Call for drama scripts

Bafta Rocliffe New Writing Forum

What seems like many moons ago now, I submitted one of my scripts to what was the Rocliffe Forum, a group of scriptwriting professionals who chose three of the best received and showcased them above a pub at the Angel, Islington in London.

I was lucky to be chosen as one of the three and the advice from the room and the joy of hearing the lines in the hands of professionals and receiving their feedback was so invaluable, that the play was eventually improved and recorded. Although 'A Bench in the Park' languished for a year being mislaid and re-mislaid at the BBC, before reaching the top of the pecking order, where it received a swifter rejection than its original trajectory had been, it was never returned. Hosiprog Productions and the Essex Players picked it up and recorded it for hospital radios in the UK and the USA.

Submissions

Since then, Rocliffe has become the Bafta Rocliffe New Writing Forum and the team have discovered several promising new playwrights. The first of their searches for TV drama scripts this year has already opened but if you're thinking of submitting a script, you need to get it in before the final date - 28 February.

You need to send a ten page extract of either a TV screenplay or an episode from an original series on any subject or genre and it must reflect the diversity in society. You can see a list of deadlines for future submissions on the website.

Many of last year's winners have been signed by agents and have had major broadcast commissions and dramatisations for radio accepted. Winner of one of the Writing for Children calls with his script 'The Things', John Hickman posts on their site on his writing journey and how he got to where he is.

'Rocliffe Notes'

The Forum's scriptwriter's guide, 'Rocliffe Notes',  has been on the Amazon Best Seller List for the last two months. Richard Eyre says it's 'a really useful guide to getting on', while Jim Sheridan called it 'brilliant'.

Scriptwriting feedback

If your script isn't ready for submission yet, Rocliffe runs a script report service where you can receive professional advice and feedback.

You can find out more at www.rocliffe.com or Facebook: BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Forum

Mslexia competitions for women writers

SUBMIT YOUR WORK FOR PUBLICATION

Here's some news for women writers looking for a chance to air their work. Women's writers' magazine, Mslexia has thrown down the gauntlet with a short story competition and lots of other opportunities for you to get into print.

Entrants have until 16 March to get their short story entries in for the Women's Short Story Competition 2015. You're allowed a maximum of 2,200 words on any theme and if you win, you'll scoop £2,000. Your story will be judged by novelist, short story writer and essayist, Alison MacLeod.
The winner will also receive a week's writing retreat at Ty Newydd Writers' Centre and a day with a Virago editor. Prizes for 2nd and 3rd winning entries are £500 and £250 respectively with three other finalists winning £100 each. All the winning entries will be published in the June 2015 issue of the magazine. Enter online at www.mslexia.co.uk/shortstory

Mslexia likes to encourage new writers, so also included are 11 regular open submission slots.

Monologue is for scriptwriters - submit 200 words on any topic in a single character's voice. The editor is currently on the lookout for monologues in the voice of a 'zombie'. I'm sure you've all met lots of those. The deadline for that is 13 April.

Poets can send their take on Four Lines that Rhyme; fans of social media can submit A Week of Tweets about their writing and/or life or apply for a three-month residency on the Mslexia Blog.

If you're good at writing descriptions, Pen Portrait invites you to convey a character in second or third person in no more than 200 words. The deadline is 13 April and the theme is a pen portrait of a 'headmistress'. I remember mine from my junior school in Prestwich, Manchester bringing down her cane with a swish onto my extremely tiny and sensitive pianist's hand. Hard to believe nowadays but that might be a good entry. I must away and get to work...

For contributors' guidelines, payment details and regular updates, visit www.mslexia.co.uk/submit, email postbag@mslexia.co.uk or phone 0191 204 8860. Good luck!