'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
Our festival is now CLOSED for submissions!
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS OUR FESTIVAL SITE. TO VISIT THE MAIN S&CO WEBSITE, CLICK HERE!
The 2023 SCRIPTWRITERS & CO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, once again sponsored by FINAL DRAFT and POSTERITY ENTERTAINMENT, will be the grand culmination of a major scriptwriting competition. The festival and awards ceremony will be at RONDO THEATRE in Bath, UK, on 11 June 2023.
Our first guest speaker will be script advisor, script editor and novelist LUCY V HAY of writing consultancy BANG2WRITE. Lucy is a script editor/reader, consultant and novelist (publishing as L V Hay), renowned for sweary, no-nonsense writing and networking tips well as her excellent blog for screenwriters, novelists and freelance writers. Her non-fiction books include 'Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays', Writing & Selling Drama Screenplays' and 'Writing Diverse Characters for Fiction, TV and Film'. One of her novels, 'The Other Twin', was featured in The Sun and Sunday Express as well as Heatworld and Closer magazines, and Lucy is currently adapting it for Emmy-nominated producers Free@Last TV.
As in April 2022 our next speaker will be JOHN HODGE, BAFTA award-winning screenwriter of films including Trainspotting; T2 Trainspotting; A Life Less Ordinary; The Beach and Shallow Grave, as well as a playwright whose first piece for the stage, Collaborators, won the Olivier Award for Best New Play.
In 2022 we were lucky enough to have scriptwriting guru DOMINIC MORGAN (aka SCRIPTFELLA), who shared knowledge he's picked up as a screenwriter in London and LA. He's been optioned or commissioned by over thirty studios and production companies, including Universal Studios, Working Title, Bold Films, Scott Free, BBC and ITV.
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 possibly career-changing prizes for the winners of our industry-cracking, route-to-production S&CO/POSTERITY AWARDS, potentially worth c£100,000 each!
Thanks to generous repeat sponsorship from FINAL DRAFT, winners and runners-up of all categories with 27+ pages (including the S&CO/POSTERITY AWARDS) will again receive a licenced copy of FD12.
A high point for many finalists is watching our magnificent S&CO ACTORS - who garner much acclaim for their Zoom performances of winners' short Scratch Night scripts - perform selected excerpts from finalists' work, from micros to pilots to features. That's how we bring writers scripts to life!
We were thrilled by the reaction and reviews from 2022's festival-goers - and can't wait for 11 June 2023! Want to see our 2023 Finalists?
'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
