'Think Oscars but nicer, and with less violence. The S&CO International Festival was a wonderful experience from start to finish. Receiving the finalist nomination was a huge thrill in itself, but then the day of the final was incredibly inspiring and joyous. A-list industry speakers, friendly and encouraging fellow contestants, excellent S&Co actors performing extracts from the submissions, and then the A-team of Zanna and Alex keeping it all together.'  Stephen Saleh, playwright screenwriter

 

2025 festival submissions are now closed!

See a video from 2024's festival!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS OUR FESTIVAL SITE. TO VISIT THE MAIN S&CO WEBSITE, CLICK HERE! 

The SCRIPTWRITERS & CO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2025 will be the grand culmination of our annual scriptwriting competition.

The awards ceremony will be at the RONDO THEATRE in Bath, UK, on Sunday 11 May 2025.

Our guest speaker in 2025 is Ashley Pharoah, probably best known for the BBC's 'Life on Mars', follow-up 'Ashes to Ashes', and ITV's 'Wild at Heart'. He also created ITV’s 'Down to Earth' and 'Where the Heart Is', adapted Tom Brown’s Schooldays for a TV movie starring Stephen Fry, and has written for EastEnders, Casualty, Hustle and Silent Witness. In short, Ashley is one of the UK’s leading TV writers, and we can hardly wait for his industry insights. 

Bath is renowned for its Roman Baths and Georgian architecture. It's one of only a handful of entire cities to be inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we're very proud to be based here.

Our annual contest is open to playwrights and screenwriters worldwide, and offers a choice of page counts and prices to suit everyone. We're committed to making this competition accessible to talented writers at any stage of their journey into or through the industry.

Moreover, this isn't a 'fur coat and no knickers' event. There will be trophies for winners of major categories plus, at S&CO's discretion, career-changing potential for any outstanding feature screenplays and full-length stage plays we put forward for our route-to-production partnership with FILMFACTORY!

And, thanks to repeat sponsorship from FINAL DRAFT, the winners of all categories will receive a licenced copy of FD13.

A high point for many finalists is watching our magnificent S&CO ACTORS - who garner much acclaim for their Zoom performances of our winners' S&CO Scratch Night scripts - perform  selected excerpts from finalists' work, from micros to pilots to features. That's how we bring writers scripts to life!

Here are our 2025 results. We  can't wait for 11 May 2025! 

'We were treated to inspirational speakers, extracts from an impressive variety of work entered for the competition, capped off by the tension of announcing runners up and winners.' Mark Ralph-Bowman, playwright

'Zanna, Alex and all the team at ‘Scriptwriters and Co' staged a fantastic day with inspiring speakers. It was also a great opportunity to network with fellow writers and hear the work of the finalists performed by the S&Co team of actors. I would especially recommend this festival to emerging writers as the extensive categories for shorter scripts make it very accessible to writers who might not yet have a full TV script, stage play or feature film completed.’ Linda Jane Butler, playwright/screenwriter

'As with all Scriptwriters&Co events, the festival was entertaining, informative and inspiring. Great speakers and great networking opportunities. I'm already looking forward to next year!’ Graham Newton, screenwriter

'My confidence as a scriptwriter has grown through engaging with S&CO, who’ve always been encouraging and supportive. Bravo to all the organisers, winners, finalists, writers & performers. Looking forward to the next one!’ Nilgin Yusuf, playwright/screenwriter