Writers are dedicated to finding, nurturing and uplifting writers at every stage of their careers. We endeavour to make 91Èȱ¬ Writers a home for writers where individuals can learn, share, experiment with their craft and take risks in a supportive environment. We’re unique in the industry in that we’re a dedicated team of 15 individuals based out of five 91Èȱ¬ hubs across the UK, solely committed to finding and championing writers. Our goal is to be an approachable open door to the 91Èȱ¬, and we strive to create a democratic, safe and inspiring space for writers. We want to encourage writers to feel empowered to tell the stories they want to tell and for their craft to be nurtured to its fullest potential.

91Èȱ¬ Writers is an integral part of the 91Èȱ¬ Drama Commissioning team and has a direct link to the many exciting opportunities this presents for writers. Our Drama Commissioning colleagues are committed to working with the broadest range of storytellers from backgrounds and experiences that represent modern life across the whole of the UK. And so, we work closely to introduce them to some of the most exciting emerging voices that we identify during the course of our work.

Our ambition within 91Èȱ¬ Writers is to:

• Discover new voices and writers 
• Represent the length and breadth of creative talent in the UK
• Nurture new and emerging writing talent
• Propel writers to the next stage of their career
• Help writers to tell stories that audiences want to see and hear

How we find and develop writers

First up it's important to stress that we're looking for writers, not projects. 91Èȱ¬ Writers does not commission or produce television projects, rather we seek out the most exciting and promising new voices who could be the original series creators of the future, and we support them to develop their writing craft skills, industry knowledge and contacts via a series of targeted programmes of professional development.

If you are interested in submitting a scripted television idea to the 91Èȱ¬ for further development, then you need first to have a production company attached who will send the project directly to the 91Èȱ¬ Drama Commissioning team for consideration.

We look for new writers in a number of different ways. Our team members across the UK regularly attend new writing events, plays, festivals and screenings of new work where we can meet writers and talk to them about their work and career aspirations. We also work closely with industry partners and colleagues to share information about promising new writing talent. However, the main way that we discover new voices is through our annual Open Call script submission window.

Each year we throw open the 91Èȱ¬ Writers doors and ask writers to send us a recent sample of their work. We ask writers to send us the script that they are most happy with at the time, and which is a strong showcase of their own original voice. This script could be written for the medium of TV, theatre, radio, film or online and should be an example of your best possible writing regardless of budget, location or any of the other normal considerations of production. We are excited to read your scripts to get a sense of your own unique voice and your potential in time to write for the 91Èȱ¬. Interesting new writers we identify via the annual Open Call may be invited to take part in our Scripted (formerly Drama Room) or Voices writer development groups.

Our writer development groups

For writers hoping to enrich their craft, voice and industry knowledge, we have five cornerstone writer support programmes:

Write Across

• Write Across is a short local 6–8-week programme aimed at identifying exciting and diverse new voices, those who are at the beginning of their writing journeys and helping to demystify the process of writing for television. 
• We will select up to 12 participants per Write Across group. 
• The programme will cover the fundamentals of writing for screen with introductions to key industry development documents and processes. We give writers the toolkit to transform their ideas into written work. 
• Participants will work towards identifying an original idea for a drama series and develop a pitch doc to help them articulate their ideas. 
• We will bring the programme to a different city or region each year and work locally with partners at the heart of the new writing scene in the chosen area to spread the word about the programme and drive applications.
• There have been two iterations of Write Across to date: Liverpool in 2022 and Birmingham and the Black Country in 2024.  Find out more in a blog post from one of the writers involved in Write Across Liverpool.

Voices

• Voices is a six-month programme for emerging writers who have a strong creative track record in aligned creative fields (theatre, film, comedy, spoken word etc) but are new to television writing. 
• We run six Voices groups annually across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Up to 12 writers per group (circa 70 writers across the whole of the UK each year) will be invited to take part in the six-month programme. 
• The programme offers an insight into how the television industry works with expert masterclasses, craft sessions, roundtables and discussions providing participants with the core tools and knowledge to write for broadcast television. 
• Writers will hear from industry guests such as professional screenwriters, producers, commissioners and agents, as well as connecting and developing professional relationships with writing peers amongst the group. 
• Participants will define and develop a new TV series outline as part of their time with us on Voices.
• Hear from a recent member of our Voices group in Wales over on our blog

Scripted (formerly Drama Room)

• Scripted is a one-year writer development programme for emerging writers who demonstrate a distinctive, original voice and an understanding of the fundamentals of writing for TV but who do not have a professional television credit. 
• There are normally 12 writers on the Scripted programme from across the whole of the UK.
• Participants will usually meet once a month (via a blend of in-person events and online) to receive targeted training and development including craft workshops with practical writing exercises, masterclasses, industry introductions and networking events.
• Writers will get the chance to pitch for select writing opportunities across the 91Èȱ¬ such as radio shorts, shadow writing schemes with 91Èȱ¬ Children’s and Continuing Drama Series.
• Participants will receive the support of a professional Script Editor to develop an original spec script.
• The overall aim of Scripted is to develop and prepare writers for the television drama industry by equipping them with the core skills, industry knowledge and connections to set them on the right track to gain 91Èȱ¬ broadcast commissions. 
• Find out more from one of the most recent Scripted graduates

Writers’ Access Group

• The Writers' Access Group is an 18-month programme for writers identifying as deaf, disabled and/or neuro-divergent. 
• There are normally 10 writers on the Writers’ Access Group from across the whole of the UK. 
• The programme design and experience level of the participating writers is equivalent to our Scripted group. 
• The programme has an emphasis on developing craft and industry knowledge but also creating real opportunities for the participating writers to gain professional experience across the 91Èȱ¬. 
• All writers leave with a new spec script after working with a script editor.

Pilot (formerly TV Drama Writers’ Programme)

• Pilot is a year-long programme for emerging writers with a strong creative track record: a professional writing credit on TV/radio/film/theatre and/or agent representation.
• Ten writers are partnered with an established independent production company to identify a fresh new idea and develop the pilot episode.
• This is our prestige, flagship programme where the writers are paid a script fee to develop their work and are also supported by a wrap-around professional development programme and mentoring.
• All participating writers also receive six months of professional mentoring from an established screenwriter.
• Read this blog from a Pilot alum on how the programme helped their development as a writer.

Through our writer development groups we can work with between 120 – 150 writers each year across the whole of the UK.

We hope that there is a programme of writer development support available for all emerging writers regardless of what level or stage they’re at in their career. Many of the writers we work with take part in a number of our different groups as they progress in their careers and gain experience. This sort of career development can take several years, and the most successful emerging writers show a real dedication and investment in honing their craft and creating new work.

If you would like to find out more about any of our writer development groups, the writers who take part and the other year-round events, initiatives and partnerships we run, then do check out our latest Annual Report.

How do you apply?

All writers are selected to take part in our groups via open selection processes.

For Scripted and Voices this is via the regular annual Open Call script submission window which we run towards the end of each year. The next Open Call window is open between Tuesday 5th November – Tuesday 3rd December 2024 (at noon). 

Find out all about 91Èȱ¬ Writers Open Call script submission window

Pilot, Writers’ Access Group and Write Across all have their own dedicated application call-out windows so keep an eye out for those on our website and social media channels.

The next Writers’ Access Group application window will be announced in Autumn/Winter 2025. 

The next Write Across location will be announced in Autumn 2025.

Where can you get more help and support?

There are so many exciting new writers out there, we know because as a team we read at least 7,000 scripts each year! Incredibly the standard of writing increases year on year, however, we can’t work directly with every writer we read, as much as we might want to. For this reason, we constantly develop new free-to-access content on our website and social media channels: we have an extensive Script Library where we regularly post the scripts of recently aired 91Èȱ¬ Drama titles, we produce the Be Inspired video interview series in addition to various scriptwriting tips and tools in the Resources area of the website.

Our lively blog shares writing knowledge, info, opinion and personal editorial pieces, as well as 91Èȱ¬ Writersroom news including updates from our writing groups and information about the writers we’ve been working with. We also highlight new 91Èȱ¬ drama launches and the people who have worked on them.

Our website also lists free-to-enter opportunities from the 91Èȱ¬ and across the industry. It is constantly being updated with new writing opportunities so keep checking back.

We are active on , , and so do please follow us there. You can also meet us out in the real world as we regularly attend festivals, plays, showcases, short film screenings and industry events to meet writers and make people aware of the opportunities available via 91Èȱ¬ Writers.

We are fortunate that so many brilliant, inspiring and incredibly generous professionals offer up their knowledge and experience to 91Èȱ¬ Writers by contributing to sessions within our writers’ groups, taking part in webinars, video interviews or contributing blog posts and we couldn’t do our work without their input.

Personally, I consider it a real privilege to be able to dedicate my time to finding and supporting emerging writers as they navigate this inspiring but often opaque and frustrating industry. It is our role to demystify and arm writers with the skills and knowledge they need to make strides in the screen industries.

Writers are innovators and change-makers, and the writers who engage with us today at 91Èȱ¬ Writers will hopefully go on to share new perspectives and pioneer original modes of storytelling for future audiences. What could be more exciting than that?!