Writersroom Blog

Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2011

Thursday 14 July 2011, 17:55

Today, BBC Radio Drama have launched our bi-annual Alfred Bradley Bursary Award. It is a fantastic and unique opportunity for Northern writers interested in writing for radio.

It seems to be harder than ever at the moment for writers to get their big break in any medium, be it radio, TV, film or theatre. As the Alfred Bradley Bursary Award has an open submissions process, it provides a real opportunity for bold and original writing to shine through, especially for those writers who perhaps haven't yet built up a writing CV, as every entry is judged on the merits of a single submitted script (in any format) and a separate, one page radio drama idea.

As the Producer for Radio Drama Development I will be running the award in partnership with the Writersroom, and alongside Jo Combes, New Writing Development Manager, we will blogging about any Award updates, as well as trying to answer any questions which crop up which are not covered in the FAQ.

To begin proceedings though, we thought you might be interested in hearing from Rachel Dixon, one of our judges this year and the daughter of Alfred Bradley, the distinguished BBC drama producer whose life and work the Award commemorates. Alfred Bradley joined the BBC in 1959 as a radio drama producer and went on to make an immeasurable contribution to the development of radio drama. His work was widely recognised as outstanding, especially as he set out to enhance the drama tradition of the North, broadcasting the work of the region's writers and actors to national audiences. Among the dramatists Alfred helped to launch during his career were Henry Livings, Alan Plater, Keith Waterhouse, Alan Ayckbourn and Stan Barstow.

Rachel Dixon
First and foremost, we would to thank for the BBC for their incredible support and belief in the bursary over the past 20 years. Dad absolutely loved the radio and he had a passion for storytelling. He loved all aspects of the creative process of producing plays - working closely with the writers, actors and technicians and everyone behind the scenes. He got enormous satisfaction when working with new talent and he had a very special way of encouraging and nurturing aspiring writers and actors.

This year is the 20th anniversary of my fathers' death and it is a huge testament to him that the bursary's reputation continues to grow from strength to strength. The bursary is an amazing legacy to my fathers' career, which the Bradley family are incredibly proud of. Thank you for taking part and we all hope that this years awards will discover another wonderful writer.

Further details about entering the Alfred Bradley Bursary Award, including entry requirements, FAQ, script examples and an entry form can be found here on the Writersroom website.

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Comment number 1.
joylud
18th July 2011 - 10:37

This looks like a terrific opportunity, but why is it that so many competitions are area specific? Living in the Midlands, I seem to be excluded from them all.

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Comment number 2.
Amanda
25th July 2011 - 17:27

There are plenty of area specific writing competitions knocking around - if not here then on many other screenwriting websites that run them on a regular basis. And, yes, this is a great opportunity but you've got to feel sorry for us poor northerners - we only get this one every two years!

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Comment number 3.
Jane
1st August 2011 - 15:17

Hello joylud, for a small fee you could rent my address, I live in Liverpool:-) Te he. Er.... only joking Writers Room.

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Comment number 4.
joylud
2nd August 2011 - 10:52

Ha ha thanks Jane, I like your style! : D

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Comment number 5.
MrsMaloprop
5th August 2011 - 19:50

This is well good for ‘northern’ writers whose careers have been bobbins so far. It’s like getting home from the chippy on a Friday night and finding the dippy girl’s wrapped TWO steak puddings up with your chips instead of one, alright she forgot the mushy peas but still quids in aren’t yer? I’m a northerner and I’ve been thinking about this even more than if Ashley Young is another shrewd investment by Fergie or another Juan Veron – only time will tell. Anyway, so, my advice to all northern writers thinking of entering The Alfred Bradley Biennial Bursary Award is wait until next years. By then you’ll have twelve months more writing under your belt and erm? I’ll have won it. There's method in the magners.

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