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Find out about all the BBC’s schemes and opportunities to develop new creatives on and off-screen across music, performing, writing, production and more.
More opportunities with the BBC

Non-BBC Opportunities

  • Actwrite

    Rolling Deadline
    Actwrite is seeking London-based screenwriters to join a new project connecting them with trained actors to workshop scripts.

  • Anthroplay Theatre | Anthrotalks

    Multiple Deadlines and themes throughout the year
    Anthroplay is looking for poetry, spoken word, monologues, comedy, drag, songs - the lot - for their upcoming Anthrotalks events in 2026.

  • Barons Court Theatre | The Sunday Fix

    Deadline:15th of the month
    The Sunday Fix is a scratch night offering feedback on 10 minute extracts of new plays from writers.

  • The Bay International Film Festival | Screenwriting Club

    Monthly Meet Ups
    For those who enjoy screenwriting but prefer not to work alone, the monthly Screenwriters Club group in Lancaster offers a space to write alongside others.

  • Box of Tricks | Open Door

    Rolling Submissions
    Box of Tricks has a year-round, open door policy to receiving new plays from playwrights in the North of England.

  • The David Nobbs Memorial Trust | Comedy Writing Competition

    Deadline: 23:59 on Friday 6th March 2026
    The David Nobbs Memorial Trust is open for submissions from credited early career comedy writers.

  • Devon and Cornwall Screenwriting Group

    Event: The group meets online every month
    The group meets to provide reciprocal feedback on completed TV and feature scripts written by group members.

  • Eastern Angles Theatre Company | New Angles Writers Club

    Rolling deadline. Booking required prior to each session
    Eastern Angles is looking for East Anglian playwrights to join their New Angles Writers Club, a local writing community to receive support and feedback on a play in development.

  • Edinburgh Screewriting Sessions

    Bi-weekly meetups
    An opportunity to write and socialise with other screenwriters in Scotland.

  • Finborough Theatre | Open Script Submissions

    Rolling submissions
    Finborough Theatre welcomes unsolicited scripts at any time of the year.

  • Little Chick | Emerging Writers Programme

    Deadline: 13.00 on Friday 20th February 2026
    The Little Chick Emerging Writers Scheme is an exciting opportunity for writers based in the UK and Ireland, who have had something produced or are in active development, to work on their TV screenwriting with BAFTA & Emmy award winning writer Abi Morgan and Sue Gibbs, Head of Development at Heyday Television UK.

  • London Comedy Writers

    Ongoing Meet Ups
    An opportunity for London based comedy writers who want to share their work and receive constructive feedback.

  • The London Library | Emerging Writers Programme 2026/27

    Deadline: 5pm on Monday 23rd February 2026
    The Programme is a unique opportunity which offers writers, in all genres/forms, one year’s free membership of The London Library and includes writing development masterclasses and literary networking opportunities.

  • Manchester Screenwriting Meet Up

    Ongoing Meet Ups
    An opportunity for Manchester based screenwriters who want to develop their craft and learn more about screenwriting.

  • Messy Writers | Monthly London Meet-Ups

    Monthly Meet Ups
    An opportunity for London based screenwriters who want to share opportunities and meet potential collaborators.

  • New Writing North x Quay Street Productions Development Mentorship

    Deadline: Monday 16th March 2026
    A mentorship opportunity aimed at early career screenwriters based in the North East of England with Quay Street Productions.

  • Open Call | Comedy & Sketch Writers

    Deadline: 17.00 on Monday 2nd March 2026
    An opportunity seeking comedy writers to submit short original sketches for a filmed comedy project.

  • Papatango | New Writing Prize 2026

    Deadline: 5 pm on Monday 16th March 2026
    The playwriting prize is open for entries and has expanded with new commissions, productions and support pathways.

  • Papatango | Playwrights’ Studio

    Papatango have announced a brand-new, completely free offer for playwrights which includes digital workshops, open-access funding, one-to-one advice, in-person events, and representation on a searchable industry database.

  • Playwrights' Studio Scotland | National Script Reading Service

    Rolling Submissions
    Playwrights' Studio Scotland's free script reading service provides an opportunity for Scotland's writers to receive valuable script feedback from theatre professionals.

  • Royal Court Theatre | Script Submissions

    Rolling Submissions
    The Royal Court is dedicated to finding the most exciting new plays, underpinned by the history of their open submissions policy.

  • Script Club Cardiff

    Monthly meet-ups
    Script Club Cardiff holds monthly informal meetups for local scriptwriters.

  • Script East Midlands

    Monthly meet-ups, booking required
    A writer-led support network for scriptwriters, based in the East Midlands.

  • Script East Midlands | Palace Playwrights

    WORKSHOPS: 8 weekly sessions from Saturday 24th January 2026
    A free eight-week course for residents of Newark or Sherwood to explore the foundations of writing scripts, whilst developing their creative voice.

  • Soho Theatre | The Verity Bargate Award 2026

    Deadline: Monday 13th April 2026
    Soho Theatre is seeking submissions for the Verity Bargate Award 2026, its flagship new writing prize.

  • Stolen Moments | Writer Call Out

    Rolling submissions
    A call out for short plays from Welsh and Wales-based writers for a new theatre platform.

  • TYPE! - Micro plays

    Rolling submissions
    TYPE! is a new bookmark magazine looking for short/micro plays or screenplays (2-5 minutes in length) to feature in the next edition.

  • VAULT Creative Arts | Playwriting Award 2026

    Deadline: 23:59 on Friday 20th February 2026
    The VAULT Creative Arts Playwriting Award 2026 is open for submissions! The opportunity is open to any writer from anywhere in the world.

  • Womxn Who Make Funny Films

    Ongoing Meet Ups
    Womxn Who Make Funny Films organise networking events, writing groups and showcases for women identifying comedy filmmakers.

  • Yorkshire Screenwriters | Monthly Script Feedback

    Monthly Meetings
    Yorkshire Screenwriters is a community-based organisation supporting screenwriters in the region by offering Monthly Script Feedback on the first Wednesday of each month, either online or in person in central Leeds.
    • Help: 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.

    Info: BBC Comedy

    From 2021, Comedy writer, writer/performer, director and producer development is looked after by BBC Comedy Commissioning, which brings together all comedy outreach that is happening across the BBC under one strategy. 

    The separate Caroline Aherne Bursary, Felix Dexter Bursary and Galton & Simpson Bursary for writers have been brought together with two new bursaries for directors and producers into the BBC Comedy Collective, a supercharged bursary scheme offering 10 places each year to up-and-coming writers, producers and directors who’d like to develop their careers in scripted comedy.

    Find out more about the BBC Comedy Collective leaders and alumni 

    We will no longer open a window specifically for Comedy script submissions or run further Comedy Room writer development groups via BBC Writers. 

    Interested in breaking into Comedy?

    Visit the BBC Comedy Commissioning website to find out about more opportunities

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