It’s been an incredible journey so far and I urge people to apply to these schemes as I never thought I’d win and it really has allowed me the proper time and support to develop my career.
From the Alfred Bradley Bursary which was first awarded in 1992 through to the latest Kay Mellor Fellowship which was announced in January 2024, awards and bursaries have always been a key element in the work of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers in finding and developing new talent.
Earlier awards and bursaries included Trish Cooke as writer in residence at Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ North in 2002, the Northern Exposure comedy competition in 2002 (won by Karen Laws), the six in 2002 (part of Northern Exposure), Tony Burgess as comedy writer in residence at Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Manchester in 2004, Rommi Smith on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Africa season in 2005, placements for writers in Radio Drama and on the Asian Network soap Silver Street (including Aisha Khan in 2007) and the bursaries in 2010. Caroline Horton was our first Birmingham Writer in Residence in 2016.
Find out more about Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers' Awards and Bursaries
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Alfred Bradley Bursary Award
A Β£5,000 writing bursary for Northern writers new to radio which kick-started the writing careers of the likes of Lee Hall and Peter Straughan. Find out the latest news and about previous winners, plus advice on writing for Radio. -
Caroline Aherne Bursary
Designed to find, develop and support great new comedy talent, the bursary was named in honour of the late award-winning comedy writer and performer Caroline Aherne. Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Comedy Commissioning, in partnership with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ North, launched the bursary scheme in 2017, calling applicants to submit filmed content of comedy characters. From 2023 the Caroline Aherne Bursary is part of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Comedy Collective run by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Comedy Commissioning. -
Element Pictures NI Writers Award
Element Pictures (Normal People, The Favourite) and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers Northern Ireland joined forces over Summer 2021 to find the next generation of television writers with bold and original stories to tell. -
Felix Dexter Bursary
The Felix Dexter Bursary from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Comedy was launched in partnership with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers in 2018. It is designed to find writers with a fresh, unique point of view and the potential to help shape the future of comedy, whether in the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ or elsewhere in the industry. It aims to make a positive intervention to address an under-representation of BAME professionals in comedy production in broadcasting. From 2023 the Felix Dexter Bursary is part of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Comedy Collective run by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Comedy Commissioning. -
The Frank Deasy Award
A 2013 scheme in conjunction with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Scotland Drama and Creative Scotland, designed to inspire, develop and celebrate writing talent in Scotland. -
Future Talent Award 2011/12
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers Future Talent Award ran in 2011 and 2012 as a development opportunity for student/recent graduate drama writers. The winners were given development opportunities and mentoring within the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, including taking part in the Headspace Writer in Residence scheme. -
Future Talent Award 2014
The Future Talent Award returned in 2014 as a West-Midlands based opportunity looking for a produced pilot episode of a potential web-series. -
Hartswood West Award
Hartswood West, ScreenSkills and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers Wales joined forces in 2018 to find two up-and-coming TV writers with a strong connection to Wales. Part-funded by the ScreenSkills High-end TV Fund, the two winning writers received a six-month bursary to develop original drama ideas and present their work to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Additionally, they benefitted from expert advice and guidance from established Welsh screenwriters Russell T Davies and Cath Tregenna. -
The Kay Mellor Fellowship
The Fellowship was created in partnership with the award-winning Leeds writer Kay Mellor in 2019 and was first awarded to Bradford writer Kat Rose Martin in 2020. It continues in memory of Kay, who passed away in 2022, with a new three year investment from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, Leeds City Council, Rollem Productions and Leeds Playhouse. The second Kay Mellor Fellowship was awarded to Bradford writer Kirsty Taylor in January 2024. -
Kudos North Award
The award, run in conjunction with the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers, was launched in October 2017 to identify and nurture emerging northern voices. The judges were overwhelmed by the standard of entries, so much so that 3, rather than the originally stipulated 2, winners were selected. The 3 winners each received a Β£2000 prize to option their idea and bring it into development with Kudos North (the Manchester based production arm of Kudos) under the mentorship of acclaimed northern writers Danny Brocklehurst and Stephen Butchard. -
Mammoth Screen NI Writers Award 2021
The award was run by Mammoth Screen in partnership with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Drama Commissioning to search for the most exciting writers with a strong connection to Northern Ireland to develop bold, original drama and comedy-drama television series for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ network broadcast. Find out who reached the shortlist and the winner. -
Popcorn Award
From 2022 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers has joined up with the Popcorn Award which champions brave and imaginative writing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that is best adaptable to the screen. The award offers a prize fund of Β£6,000 directly to the winner and finalists. The longlisted writers have the opportunity to meet with members of Popcorn Group and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers and the Drama Commissioning team to talk about their work and career, with the potential to be invited onto one of our regular programmes of writer development support. -
Screenplay First
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Film and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers ran the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Screenplay First Award in 2015/16, an award which was launched in line with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Films’ 25th Anniversary celebrations. -
The Space Prize
A Β£20k award created by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers and The Space in 2014 to recognise innovation and explore the concept of original digital theatre. -
Tony Doyle Award
A writer-in-residence scheme with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Northern Ireland for Irish writers who are passionate about pursuing a career in television. The Tony Doyle Award ran from 2001 to 2014. -
The Trans Comedy Award
In November 2012 Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers in partnership with Trans Comedy launched the Trans Comedy Award at the Creative Diversity Network Awards. It eventually led to 'Boy Meets Girl, which was commissioned as a full series on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two for broadcast beginning in September 2015. -
Wales Drama Award
The biennial Wales Drama Award ran in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and was both a celebration of writers in Wales and an open call to Welsh talent, whether emerging or established. -
Wales Writer in Residence
The Wales Writer in Residence was created in 2019 to develop and support Welsh writing talent. It was a partnership between Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writers, National Theatre Wales and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Cymru Wales. -
World Productions Wales Writers' Award 2021
Find out which which two writers have won the World Productions Wales award, created in 2021 to mark the opening of World Productions offices in Wales, for writers with a strong connection to Wales. -
The Writers' Prize
An innovative and prestigious new writing award for Radio Drama which resulted in several commissions for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4. The Writers' Prize ran in 2013 and 2014. -
Zodiak Kids Writers' Award
This 2019 scheme with Zodiak Kids in Northern Ireland led to two shows being developed and pitched to CΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ during lockdown plus other development opportunities.