Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards Opens 2024 Call for Entries

The Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards have opened the 2024 call for entries for new writers based in the North of England.

Three winners will be selected to receive a £3,000 bursary, mentoring and a long-term placement with Bonafide Films (Mood, The Last Post), Rollem Productions (Love Lies & Records, Girlfriends) or Red Production Company (It’s a Sin, Happy Valley).

Red, a STUDIOCANAL company, joins the program in 2024. It was one of the inaugural production company partners when the awards launched in 2014.

Funded by Channel 4’s 4Skills, the awards are offered as part of the Northern Writers’ Awards, New Writing North’s flagship writers development program. Channel 4 has been a major partner in the awards since 2014.

Through this program, Channel 4 has supported the early careers of writers such as Sharma Walfall, Jayshree Patel, Taiba Ahmad, Adam Bennett-Lea, Joshua Halm, Kemi-Bo Jacobs and Samantha Neale.

In 2022, Channel 4 and the Northern Writers’ Awards formed the Channel 4 and New Writing North Talent Partnership, which offers a year-round program of activities and opportunities for new and emerging television writers in the North of England.

Applications are also open for emerging writers to join the new Channel 4 Northern Talent Network: Script Hubs in Newscastle, Bradford and online, where they will benefit from peer support and learn from television professionals.

Applications for the Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards and the Channel 4 Northern Talent Network: Script Hubs can be submitted until June 4.

“Our partnership with New Writing North provides wonderful opportunities to aspiring writers based in the North of England, talent which otherwise might go undiscovered,” said Kevin Blacoe, Channel 4’s head of 4Skills. “The awards align perfectly with the ambition of 4Skills to offer opportunities and nurture new, diverse writers, and I’d urge anyone who has a passion for writing to apply, as it could open the door to an amazing career.”

“The Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards offer a unique opportunity for three gifted emerging screenwriters in the North to work with outstanding production companies, benefit from mentoring and network with the screenwriting community,” commented Will Mackie, senior program manager (talent development) at New Writing North. “Our partnerships with Rollem and Bonafide have supported and nurtured multiple writers as they have developed original creative material and found opportunities to develop their careers. This year, we are incredibly excited to enhance our program even further through a fresh partnership with Red Production Company, whose work we have long admired. We’re grateful for the ongoing support of Channel 4 that allows us to sustain and grow this increasingly important program of work, which includes further support for talented writers through our Script Development Group, Scripts Hubs and the Northern Talent Network.”

Kate Adori, development executive at Bonafide Films, added, “Over the years Bonafide have partnered with the Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards, we’ve been consistently impressed by the wellspring of talented, brave and inventive writers that emerge. It’s more important than ever to provide avenues for writers from the North to break into the industry, and we’re very proud to be a part of this.”

Patrick Schweitzer, CEO of Red Production Company, commented, “We are delighted to be partnering with New Writing North on the Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards 2024. Red have a legacy of championing Northern voices and a huge passion for fostering diverse storytelling in television drama, so we are looking forward to working with an emerging writer to nurture their development and help cultivate the next generation of remarkable northern talent.”