The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) is hosting a free online event on Thurs 11 July, 5-6pm with screenwriters who will discuss the multiple forms that writers rooms can take and much more!

Register here.

EVENT DETAILS

5-6pm, 11 July 2024
Online, via Zoom
Whether you are a new writer, a regular participant or even a showrunner, what should you expect of the writers room? How will it operate, how will the story structure unfold, and how will work be assigned to different people on the team? In this free panel event screenwriters Sumerah Srivastav, Testament, Daniel Rusteau and Lisa Holdsworth (panel chair) discuss the multiple forms that writers rooms can take, from streamers to public service broadcasters, from continuing drama to high-end drama series, and where and how they have led to prize-winning television, follow-up commissions and life-time writing partnerships.

Speakers
Testament is an acclaimed playwright, rapper and screenwriter writing for BBC, NETFLIX and Disney Plus. His play Black Men Walking (Royal Court/Royal Exchange Manchester/Eclipse Theatre) was nominated for Best New Play at UK Theatre Awards 2018 and Writer’s Guild Best Play 2018. His play Orpheus in the Record Shop (Leeds Playhouse/Opera North) was broadcast of BBC Four TV in 2021.

Testament is a writer on awards nominated animated show Castlevania Nocturne on Netflix. His BBC Radio 4 comedy The Beatboxer was nominated for an Imison Award in 2019, and his heartfelt social radio drama Daughter was nominated for the prestigious Prix Europa in 2022 and BBC Audio Drama Award 2023 for best single audiodrama. Testament co-wrote rap and spoken word for episodes of the Disney Plus series The Full Monty (2023). He is also a Guinness World Record Holding beatboxer.

Daniel Rusteau is a writer for the stage and screen, born and raised in London who’s worked in writersrooms in the UK and US for BBC, Channel 4, Paramount Plus, Amazon, Apple+ and CBS/Showtime. He’s written episodes of Hollyoaks (Channel 4), On the Edge (Channel 4) and Waterloo Road (BBC). His TV crime pilot made the Brit List and his debut play Dismissed was staged at Soho Theatre in May 2023 is currently being developed into a feature film.

Sumerah Srivastav is a South Asian screenwriter and playwright. She has written for The Good Karma Hospital (ITV), Lupin (Netflix) and Messiah (Netflix) as well as on the BBC’s two longest-running dramas, Casualty and EastEnders.

Lisa Holdsworth is a writer/producer based in Leeds. She started her TV career in unscripted TV, but her passion has always been drama. Her first script commission was an episode of Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends. She then went on to join the Emmerdale writing team, before writing for New Tricks, winning the RTS Yorkshire Best Writer award for one of her episodes.

She wrote extensively for the original Waterloo Road and returned to the show when it was rebooted. She wrote on the final series of Robin Hood for the BBC before moving on to write for Midsomer Murders,including the fan favourite “Death by Cheese” episode. She has also written for Ackley Bridge, Call the Midwife and All Creatures Great & Small, and was executive producer on the third series of A Discovery of Witches for Sky.

She has just completed work on Dance School her own series for C4.