Opportunities
Explore new writing opportunities and events from the BBC and across the industry.Script Room
Script Room is our main open submission opportunity for all writers aged 16 and over and resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
Script Room is normally open twice a year, once for Drama script submissions and once for Comedy script submissions. When the Script Room is open then submission details will be published in the Current Opportunities listing below.
How and When to Send us a ScriptFind out full details of our Script Room, including Terms & Conditions, FAQs and what we do and do not accept. Script Room is currently closed.
Current Opportunities from BBC Writersroom and across the BBC
BBC Comedy Commissioning - Galton & Simpson Bursary for Comedy WritingDeadline: Friday 5th June 2020
BBC Comedy Commissioning is delighted to announce the Galton & Simpson Bursary for Comedy Writing. Aimed at writers and writing partnerships, the bursary will award £5,500 to develop a script for broadcast consideration under the guidance of established industry practitioners and BBC Comedy Commissioning.
Non-BBC Opportunities
AktualiseDeadline: 2nd June 2020
Aktualise is excited to be taking its biannual scratch night online: cue CYBER-SCRATCH. They want to hear from you: they are looking for short 3-5 minute pieces of any genre – new plays, dance, musicals, physical theatre, spoken word, cabaret, composition, interactive art, you name it.
An Introduction to Screenwriting - Free online courseA free online course for new and experienced writers built by the University of East Anglia’s School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing on the FutureLearn platform.
Bitter Pill Theatre - The Painkiller ProjectDeadline: Fortnightly submission windows
The Painkiller Project is a fortnightly playwriting competition from Bitter Pill Theatre with a small £150 prize for each winning play.
Bread and Roses Theatre - The PlatformDeadline: Monday 25th May 2020 at 6pm
The Bread & Roses Theatre (Clapham, South London) is looking for 5 pieces of new writing for their next in-house page to stage new writing night The Platform.
British Comedy Guide - BCG Pro Video ContestDeadline: Quarterly submission windows with monthly winners
Each month, a panel of judges will select a sketch, which will be awarded £100 and shared with over 150,000 comedy fans via British Comedy Guide's social media platforms.
Carnon Downs Drama Group - One Act Play CompetitionDeadline: 5th June 2020
Carnon Downs Drama Group is looking for new script writers to enter their one act play competition as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations! The winning play will be performed by their fantastic cast in Truro, Cornwall from 1st to 3rd and on 10th October and the writer will win £100.
Chesil Theatre - TakeTen Playwriting CompetitionDeadline: 18th July 2020
Chesil Theatre are looking for short plays of no more than 10 minutes in length on the theme of THE ROAD NOT TAKEN for the Chesil Theatre’s TakeTen fesitval. Ten selected plays will be performed at The Chesil Theatre Winchester in February 2021.
Director's Cut - LockDown OpenUpDeadline: Ongoing during Lockdown
Director's Cut are opening up for storytellers to open up to them, and share with them anything inspired by their lockdown experience.
Finborough Theatre - ETPEP Award (Experienced Theatre Practitioners Early Playwriting Trust Award)Deadline: 30th June 2020
The ETPEP Award 2020 is a playwriting prize for new UK playwrights who work in the theatre industry, run by the Finborough Theatre in association with the Experienced Theatre Practitioners Early Playwriting Trust (ETPEP).
Glasgow Caledonian University - MA TV in Fiction WritingDeadline: 30th July 2020 at midnight
There are five scholarships available to study a Masters for FREE at Glasgow Caledonian University sponsored by industry partners including BBC Scotland.
Hive North - OutStageUsDeadline: Monday 15th June 2020
OutStageUs is an annual LGBT+ new writing event run by Manchester based Hive North. Each year up to eight short plays, scenes or monologues are selected to be developed and brought to production at The Lowry, Salford.
The John Byrne AwardDeadline: Various
Deadlines: Monthly on the last day of each month for £250 prize, 31st January 2020 for annual £7500 prize. The John Byrne Award is an online exhibition and competition exploring personal and societal values. A single piece of creative work (any kind is accepted - Audio, Video, Imagery, Writing) can be entered. You must be living or studying in Scotland.
JustOut Theatre - Radio Plays OpportunityDeadline: monthly at the end of the month
Regular scratch night moved online due to Covid-19… From June 3rd onwards, they will be releasing weekly Radio Plays as JustOut Stays In
Live Theatre - Script SubmissionsDeadline: 31st May 2020
Live Theatre is a home for new plays, and they want to read your script. They are interested in bold, diverse and contemporary new plays. They tell stories about the world we live in and often, but not limited to, their home region of the North East.
Lonely Penguin Productions - Scratch NightDeadline: 26th August 2020
Submissions are now open for Lonely Penguin's very first scratch night. This is an unpaid opportunity for writers and performers to share their new material to an audience of fellow creatives on Saturday 26th September
Manchester Performing Arts Group - Script SubmissionsDeadline: 30th June 2020
The Manchester Performing Arts Group are currently looking for stage plays and musicals ready for a rehearsed reading.
Middle ChildDeadline: 1st June 2020
Middle Child in Hull are once again inviting script submissions as they look to form relationships with new writers over the next few years.
New Creatives North - BBC New Creatives, Arts Council England & Tyneside CinemaDeadline: 7th June 2020 (Film and Audio)
BBC New Creatives is an exciting talent development scheme offering commissioning opportunities for emerging creatives to make new artistic works in film, audio or interactive media, designed for BBC channels and platforms.
Northern Ireland Screen - New Writers FocusDeadline: 28th May 2020
Northern Ireland Screen is seeking feature film scripts to develops for its New Writer Focus scheme 2020-21.
Outside Edge Theatre Company - The Phil Fox AwardDeadline: 16th June 2020
The Phil Fox Award for Playwriting invites playwrights with any level of experience from across the UK to submit full-length scripts about issues related to addiction.
Owdyado Theatre - 5 Minute Scriptwriting OpportunityDeadline: 22nd May 2020 at midnight
Owdyado Theatre in Cornwall are running a writing competition for original short scripts up to 5 minutes in length that can be made into radio plays.
Reflex TheatreDeadline: Wednesday 17th June 2020 at midnight
Reflex Theatre in Norwich are taking their Short Form Scratch Night online! They are looking for writers to send in the first page and last page of their script plus a synopsis and the Reflex Theatre ensemble will improvise the gaps.
Script6 - This Covid Life Deadline: 1st June 2020
Script6 and Nicholas McInerny are looking for five 10-minute scripts about life during the Covid-19 pandemic with the aim of identifying a producer to develop them for television broadcast.
Slackline Productions - Slackline CyberstoriesDeadline: Weekly deadlines every Wednesday
Slackline Productions is looking for submissions again… This time, they’re seeking your best monologues or two-handers to record, then feature on their YouTube channel.
Sohaya Visions and Mukul and Ghetto Tigers - RAFTA Scriptwriting CompetitionDeadline: 1st November 2020
Theatre companies Sohaya Visions and Mukul and Ghetto Tigers are looking for scripts that promote tolerance and understanding in imaginative ways for their RAFTA award (Rise Against Fanaticism Through the Arts).
Sphinx Theatre - Sphinx 30Deadline: 15th June 2020
As stage one of Sphinx Theatre’s 30th anniversary programme Sphinx 30, Sphinx is pleased to be able to offer ten £1000 seed commissions to emerging or mid-career female playwrights based in the UK via an open call.
Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust - Pitch Your Play 2020Deadline: 29th May 2020
The Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust’s Pitch Your Play scheme returns, inviting you to pitch a new play to a panel of industry professionals.
University of Southampton - Green StoriesDeadline: Various deadlines
Green Stories Writing Competitions are a free set of competitions with prizes, open to all. Writers are asked to write stories that present positive visions of what a sustainable society might look like, or integrate green characters, policies, solutions etc. in the backdrop of an otherwise mainstream story. Upcoming deadlines are: QuiBi-style short episodes (4th June), Adult Novel (2nd July), Children's stories (14th September).
WriteNow: An Initiative for New WritersDeadline (extended): 31st May 2020
WriteNow is publisher Penguin’s programme to find, nurture and publish writers and illustrators from communities under-represented on the UK’s bookshelves.
Do you have an Opportunity that you would like us to include on this page?
Please visit our Opportunities Listing Requests page for full details of the information we require and how to get in touch.
Our remit is scriptwriting so in general we can't promote opportunities or events from organisations outside the BBC which are for novel writing, short stories, poetry etc.
We can only promote opportunities and events which are free for writers to enter or attend and don't ask for payment from writers at any stage.