FIRST DRAFT RUNNING ORDER
Location: Soho Theatre Dean Street, London, W1D 3NE
Date: Thursday 27 March 2025
9.30am: Doors Open
10.00am: Introduction + Welcome
Campbell Glennie, CEO at Edinburgh TV Festival & The TV Foundation
10.10am: Writing for TV with Simon Nelson, BBC Writers
Simon Nelson
BBC Writers champions new voices in film, television, radio and theatre. In this session, Development Executive Simon Nelson shares advice on writing for television – offering pragmatic tips and advice on structuring your plot, defining genre, creating compelling characters and realistic dialogue.
11.00am: Realities of a Screenwriting Career
Philip Shelley, Jeffrey Aidoo, Karen Cogan, Chandni Lakhani
Script Consultant and Producer, Philip Shelley, discusses the realities of a screenwriting career with writers Chandni Lakhani, Jeffrey Aidoo and Karen Cogan
12.00pm: Introducing the 2025 New Writers Collective
Gemma Bradshaw, Anouk Berendsen
12.05pm: COFFEE BREAK
12.30pm: Development Producers: Demystifying Processes and Practice
Brian Birigwa, Gina Lyons, Laurence Bowen and Sid Strickland
Executive Producer and Founder of Dancing Ledge, Laurence Bowen, will be hosting this discussion on demystifying development. He’ll be joined by Development Producers, Brian Birigwa at Maia Pictures, Gina Lyons at Gobby Girl Productions and Sid Strickland from Motive Pictures.
1.30pm: ONE HOUR LUNCH BREAK
2.30pm: Emma Obank in Conversation
Emma Obank, Rowan Woods
Emma Obank, Creative & Commercial Affairs Executive at Bad Wolf, will join us for an in-conversation with Edinburgh TV Festival’s Creative Director, Rowan Woods. Emma will draw on extensive experience as an agent, and the work she does now at Bad Wolf. This session will focus on practical advice for writers, particularly around the business side of things and how writers work with agents.
3.30pm: 15 MINUTE BREAK
3.45pm: Masterclass with Joe Barton
Joe Barton, Rowan Woods
Joe Barton is the creator, writer and executive producer of Netflix’s hit spy drama Black Doves and Sky’s forthcoming adaptation of Amadeus. He’s also the BAFTA-winning writer and executive producer behind hit projects like The Lazarus Project, Half Bad: The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, and three-time BAFTA-nominated and BAFTA-winning Giri/Haji.
Joe will join us to discuss his career and creative process with Edinburgh TV Festival’s Creative Director Rowan Woods.