ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR APPLYING 

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The WFTV Kay Mellor Screenwriters’ Lab is an opportunity to develop emerging female writers who have some writing experience and are looking to take the next step in their career to achieve their first screenwriting credit in either Film or TV, whether that is finding an agent or pitching their project to an independent production company.

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We are looking for writers who demonstrate a talent for crafting rich characters, exciting stories, fresh perspectives and who have a distinctive writing voice. We want to support writers looking to break through into the industry and help them achieve their first film or TV screenwriting credit.

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This opportunity is for unrepresented writers who do not yet have a professional screenwriting credit and are actively working on a script (or more than one project) that is at final draft stage.

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Writers taking part in the lab will be required to select one of their scripts to develop across the week. The script/screenplay selected by the writer must be original work but can be a series (pilot episode), feature film or short film for either Adult or Young Adult audiences.

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To be eligible to apply to take part in the Kay MELLOR Screenwriters’ Lab you must meet the following eligibility criteria: 

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• This opportunity is for women and people who identify as women who are unrepresented by an Agent or Manager and do not yet have a professionally produced film or TV writing credit. On this occasion WFTV is defining a writing credit as:  

  • Any film, TV or short film work you have been credited on, and received payment for, as a writer, co-writer or if you have been part of a writers room for 

  • Any film, TV or short film project that has had professional distribution by cinema or streamer 

  • Any film, TV or short film project that has been broadcast on TV or online in the English language 

  • A writing credit for a factual or non-scripted project for writing significant dramatic reconstruction sequences 

  • International writing credits do count if the work is in the English language 

  • Writing credits for self-funded projects are not considered a professional writing credit on this occasion. 
     

• Writers who have received public funding bursaries and/or grants for projects are eligible to apply.

• Writers who have projects which are currently under option with a contract agreement in place, or have received paid development with a production company are not eligible to apply.

• If you receive a film or TV writing credit during the application process or before the Screenwriters’ Lab date your application will no longer be eligible, meaning we can offer this opportunity to another writer.

• Applications must be made on an individual basis and for one writer only. We are not accepting co-written scripts or projects on this occasion. Applications submitted with a script which is co-written as a writing sample will be ineligible and disregarded.

• Applicants who are represented by an Agent or Manager in another capacity (e.g. Literary Agent) or represented for their work as a director, actor or producer are eligible to apply.

• You must be at least 18 years of age at the time of your application.

• You must be a permanent/full time resident of the UK, but do not need to have been born in the UK or have UK citizenship.

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APPLYING TO TAKE PART IN THE WFTV KAY MELLOR SCREENWRITERS’ LAB:

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Please read the below guidelines carefully. As part of the application process candidates must complete the below application form and are asked to submit the following supporting documents which will be read by an industry jury*: 

1. A sample script of your work (maximum 7 pages, excluding cover page) 

2. An accompanying pitch document for the script outlining the project (maximum 2 pages, excluding cover page) 

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*Please note incomplete applications will be ineligible and disregarded.  

We strongly recommend that you write and save your responses to the application questions on a word processor such as Microsoft Word, Pages or a Google Document first before copying and pasting them into our Typeform application form.