Box Of Tricks & Sky Studios Screenplay Award

Date Posted: 2020-11-02

Box of Tricks and Sky Studios are on the hunt for Northern talent. Their inaugural Screen/Play Award has launched to unearth two writers from the North of England with electrifying stories that spark the imagination.

Each writer will be awarded a bursary of £10,250 to write a brand new play and a short screenplay – inspired by a single central idea – to be developed with Box of Tricks and Sky Studios’ Innovation Hub throughout 2021. They are looking for stories with the scope and ambition to be realised on both stage and screen, stories that embrace the infinite imaginative possibilities of each medium and reflect the world in which we live.

At a time when our industry faces the greatest crisis of a generation and stands to lose a wealth of talent, Screen/Play shines a light on voices that need to be heard and stories that need to be told. They want to champion Northern writers with no professional TV experience from communities currently underrepresented on stage and screen.

So if you’ve got a story to tell, they want to hear it.

Apply with a one-page pitch (up to 500 words), a personal statement (up to 500 words) and an example script (up to 30 pages) through the online application form during the three-week submission window from Monday 19 October – Friday 6 November 2020.

Find full details on the Box of Tricks website

Award Criteria

A cornerstone of Box of Tricks’ Positive Action plan, Screen/Play is open to Northern writers with no professional TV experience with the explicit aim to increase representation and opportunity now and in the future.

Applicants must meet the following Criteria:

1. Writers must be aged 18 or over. There is no upper age limit.

2. Writers must be resident in the North of England. If not currently resident, writers must be able to demonstrate strong links to the North and a commitment to making work in the region.

3. Writers must have no professional screenwriting experience. That is, writers must have never been paid to write for television/film.

4. Writers must be from a community currently underrepresented on stage and screen:

  • D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent writers
  • LGBTQ+ writers
  • Writers of colour
  • First generation migrant writers
  • Writers from a low socioeconomic background

Deadline: Friday 6 November 2020