Channel 4 seeks new writers from the North of England

20 December 2016

 

Channel 4 is on the look-out for writing talent from the North of England and offering three aspiring writers the chance to learn how to write for television.

The scheme is open to writers who are new to television and the three winners will be placed with independent production companies Lime Pictures and Bonafide Films where they will undergo mentoring and develop their writing skills.

Channel 4 has teamed up with writing development agency New Writing North and Northumbria University to offer the opportunities as part of the Northern Writers’ Awards, which are open for entries until 2 February 2017.

Judges of the Channel 4/Northumbria University Writing for Television Awards are looking for northern writers and entries are particularly encouraged from writers who are currently under-represented in the industry, including Black, Asian and minority ethnic, LGBT+ and disabled writers.

The three winning writers will each receive bursaries of £3,000 to support their time at Lime Pictures or Bonafide Films and a bespoke nine-month package of training and development from staff at the independent production companies.

Two writers will work on Lime Pictures’ award-winning serial Hollyoaks. There they will shadow the process of script development, from first draft to broadcast script. At the end of the development period they may have the opportunity to undertake a paid commission for an episode of the serial drama.

The third writer will spend nine months being mentored by Bonafide Films, which is currently in production on The Last Post, a drama serial written by BAFTA winner Peter Moffat, for BBC One. The writer will develop a new idea for a television drama and at the end of the process their first episode may be commissioned.

The Northern Writers’ Awards are the annual writing development programme run by New Writing North, which has supported more than 200 writers since 2000. The first recipients of the Channel 4/Northumbria University Writing for Television Awards were announced in June 2015. Both winners, Sharma Walfall and Nuzhat Ali, have recently been commissioned by Lime Pictures and RED Production Company, where they spent their placements.

Lee Mason, Commissioning Executive, Drama, Channel 4 Television said: “Channel 4 has a great track record in seeking out and nurturing new talent and launching the careers of some of our industry’s most talented and creative people which is why we continue to support the Northern Writers Awards. I’m delighted that Northumbria University, New Writing North, Lime Pictures and Bonafide Films are so committed to providing this amazing development opportunity.”

Emily Gascoyne, Series Producer, Hollyoaks, Lime Pictures said: “We are delighted to be running this programme for the third consecutive year. For people with little or no experience of the TV industry this is a great opportunity to get a foot in the door. We have had fantastic candidates in the past few years who have benefitted greatly from the experience.”

Elwen Rowlands, Creative Director, Bonafide Films said: “As well as working with Britain’s foremost writers we pride ourselves on nurturing emerging talent. We’re delighted to be partnering with Channel 4 and New Writing North to find authentic new voices.”

Dr Heather Robson, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Strategic Planning and Engagement (Arts Design and Social Sciences), said: “Northumbria is delighted to see the Northern Writers’ Awards enter their 17th year. These excellent awards for new and emerging writers are at the heart of Northumbria’s partnership with New Writing North and demonstrate our continued investment in celebrating and supporting creative talent in the region.”

Heather added: “Every year, the University’s partnership with New Writing North grows stronger as we develop new and innovative collaborations for our students, staff and the wider cultural community. This allows us to share knowledge, drive research and provide a wide range of specialist creative opportunities.”

Writers based in the North of England have until Thursday 2 February 2017 to enter the awards. Entrants should be new to television writing, but may be published or produced in another form. Enter online at www.northernwritersawards.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

• Channel 4 is a publicly-owned, commercially-funded, not-for-profit public service broadcaster and has a remit to be innovative, experimental and distinctive. Its public ownership and not-for-profit status ensure all profit generated by its commercial activity is directly reinvested back into the delivery of its public service remit. As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is also required to commission UK content from the independent production sector and currently works with around 400 creative companies across the UK every year. In addition to the main Channel 4 service, its portfolio includes: E4, More4, Film4, 4Music, 4seven, channel4.com, and digital service All 4.

 

• Lime Pictures is the home of the UK’s most talked about television – from cutting-edge formats to multi award winning, long-running drama. Lime is at the forefront of today’s popular culture – both as a content creator and the producer of TV shows that stand the test of time. Lime produces world class, cutting edge content.  From the very first steps in development through to full scale production, we deliver the very best in UK TV programming along with the very latest in digital content, allied social media and ground breaking commercial partnerships. With a stable of quality writers and exciting directing talent, Lime has gained a reputation as a first class production house. The company works with big talent to deliver distinctive, ground-breaking projects. Already responsible for defining the genre of Reality Drama with multi-award winning shows like The Only Way is Essex (ITVBe), Geordie Shore (MTV) and Educating Joey Essex (ITV2) Lime is constantly working on new ideas that will push the boundaries of Childrens (recent credits include Disney’s Evermoor, Rocket’s Island for CBBC and House of Anubis for Nickelodeon), Drama including 2014’s Best British Soap Hollyoaks (C4) and Entertainment production.

 

• Bonafide Films is a dynamic and rapidly growing TV drama and film production company. Bonafide’s focus is simply to work with the best talent and find the strongest ideas, bringing brilliant drama to screens big and small. They pride themselves on working closely with Britain’s foremost writers alongside nurturing emerging talent. In 2014 Bonafide Films was selected as part of Creative England’s top 50 most inventive and creative companies. They are currently in production on BBC One’s The Last Post, a Peter Moffat drama series that tells the story of a regiment of military police and their families stationed in the Middle East during the 1960’s Aden Emergency. Bonafide Films’ previous projects include crime serial Talking to the Dead, written by Emmy Award-winning writer Gwyneth Hughes; Nosferatu in Love, written and directed by BAFTA-winning writer Peter Straughan.

 

• New Writing North is the writing development agency for the north of England, and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation www.newwritingnorth.com. The Northern Writers’ Awards are its central platform for discovering and developing new writers from across the region, and were founded in 2000. More information about the Northern Writers’ Awards is available at www.northernwritersawards.com. New Writing North works with writers to develop career opportunities, new commissions, projects, residencies, publications and live events.

 

• Northumbria University, Newcastle is a research-rich, business-focused, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence.Northumbria is one of the largest universities in the UK with almost 34,000 students from 131 countries.  The University has over 186,000 alumni worldwide. Northumbria has invested more than £200 million in our estate since 2005 to improve the student experience. Northumbria is ranked top 50 in the UK for research power and had the 4th largest increase in quality research funding (REF 2014). According to Times Higher Education, Northumbria had the biggest rise in research power of any university in the UK. Northumbria is ranked 3rd in the UK for international student satisfaction in the International Student Barometer survey 2015, a rise of 26 places on the previous year. Northumbria University’s cultural partners include New Writing North, Live Theatre, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Tyneside Cinema and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.