Tributes to Pat Kavanagh

Pat Kavanagh, a literary agent for more than 40 years, has died from a brain tumour, reports The Times. She represented many leading British writers, including Margaret Drabble, Julian Barnes (her husband), Ruth Rendell and Andrew Motion, and last year she was among a group of agents who left the pfd agency to set up United Agents.

“She had exceptionally good taste at all levels of literature,” [Ion Trewin, the former editor-in-chief at Weidenfeld & Nicholson said]. “Most agents are known for one author or style of writing but she represented a phalanx of authors from Ruth Rendell and Joanna Trollope to Andrew Motion. As an editor if she came to you, you took her seriously immediately because she never wasted your time with rubbish.”

China Miéville interview

In Horizon Review, Steve Haynes talks to Guild member China Miéville.

You’ve said that you plan meticulously and are ‘Never surprised’ by your characters. This surprises me because I often feel there is something organic about your books, as though there is something playful about how the story evolves? How do you plan? Is there an element of rolling-the-dice or game play?

I have a set of images or scenes in my head in my head, or a certain kind of emotional tone which I know I want to put in. I make a list of those scenes and then I try and string a narrative between them. The characters emerge from that. Then I plot all that out and then go through it. As it changes, as I go down, if I realise I’ve got something wrong, then I’ll stop for it and cascade that change all the way down, so that I’ll change it as I go along if necessary. There is an element of, I wouldn’t say rolling-the-dice exactly, but I do like randomness and I like that kind of element of spontaneous chance. It’s quite like an Oulipo strategy where you put restrictions in place before you go. So for example, in one of my books I’ll ask my partner to invent an alien and present it to me as a fait accompli and then I have to put that in, so that sort of thing. I like those restrictions and then a lot of ideas come from … I’m working on something at the moment which is entirely pegged upon a misheard word. I got really excited about it, realised I misheard it, but decided to take that word very seriously. So there’s an element of trying to tap into those spontaneous moments which I suppose, if you wanted to be self-important about it, you’d say it was a surrealist strategy because it’s that kind of chance juxtaposition.

Re-reading Watchmen

As Dave Gibbons, co-creator (with Alan Moore) of Watchmen, publishes a book charting the famous comic book's creation, in The Times Jonathan Ross reflects on re-reading the original.

I'm tempted to declare it Moore's most successful creation - a story that delivers as entertainment on a level playing field with the very best superhero epics out there*. But what makes this a genre-transcending bona fide masterpiece is that, alongside the pulse-pounding action and suspense, the soap-opera style romantic dilemmas and the story of some good but misguided people trying to apply simple remedies to complex maladies, Moore and Gibbons also manage to deliver a devastating critique that cuts to the very heart of the pitiful, timid male fantasy that is the superhero genre at its purest and worst: muscular men and busty women in tight costumes solving all the world's problems with a well-placed punch or a blast of super-breath.

Ian Pattinson: writing for Humphrey Lyttelton

In The Guardian, Ian Pattinson recalls writing gags for Humphrey Lyttelton.

When Humphrey Lyttelton was alive, and I'd meet fans of Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, and they discovered I wrote his scripts, the conversation would invariably go something like this:

"What a genius."

"He's the funniest man on radio."

"It must be such a joy to work with Humph."

"Hang on - what do you mean you write his scripts?"

"He has scripts?"

Pattinson's book, Lyttelton's Britain: A User's Guide to the British Isles As Heard On BBC Radio's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, is out now.

What Guild members are getting up to

CARY ANDREWS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Friday 24th October

D.J. BRITTON’S radio play Away Day is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Friday 24th October.

GREGORY BURKE’S adaptation of his own play, Black Watch, is going out on Radio 3 at 8:45pm on Sunday 19th October.

RICHARD BURKE wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 20th October.

ANNA CLEMENTS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 24th Friday.

DAVE COHEN re-launches his award-avoiding blog 'Man Joins Labour' next week with some slightly more ambitious plans.

RICHARD DAVIDSON wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Monday 20th and at 7:30pm on Tuesday 21st October.

CLIVE DAWSON wrote the episode of The Bill, Fools Rush In, going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Thursday 23rd October.

FIONA EVANS wrote the episode of Doctors, Baby I Love You, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Wednesday 22nd October.

ADRIAN FLYNN wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 19th until Friday 24th October, with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day after its original broadcast.

DAVID GILMAN wrote the episode of A Touch of Frost, Dead End, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 19th October.

DAVID HANSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 21st October.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episode of Beautiful People, How I Got My Posh, going out on BBC2 at 9:30pm on Thursday 23rd October.

JULIE JONES wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Friday 24th October.

ANDREW KIRK wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday.

DAVID LANE wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 20th October.

BILL LYONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 21st October.

DIRK MAGGS wrote the episode of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul going out on Radio 4 at 11:00pm on Thursday 23rd October.

JONATHAN MYERSON wrote the episode of Number Ten going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 21st October.

GARY OWEN has two short plays on this week. Enduring Freedom is at the Swansea Grand, starting at 12.30pm on 25th October. Pete will be on at Trafalgar Studios this Monday, as part of Paines Plough's Later season.

LYN PAPADOPOULOS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 22nd October.

OLLY PERKIN wrote the episode of Doctors, Heston C in da House, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Friday 24th Friday.

PAUL ROUNDELL wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at7:00pm on Thursday 23rd October.

JOE TURNER wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 24th October.

American Guild disputes

Last week the Writers Guilds of America issued guidance to their members on two disputes, with House Of Payne (which fired four writers because of their efforts to organise there) and with FremantleMedia over a new comedy-variety show featuring Ozzy Osbourne and his family.

WGA East and West members may not write for the Osbourne variety show (working title: The Osbournes: Loud and Dangerous). Any members who perform writing services on that show do so at their own peril as they will be violating WGA Working Rule 8 and could be fined up to 100% of their compensation for that work.

Lynda La Plante interview

In The Daily Telegraph, Judith Woods talks to Lynda Plante about her writing career.

Lynda La Plante is merrily listing the prisons, hostels, bordellos and mortuaries where she has carried out research for her gripping crime thrillers down the years.

There was her first time at a post mortem, when she fainted, bringing down a clattering trolley of equipment as she fell - no one had tipped her the wink that seasoned police officers suck strong mints to reduce the impact of the smell.

Then there was the trip to a Russian morgue, where bodies fished out of the Moscow River were slung down a metal shute from the street, then strung up, naked, from a line, like animal corpses in an abattoir, an identifying number crudely scrawled across each person's flesh.

Lynda La Plante's latest police series, Above Suspicion, will be shown on ITV later this year.

Secret Life Of Bees is a crossover test

In The LA Times, John Horn considers whether The Secret Life Of Bees (written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd) will prove that a film with a primarily black cast can be a mainstream hit.

Says "Bees" producer [Joe] Pichirallo: "When the entertainment business puts forth stories with black characters, the assumption is the audience will be largely black. But there is a real opportunity here to get an audience beyond the core African American audience. And if you don't market to the white audience, it is not going to know the movie is out there."

The Secret Life Of Bees opens in the UK next week.

BBC to increase production outside London

Last night Jana Bennett, Director of BBC Vision, gave a speech to the Royal Television Society in which she outlined plans to increase spending on network programming outside London by 50% by 2016.

As the accompanying press release states:

Subject to final funding approval, the out of London plan aims to build vibrant in-house production centres of excellence in seven existing BBC locations in the UK: Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, London, Bristol, Salford/Manchester and Birmingham.

Casualty is the highest profile drama being considered for a move. Bennett said:

Casualty is a key part of our thinking. This series is currently produced in Bristol but will require new accommodation in the near future and is likely to move. Strategically, we believe that moving Casualty will play a significant part in fulfilling our commitment to building a creatively and economically sustainable centre of excellence for drama in Wales.

PAWS events

The EuroPAWS Festival is on 3 and 4 November at the Institute of Physics in central London, with screenings of programmes and new media productions featuring environment issues and science from across Europe (For full listing see www.pawsdrama.com). The Festival is open to all and free.

There is also a panel-led discussion on the communication issues at 4.30pm, entitled: ‘Images Matter’ : The Changing Role of TV and other Media in communicating modern Science with speakers including John Lynch, BBC Head of Science, Neil Calder, Head of Communication at the world’s “green” Nuclear Fusion project ITER, and BBC Factual Entertainment Producer Jack Kennedy. For the discussion please register with the PAWS/EuroPAWS Office (see below).

A PAWS Science Evening follows the festival on 4 November at 7.00pm, at University College, London. The theme is: Climate Change – Let the Science Speak, with leading women researchers presenting some very different angles on environment impact. A leading programme maker in this area, Fiona Scott, will also reveal how to reach different audiences, with an introduction from the Head of the UCL Environment Institute, Mark Maslin, and a cameo of women scientists on television.

To find out more and register, contact the PAWS/EuroPAWS Office.

PAWS/EuroPAWS Contact details:
pawsomni@btconnect.com
Tel: 020 7483 4545

The White Tiger wins the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Aravind Adiga has won the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008 for his debut novel The White Tiger. Chair of the judges, Michael Portillo, said:

"The White Tiger prevailed because the judges felt that it shocked and entertained in equal measure.

"The novel undertakes the extraordinarily difficult task of gaining and holding the reader's sympathy for a thoroughgoing villain. The book gains from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments with astonishing humour."

Tired jokes

On his blog, Ken Levine argues that some common sitcom writing techniques are well past their sell by date.

One reason I contend multi-camera shows are out of fashion is because the joke rhythms are tired and stale. For a long time they worked, and the jokes themselves may be funny but audiences have grown weary of their predictable form...

The “No…(blank)” joke.

COACH: They call me Red.

CUSTOMER: Oh, cause you used to have red hair?

COACH: No, cause I once read a book.

The problem is you’re asking the customer to set up the joke by saying something she probably wouldn’t say. Straight man seeks clarification by asking the seemingly obvious only to learn it’s something else. Plus, it usually makes the set up person seem incredibly dumb.

Walton appointed Artistic Director of Eclipse

From Alistair Smith in The Stage:

Dawn Walton, former acting head of the National Theatre Studio, has been appointed as the first artistic director of Eclipse Theatre.

Launched in 2001, Eclipse is managed by a consortium of three theatres comprising West Yorkshire Playhouse, The New Wolsey, Ipswich and Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Eclipse Theatre aims to develop the national profile of Black British Theatre and its practitioners.

Writing For Broadcast In The Digital Age

An event looking at the opportunities and pitfalls of writing in the era of the internet Thursday 23 October 6.30pm -8pm Birmingham Conservatoire, Paradise Place, Nr Central Library, B3 3HG

Developments are coming thick and fast in our current digital age: we have blogs, You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, video on demand, printing on demand, not to mention Listen and Watch Again from the BBC.

In the West Midlands there are a number of smaller organisations looking to use these new opportunities, as well as regional presence from the big players. Birmingham is also one of the lead commissioning hubs for Channel 4’s new Four Innovation for the Public fund (4IP) which aims to kick start a wave of new investment in public service digital media content for audiences around Britain.

At this event we will discuss the benefits and challenges of these recent and upcoming developments for writers and organisations who either already have some experience in the field or who wish to find out more.

The event is co-hosted by the Writers' Guild West Midlands Branch and the Royal Television Society Midlands Centre. Representatives from both organisations will speak on the topic and Screen West Midlands will talk more about 4IP. This will be followed by an informal discussion.

Tickets: Free to Guild members. Non-Guild members £5 (£4). Box Office: 0121 303 2323

The Writers’ Toolkit: A Conference for the Writing Industry

Saturday 18 October 9.30am – 4pm South Birmingham College, Digbeth Campus, Digbeth High St, Birmingham

The Writers’ Toolkit is an ‘industry day’ for emerging and established writers to learn about aspects of the business in greater detail, connect with other writers and those working in writer development. Sessions will include: Pitching ideas for stage and screen, teaching creative writing, becoming a business, publishing and using an agent, working with BBC radio, careers in literature development, producing live literature and many more.

In attendance will be: BBC Radio 4, Birmingham REP, Arts Council England, Tindal Street Press, Writer’s Market UK, The Arvon Foundation, The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, National Academy of Writing, Writers in Prison Network, Write On! –Adventures In Writing, and many others.

Tickets: £29 (£23) (includes lunch) For more information or to book call 0121 246 2770 or email sara@birminghambookfestival.org

Walcott and Heaney

In The Times, Andrew Billen talks to Nobel Prize-winning poets, Derk Walcott and Seamus Heaney about their collaboration on an operatic version of Heaney's The Burial At Thebes - Heaney write the libretto and Walcott directed for The Globe.

Had they felt like accomplices in the minority activity of versification. “Not really, no. When you meet other poets, that disappears. No paranoia, no sense of minority. Nothing like that,” Heaney said. “The other thing that brought us together was a sense of humour, mockery and that again is young poets’ stuff. And I think there was a sense of sharing and being at an ironical distance from, if you like, the English tradition of English literature and of English culture. Because I’m doing English in Belfast and he’s doing English in St Lucia and we both know English and the English and we’re not English ourselves.”

Amazon UK introduces print on demand

Online retailer Amazon has launched print on demand (POD) publishing in the UK, reports Graham Neill for The Bookseller. The idea is to sell previously out-of-print and foreign language titles, greatly increasing the number of 'new' books available for sale.

Several leading publishers have already signed up, including Faber and Harper Collins. Unlike in the US, publishers do not have to use Amazon's own POD company.

The article also talks about using POD for "innovative new approaches to publishing" - suggesting that new titles will increasingly be published using POD.

Andrew Davies on adapting Little Dorrit

Matthew Macfadyen in Andrew Davies's adaptation of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens Photo: BBC/Mike Hogan

In The Observer, Guild member Andrew Davies reveals the story behind his new adaptation of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens for the BBC.

Most actors hate readthroughs - they're exposing themselves before they're ready to, and before they've bonded. But I love them because they give us all the first inkling of what the whole show is going to be like, how each part affects every other part, and we won't see that again until it's all edited together. I love it also because I am part of the performance: I read all the stage directions, and do my best to give a sense of the pace and liveliness we are looking for. I feel like the conductor of a great orchestra. And I know it's the last time I can feel in control. From tomorrow, when filming starts, Little Dorrit belongs to the directors, cast and crew.

What Guild members are getting up to

PAUL ALEXANDER co-wrote the episode of The Castle going out on Radio 4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 15th October.

SIMON BLOCK wrote the episode of Wire In The Blood, From The Defeated, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Friday 17th October.

PAUL COATES wrote the episodes of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th October.

HUGH COSTELLO’S radio play Conclave is going out on Radio 4 at 2:30pm on Saturday 11th October.

DAVID CROFT co-wrote the episode of Dad’s Army, Uninvited Guest, going out on BBC2 at 6:30pm on Saturday 11th October.

SIMON CROWTHER wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 17th October.

PAT CUMPER’S dramatisation of The Color Purple by Alice Walker continues on Radio 4 at 7:45pm on Monday 13th October.

CHRIS FEWTRELL wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Friday 17th October.

ADRIAN FLYNN wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 12th October until Friday 17th October, with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original broadcast.

HENRIETTA HARDY wrote the episode of Doctors, The Last Time, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Friday 17th October.

STEVE HUGHES wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 13th October.

PETER KERRY wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 15th, Thursday 16th and Friday 17th October.

MARK DAVIES MARKHAM’S musical Eric’s (a follow up to Taboo) finishes its run at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre on Saturday 11th October.

ANDREW MCCULLOCH co-wrote the episode of Heartbeat, Family Matters, going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 12th October.

JAN MCVERRY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 15th October.

LIZZIE MICKERY wrote the episode of The Bill, Hold Me Tight, going out on ITV1 over two nights at 8:00pm on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th October.

JONATHAN MYERSON’S radio play Number Ten goes out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 14th October.

JESSE O’MAHONEY wrote the episodes of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th October.

PHIL O'SHEA wrote and co-directed the feature film Vampire Diary starring Anna Walton which has won best film at the Milan International Film Festival as well as three other major awards. Phil and his co-director Mark James have now been nominated for a British Thunderclap award for the most innovative and interesting work in British Indie film. Please cast your vote at: http://www.thunder-clap.com

MICHAEL RUSSELL wrote the episode of A Touch of Frost, Mind Games, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 12th October.

EVE SPENCER wrote the episode of Doctors, Pokerface, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Wednesday 15th October.

Eleventh Hour and Life On Mars...USA

As Stephen Gallagher points out on his blog (see comments), last night two American versions of series created by British writers - Stephen's own Eleventh Hour Life On Mars (created by Mathew Graham, Tony Jordan and Ashley Pharoah) - premiered simultaneously on different US networks.

Up the Brits.

Eleventh Hour (USA) trailer



Life On Mars (USA) trailer

Follow this blog

Thanks to Gottawrite Girl (Susan Gray, right) for becoming the first Follower of this blog - until she did so, I hadn't even realised such a function existed.

If you'd like to join her, just click on the Follow This Blog link (top right) and sign up.

BBC comedies - from script to screen

On the BBC Writersroom blog, Micheál Jacob explains the process of getting a BBC comedy from script to screen.

Despite all of the stages, and the different kinds of expertise involved, some shows work very well, some work moderately well, and some become car crash television. The audience decides, and the only way really to judge whether or not your show works is to sit at home and watch it go out. And if it doesn't work, it's too late by then.

The excitement of comedy is its imprecision. No one can guarantee a hit, and an identical writer and production team can follow a massive success with a complete turkey.

Doctor Who scripts to download

Thanks to Katie in the comments to my Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale post a couple of weeks ago for pointing out that free Russell T. Davies Doctor Who scripts can now be downloaded from the Writer's Tale website.

National Poetry Day

Today is National Poetry Day, as decreed by The Poetry Society.

To coincide with the event, in The Daily Telegraph, Poet Laureate Andrew Motion considers the importance of poetry and the ways in which it is taught at school.

How was it for you, learning poetry at school? People tend to answer in one of two ways, depending on age.

Those whose education is a distant prospect are inclined to say the experience stood them in good stead and has since become a source of silent comfort and entertainment. Those still in school, or who left more recently, generally make a face: learning poetry is boooring.

Why such a difference? Is it that poetry works slowly in a lot of us, proving its worth as our experience deepens and widens? Or does the whole business of memorising have a bad reputation these days? Both answers have an element of truth, which in the case of the second is deeply regrettable, since it implies a confusion of "learning by heart" with "learning by rote".

Mick Imlah wins Forward Prize

From BBC News:

Scottish poet Mick Imlah has won the prestigious Forward Prize for Poetry.

The 52-year-old scooped the £10,000 award for his second collection, The Lost Leader, which delves into Scotland's rich history.

Bretons support Cardiff antique books campaign

On the Guild website, Welsh member Gwyn Griffiths reports on support from The Association of Breton Writers for the campaign to stop Cardiff library selling rare antique books at auction.

Bonhams, London, is preparing a list of more than 100 books to be sold at auction in November. It is possible, if Cardiff City is allowed to proceed with its plans, that as many as 18,000 books could eventually be sold, including books from the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries some of which were donated in 1902 to the Cardiff Library by one of the city’s benefactors, John Cory. This includes a collection of rare pre-1500 books, printed in Venice, Florence, Strasbourg, Basle and other European centres of learning.

Cardiff is twinned with Nantes, the ancient capital of the Dukes of Brittany.

Live webchat with JJ Abrams

JJ Abrams, creator of Lost and now Fringe, will be answering questions in a Live Webchat for The Guardian at 6pm on Friday.

You can post your questions now.

Fringe trailer

A Guide to the Guild’s Contract Vetting Service

The Writers’ Guild provides a basic contract vetting service for Full and Candidate members. It is run by the Guild staff and outsourced to external contract vetters when necessary.

The Guild’s contract vetting service covers:

• Contracts for freelance writers working in TV, Film, Theatre, Radio, Books, Children’s and New Media
• Option agreements
• Agency agreements
• Collaborators’ agreements (i.e. between writing partners)
  

When a contract is not covered by the Guild’s basic contract vetting service, Guild staff will do their best to advise members of alternative sources of advice.

This service is run at a cost to the Guild, so in order to make it available to as many members as possible, we ask that:

• Members read the relevant minimum terms agreement and rates on the Guild’s website before they apply to the Guild’s contract vetting service. This will enable members to identify any potential areas of concern before submitting their contract to be looked at
• Members provide a list of key questions and/or areas of particular concern, along with their contract. We will do our best to address these issues as well as giving a brief overview of the contract and whether, in our view, it complies with Guild minimum terms and/or general industry standards.
  

Members will usually receive comments within two weeks of submitting their contract. If you have an earlier deadline, please let us know and we will do our best to comply (although this is not always possible).

Who to contact:

The Guild’s contract vetting service is administered by:

• Anne Hogben, Deputy General Secretary - anne@writersguild.org.uk
• Naomi MacDonald, Assistant General Secretary - naomi@writersguild.org.uk
  

Alternatively, telephone the Guild office on 020 7833 0777 and the staff will be happy to direct you to the correct person. Please do not contact the Guild’s lawyers directly.

New ministers at DCMS

Gordon Brown's ministerial reshuffle has brought two new faces to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Barbara Follett is the new Minister for Culture, Creative Industries & Tourism, replacing Margaret Hodge.

Stephen Carter becomes Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting, a new role shared between DCMS and the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform. Carter, a former chief executive of media regulator Ofcom, has been made a Lord in order to enable him to undertake the position.

Andy Burnham remains at DCMS as Secretary of State.

Acting in a post-Sopranos world

In The New York Times, Virginia Heffernan considers the demands on TV actors in the shadow of James Gandolfini in David Chase's The Sopranos.

In the Chase paradigm, a show’s main character must be fundamentally evil, and this evil must undermine the tenacious American fantasy that there are morally responsible roads to power and moreover that the achievement of power is itself a moral responsibility. Chase once told me in an interview that conventional dramas reassure audiences that “authority figures” — doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists — “have our best interests at heart.” In “The Sopranos,” authority figures hate us. This kind of cynicism is now the industry standard. “Damages,” which is about a devious litigator, suggests that avenging career women are no less savage than mob bosses. “Mad Men,” about hard-drinking, womanizing ad executives, adds charming creative types to the blacklist. The lawyer of “Damages” and the adman of “Mad Men” are sinister, ugly figures. They’re not easy roles, and certainly not easy roles to play on a television shooting schedule, for hours and hours of screen time.

The strange career of Toby Young

In The Independent, Sophie Morris speaks to Guild member Toby Young.

"Journalism in the UK," says Young, "as far as it's a profession at all, is still a profession for ne'er do wells and fuck ups. That isn't the case in America."

A film based on Young's book How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, adapted by Peter Straughan, is out now.

Correction from Gail Renard

By Gail Renard:

When announcing my return to the Guild EC, due to a freak worm hole in space, the e-bulletin wrongly reported that I'd written Hitchhiker's' Guide To The Galaxy.

It's true Douglas Adams was my first writing and performing partner; and few who saw our stage revue, So You Think You Feel Haddocky ever forgot it.

But I'd like to state that my sole contribution to Hitchhiker's was, during one of our writing sessions, to whinge, "What do want to write about hitchhiking for? Just concentrate on the sketch!!"

Enough said.

What Guild members are getting up to

SARAH BAGSHAW wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 8th October.

MATTHEW BARDSLEY wrote the episode of The Bill, Hide and Seek, going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Wednesday 8th October.

HELEN BLAKEMAN has written a film adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s teen novel Dustbin Baby. It will be directed by BAFTA winner Juliet May and it is expected to be broadcast around Christmas.

SIMON BLOCK wrote the episode of Wire In The Blood, From The Defeated, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Friday 10th October.

MARK BURT wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 10th October.

ANNA CLEMENTS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 9th October.

ANGELA CORNER wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:00pm on Monday 6th October.

PAT CLUMPER wrote the first episode of The Color Purple, adapted from the novel by Alice Walker, going out on Radio 4 at 7:45pm on Monday 6th October.

STEPHEN DAVIS wrote the episode of Silent Witness, Death’s Door, going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Wednesday 8th October.

FIONA EVANS’S new play Geoff Dead: Disco For Sale, about the deaths at the Deepcut army barracks previews at Newcastle’s Live Theatre on 9th October and runs until 8th November.

STEVEN FAY wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 8th October.

LOL FLETCHER wrote the episode of Doctors, Heroes And Villains, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm Wednesday 8th October.

RACHEL FLOWERDAY wrote the episode of Casualty, Face Up, going out on BBC1 at 8:50pm on Saturday 4th October. She also wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 9th and at 8:00pm on Friday 10th October.

PATRICK HARBINSON wrote the episode of Place Of Execution going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Monday 6th October.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episode of Beautiful People, How I Got My Vase, going out on BBC2 at 9:30pm on Thursday 9th October. He also wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 10th October.

STEVE HUGHES wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 10th October.

MARTIN JENKINS has dramatised and produced the radio play The Last Confession based on the book by Roger Crane, going out on Radio 4 at 2:30pm on Saturday 4th October.

JULIE JONES wrote the episode of Merlin, The Mark Of Nimueh, going out on BBC1 at 6:00pm on Saturday 4th October.

MARCY KAHAN wrote the episode of Psmith in the City, Psmith Arranges His Future, going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Friday 10th October.

BILL LYONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 6th October.

DIRK MAGGS co-wrote the episode of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency – The Long Dark Tea-Time Of The Soul going out on Radio 4 at 11:00pm on Thursday 9th October.

JANE MARLOW wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:00pm on Tuesday 7th October.

ROLAND MOORE co-wrote the sitcom pilot The Diary of Tommy Crisp, which is being shown at the Sefton Short Film Festival. The sitcom is being screened in the evening programme starting at 7pm on 9th October at the Southport Arts Centre. Full details, tickets and other information can be found at

CARMEL MORGAN wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 6th October.

JONATHAN MYERSON’S radio play Number Ten is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 7th October.

DAVID NICHOLLS’S dramatization of Tess of the D’Urbervilles concludes on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 5th October.

MARTIN SHERMAN’s new play Aristo has opened at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester and runs until the 11 October.

PAUL SIRETT co-wrote Come Dancing with Ray Davies, former front-man of The Kinks, now on at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

JOANNA TOYE wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:0pm from Sunday 5th until Friday 10th October, with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original broadcast.

DOUGLAS WATKINSON wrote the episode of Midsomer Murders, Down Along, going out on ITV1 at 9:15pm on Saturday 4th October.

NICK WOOD’S adaptation of Ulf Stark's Can You Whistle, Johanna? is touring until March 2009. It's produced by the Nottingham Playhouse Roundabout Company.

KARIN YOUNG wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 7th October.

TOBY YOUNG’S memoirs, How To Lose Friends And Alienate People has been adapted for the screen by Peter Straughan and opened nationwide this week.

Public Service Broadcasting and the OfCOM review

The Performers Alliance Parliamentary Group in association with the NUJ Parliamentary Group and the Federation of Entertainment Unions present:

A public meeting

Public Service Broadcasting and the OfCOM review

UK performers, writers, broadcasters and journalists at the crossroads.

Speakers include: Mark Thompson (Director General BBC) and Tony Robinson (actor and writer).

Chair: Neil Gerrard MP - Secretary, Performers Alliance.

Plus: A range of performers, journalists, broadcasters and industry analysts.

Places are limited. Please book now.

Tuesday 21st October, 10am

The Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, The Palace of Westminster, SW1A 2LW

Entrance – the Visitors Entrance (on the Embankment).

Stats

Outside of last winter's US strike inspired traffic spikes, September was up there with the busiest ever months on this blog - 3,845 unique visitors.

Thanks for dropping by.

Guild members' blogs

Recent postings on Guild members' blogs include:

• Steve Turnbull on being inspired by haiku
• Danny Stack considering the use of foreshadowing
• Helen Smith leaving cakes out in the rain
• Jane Richards going back to work
• Gary Owen on his new play, Enduring Freedom
  
• John Morrison on Timon Of Athens at The Globe
• David Lemon on a talk by illustrator David Lloyd
• Teresa Howard planning to take in some art in Delaware
  
• Sue Guiney on the launch of Caroline Smailes's novel, Black Boxes
• Dave Cohen considering the state of the Labour party post-the Conference season
• Nancy Charley enjoying some autumn sunshine
  
• Dom Carver on superstitions when posting scripts
  
• Paul Campbell on a writer's love for a procrastinating cup of tea
• David Bishop on a Ladybird Books spoof
• Piers Beckley on why he sees writing as a job not a vocation
  
• ...and Stephen Gallagher on finding an old autograph book.

Nick Elliott: How I'd run BBC drama

On The Guardian's Organ Grinder blog, retired drama supremo, Nick Elliott, explains his approach to commissioning.

For mainstream ITV and BBC1, the key word is empathy. Ordinary viewers need to identify with a sympathetic leading character or set of characters. (These are hopefully played by a relatively small band of actors that inspire loyalty and affection. Usually these actors had some comedy in them and didn't take themselves terribly seriously.) This means avoiding characters (and actors) who are cold, supercilious, cool or trendy.

Meanhwile, outgoing Controller of Ficton at the BBC, Jane Tranter, has criticised the "fetishisation around the single (TV) play" and Janice Hadlow has been appointed as Controller of BBC Two.

Alan Ball interview

For the Writers Guild of America West, Dylan Callaghan talks to screenwriter Alan Ball about his new film, an adaptation of Alicia Erian’s novel, Towelhead.

On the surface, it’s about race and sexual identity, but underneath it all, it’s about how one girl’s spirit would not be destroyed by an experience that would probably destroy a lot of other people. Usually when [these experiences] are depicted in fiction, they do end up destroying the person they happen to. I found that very inspiring and uplifting and redemptive -- all those words I hate when I hear them from studio executives. It’s really genuine in this story, not tacked on in some phony, Hollywood way. Honestly, I’ve actually said this about this movie, and I think it’s the truth -- It’s a story about the triumph of the human spirit.

The date for the UK release of Towelhead does not yet seem to have been confirmed.

Towelhead trailer

“Making Magic Real” - David Edgar in Cornwall

Playwright David Edgar will be at Hall for Cornwall on Thursday October 9th.

This is a great opportunity to meet multi-award winning playwright David Edgar.

David will discuss the writer’s life, and will also be talking about the perceived problems of being based so far away from London. But is geography a state of mind? Or, with the advent of the Internet, do writers now have the greatest freedom to live wherever they choose – including Cornwall?

Do you really need an agent? How important is it to become a member of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain? And how does all this tie in with the current state of theatre?

Come along for an uplifting talk, a lively debate, wine and nibbles, and a chat afterwards with other writers and people interested in writers and writing.

David is perhaps best known for his adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby for the RSC, he has also written for radio, television, and film, as well as founding the University of Birmingham's MA in Playwriting Studies. He is President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

Thursday 9th October 7:30pm Assembly Room, Hall for Cornwall Tickets are free, so booking is advised. HfC Box Office 01872 262466

Presented by Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and supported by Hall for Cornwall, Mundic Nation and Cornwall Media Focus.

Guild Awards - Best Book shortlist

The final shortlist for the Guild Awards has been announced today. The contenders for Best Book are:

• Tim Butcher - Blood River
• Kate Clanchy - What is she doing here?
• Owen Sheers - Resistance

Tickets for the Awards ceremony, which takes place at BAFTA on 23 November, are still available (priced £30 to Writers’ Guild members and £50 to non-members).

For further information, please contact the Writers’ Guild office on 020 7833 0777 or email Lauren@writersguild.org.uk.

(Paul) Abbott Vision will put writers on top

In Media Guardian, Ben Dowell reports that Guild member Paul Abbott has bought out his partner in Tightrope Pictures and brought it within his company, Abbott Vision.

"Abbott's plan is to establish an innovative model for the creation, production and distribution of world-class drama, putting writing talent on top of the supply chain," Abbott's spokeswoman told MediaGuardian.co.uk.

"Abbott Vision is spearheading a shakeup of the current independent production model which is manifestly failing to address the famine of imaginative new work."

Adapting novels for the screen

In The L.A. Times, Lewis Beale talks to writers about the challenge of adapting novels into screenplays.

"Blindness," Nobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's 1997 allegorical novel about an epidemic of sightlessness that threatens to destroy society, is told in a stream-of-consciousness style that reads like a fever dream. Not exactly " Harry Potter," straight-to-the-big-screen material.

Yet, Don McKellar saw in it a screenplay and Fernando Meirelles ("City of God") saw in that screenplay a film he could direct. And the fact that "Blindness" is now multiplex fodder, with the film opening Friday, is a testament to the willingness of moviemakers to tackle -- sometimes against great odds -- some of the toughest literary works.

Blindess trailer



Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, opens in the UK later this year.

Guild Awards shortlists - Best TV Drama Series

An update to the list of shortlisted writers - Julie Rutterford, Mick Ford and Mark Greig should have been included with Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham for Ashes To Ashes (Best TV Drama Series).

Theatre and Politics: A Playwright's Agenda

On the Guild website, Othniel Smith reports from Theatre and Politics: A Playwright's Agenda, an event organised by the Guild's Welsh Branch.

Phil Ralph suggested that [his play, Deepcut] served a need in terms of filling the ideological void and combating audience cynicism, by telling a profoundly political story via the experience of one family; as well as by succeeding where more supposedly objective journalistic media had failed.

Cash in the garret

A guest post from Gail Renard, Chair of the TV Committee

Are you sitting on a fortune? On December 4th, Christie’s is having its “Popular Culture and Entertainment” sale and is looking for items to auction. As someone who’s recently been lucky at auction myself, I’d urge you to check if you have any hidden show biz gems.

Christie’s are looking for items relating to 20th century icons or from classic Hollywood films or genres. Pieces they already have for auction include a selection of costumes from The Sopranos; personal wardrobe from Marilyn Monroe; tuxedo trousers worn by James Dean in Giant; and Batman and James Bond collectibles, including a replica of the Golden Gun.

They also have items from Star Wars and Harry Potter; as well as a collection of vintage portrait photographs of Marlene Dietrich. (The photo shown is by Eugene Robert Richee, from the Paramount 1933 film, Song Of Songs, estimate £1200 - £1600.)

The deadline for pieces is October 10th. If you’ve memorabilia you might like to auction, contact:

Katherine Williams 0207 752 31

kwilliams@christies.com

What Guild members are getting up to

Taken from the Guild's weekly ebulletin for members.

MARTIN ALLEN wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 29th September.

PERRIE BALTHAZAR wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 1st October.

IAN BROWN and JAMES HENDRIE wrote the episode of My Family, Going Dental, going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Monday 29th September.

PAUL CAMPBELL co-wrote the episode of Casualty, Guilty Complex, going out on BBC1 at 8:55pm on Saturday 27th September.

JOHN CHAMBERS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 2nd October.

SIMON CROWTHER wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 3rd October.

LISA EVANS’ play Stamping, Shouting & Singing Home tours the SW in a production by Forest Forge in a co production with The Nuffield Theatre, Southampton from 11 September - 21st October.

PETER FLANNERY wrote the episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, The Third Girl, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 28th September.

CHARLIE FLETCHER wrote the episode of Wire In The Blood, Falls the Shadow, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Friday 3rd October.

NAWAL GADALLA wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 28th September until Friday 3rd October with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original broadcast.

CHRIS GILL wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 29th September.

ROB GITTINS wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 2nd and at 8:00pm on Friday 3rd October.

DAVID HANSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 2nd October.

PATRICK HARBINSON wrote the episode of Place Of Execution going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Monday 29th September.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episode of Beautiful People, How I Got My Vase, going out on BBC1 at 9:30pm on Thursday 2nd October.

JANE HOLLINSON wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 29th September.

JANE HOLLOWOOD wrote the episode of Heartbeat, Oscar’s Birthday, going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 28th September.

MARK ILLIS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 3rd October.

ALICE JOSEPH'S play For The Public Good and Celebritney by HEATHER JOHNSTON, a double bill of one-act plays, both inspired by current news events, started its run on Tuesday, September 23rd and has daily performances until Sunday 28th, 7.30 pm, at Barons Court Theatre, Curtains Up Pub, 28a Comeragh Road, London W14 9HR £10 (£7 concession) 020 8932 4747

MARCY KAHAN wrote the episode of Psmith in the City, Stirring Times With Comrade Waller, going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Friday 3rd October.

DAVID LANE wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on 3rd October.

BRIAN LANGTRY’S musical play The Eva Cassidy Story is currently on its 8th U.K./Ireland tour. Again starring ex Steps star Faye Tozer in the title role and with the addition of the flame-haired Irish songstress Rose Marie as Eva’s mother.

TONY MCHALE wrote the episode of Holby City, No Breaks On The Midnight Express, going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 30th September.

SUE MOONEY wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 30th September.

JONATHAN MYERSON’S radio drama Number Ten is beginning on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 30th September. The cast includes Guild member ANTHONY SHER.

DAVID NICHOLLS’S dramatization of Tess of the D’Urbervilles continues with its penultimate episode going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 28th September.

HOWARD OVERMAN wrote the episode of Merlin, Valiant, going out on BBC1 at 6:00pm on Saturday 27th September.

JULIE PARSONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 1st October.

TIMOTHY PRAGER wrote the episode of Silent Witness, Safe, going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Wednesday 1st October.

PATREA SMALLACOMBE wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 30th September.

JENNY STEPHENS’ play The Speckled Monster, produced by Birmingham Rep, runs at The Think Tank, Millenium Point until 4th October.

PETER WHALLEY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 1st October.

BBC Vision's commissioning wishlist

In Broadcast, controllers in BBC Vision reveal their wishlists for new commissions.

They include Jane Tranter (outgoing controller of fiction):

"I would like to see more wit in absolutely everything. Even the most serious drama is made better and more exceptional by having moments of lightness and wit in it, because actually that is what real life is," she says.

She's particularly keen to find shows to compete with ITV at 8pm on Sunday nights.

Elsewhere:

• Lucy Lumsden, controller of comedy, wants more studio sitcoms
• Anne Gilchrist, controller of CBBC, is on the look out for comedy
• Michael Carrington, controller of CBeebies, wants web content for two-to four-year-olds.
  

Doc and Dram

In The Guardian, Guild President David Edgar examines the rise of the documentary play.

Fact-based theatre calls attention to, and thus questions, the credibility of the evidence on which we base our view of the world. Unlike naturalistic drama, which invites us to suspend disbelief, verbatim drama wears its sources on its sleeve. At a time when people are highly distrustful of public information, the presentation of witnesses in the theatre invites us to cross-examine. Testimony theatre can be simultaneously reliant on and suspicious of its raw materials.

Attack on The Jewel Of Medina publisher foiled

From David Leppard in The Times:

Scotland Yard's counter-terrorist command yesterday foiled an alleged plot by Islamic extremists to kill the publisher of a forthcoming novel featuring sexual encounters between the Prophet Muhammad and his child bride.

Early yesterday armed undercover officers arrested three men after a petrol bomb was pushed through the door of the north London home of the book’s publisher.

The Metropolitan police said the target of the assassination plot, the Dutch publisher Martin Rynja, had not been injured.

The book, The Jewel Of Medina by American author Sherry Jones, was withdrawn from publication in America but will be published in the UK next month.

The end of American TV seasons?

As the US financial system teeters on the brink of collapse, another seemingly fixed point in American life is also under threat, albeit with less severe consequences.

As Bill Carter reports for The New York Times, the traditional idea of TV seasons is now less relevant than ever as the networks position themselves as part of a 52-week, multi-platform media industry.

The writers' strike, which disrupted season planning, is part of the cause, but so is the increasing use of digital video recorders and the sales of DVDs.

“What counts is how many people watch a show everywhere it plays,” said Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Universal Entertainment. “We’re selling a million DVDs of ‘The Office’ and ‘Heroes’ and ‘House.’ On ‘The Office’ if we get 200,000 downloads of an episode, that’s the same as selling two more commercial units in the show.”

Clive James talks to Tom Stoppard

On video for The Times, Clive James interviews Guild member Tom Stoppard about his long career.

Funny or Die UK

Comedy clips website Funny or Die, created by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Judd Apatow is now available in a UK flavour.



At the moment that more-or-less means the US version plus some clips from Little Britain USA but, according to Owen Gibson in The Guardian:

In conjunction with Hat Trick, the independent producer behind Have I Got News for You and Father Ted, it will also open a London-production office headed up by comedian James Serafinowicz, with other staff including Al Campbell, the director of Charlie Brooker's Screen Wipe and also worked on Fonejacker.

Channel 4 plans drama cuts

In Broadcast, Robin Parker reports that Channel 4's budget cuts will affect most types of programming, including drama.

The £100m savings, introduced because of the downturn in the ad market, include trimming £25m from C4's 2008 programming budget, which now stands at £575m - down from £615m in 2007. C4 also plans a further £25m in savings from areas such as marketing, new business investment, new media and general overheads.

The programming cuts come almost entirely from UK-originated shows and will affect all C4 channels.

September 2008 ALCS payout

A guest post from Gail Renard, Chair of the Guild's TV Committee:

The latest ALCS payout was distributed last week and, as we know, writers are always glad to receive money. The ALCS is a worthy organisation but I’d recommend checking your statement carefully, which is a pretty good general rule for any payment you receive from any company.

The digital age is upon us, and we’re all (with luck and a prevailing wind) going to be receiving more and more micro-payments from more and more different sources. Writers are notorious for sticking their heads in the sand and hyperventilating when it comes to finance, but now’s a great time to change.

None of these payments, including those from ALCS, are gifts from the writing gods. They’re a legitimate, negotiated part of your writing fee, which you’ve earned by the sweat of your computer. Mistakes do happen, even in the best of companies, so if there’s something you don’t understand, ask!

And, should you have a query about your ALCS statement, or were expecting money and didn’t get it, please get in touch with ALCS. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help.

A million free theatre tickets for young people

From the Department for Culture Media and Sport:

A new scheme to encourage young people to experience live theatre was unveiled today by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham. A £2.5 million programme – funded by Arts Council England, who will manage the scheme – will be focused on some 95 venues all over England. Each will offer a proportion of the tickets for arts productions on the same night every week – free – to anyone under 26 years old.

The scheme will start in February 2009 with an initial goal of providing a million free tickets by March 2011. Theatres taking part will have to guarantee free seats for young people across the whole two-year period.

Pinter and cricket

In The Guardian, Michael Henderson is prompted by an imminent revival of Guild member Harold Pinter's No Man's Land to reflect on the playwright's long-standing passion for cricket.

One day at drama school Pinter skipped classes to go to Lord's, running through the gate at the Nursery End to see Cyril Washbrook late-cutting for four. His abiding memory of that truant day, expressed in six simple words towards the end of that 1969 essay, is of an Eden familiar to all cricket-lovers: "that beautiful evening Compton made 70".

Is there a more evocative sentence in cricket literature? Even those who never saw Compton in his prime may feel, reading those words, that "I have known this before". It is one of those moments frozen in time.

Andrew Davies in Sheffield

As part of the Off The Shelf Literary Festival in Sheffield, Guild member Andrew Davies will be talking about his work on Tuesday October 21st, 7.30pm at the Pennine Theatre, Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield.

Tickets £9/7 (cons) from Sheffield Theatres Box Office. Tel: 0114 249 6000

The UK horror revival

A story on BBC News this morning, about shooting commencing on a new Hammer Film, led me (via Dread Central) to this story by Ali Jaafar in Variety a couple of months ago about the revival of UK horror.

One reason for the current glut lies in the success of Danny Boyle's 2002 "28 Days Later." Pic's critical and commercial success marked a paradigm shift for Brit financiers in terms of backing genre projects.

"With '28 Days Later,' you had a respected, nonhorror director in Danny directing a horror film, and the British establishment took note," says Neil Marshall, whose "The Descent" is also cited by U.K. film execs as a successful example of the new wave of Brit horror. "It took me six years to get financing for 'Dog Soldiers,' and the money ended up coming from the U.S. After '28 Days,' though, people here saw horror films as lucrative and respectable. 'The Descent' ended up being financed 100% with British money, which is quite unusual."...

"We're a society in change right now," says Film4 senior commissioning exec Peter Carlton, who has invested in a number of the emerging Brit horror projects as well as other dark fare including Rufus Sewell starrer "Vinyan" and helmer Jonathan Glazer's "Under the Skin."

"When you have much bigger forces in the world, such as terrorism and climate change, that threatening to blow society apart, naturalistic dramas sometimes feel insufficient to deal with that feeling of going out of control. Horror films can tap into that sense of unease."

Jane Tranter to leave BBC Fiction, Stephenson promoted

From Leigh Holmwood for Media Guardian:

The BBC has confirmed that its controller of fiction, Jane Tranter, is to leave her post for a new job in the US.

Tranter will join the BBC's commercial arm BBC Worldwide as executive vice-president of programming and production, overseeing its US scripted and reality business from Los Angeles.

Tranter won't take up her new role until 2009, but the BBC has announced that Ben Stephenson (right) will become Controller, Drama Commissioning - taking over one of Tranter's key responsibilities - with immediate effect. Stephenson was previously Head of Drama Commissioning.

Ben Stephenson said: "Drama on British television has never been in better shape. I am very excited to be able to play my part in ensuring the BBC's offerings continue to be as rich and diverse as possible.

"The drama team have a great understanding of the wide range of content that our audiences enjoy. They work with some of the world's greatest talent in the indie and in-house drama communities.

"Working with them in the future to continue to push creative and artistic boundaries is something I am looking forward to immensely."

Update: As Broadcast explains, Stephenson is now able to give one of the two 'ticks' required for a project to be greenlit - the other must come from the relevant channel controller.

Update (24.09.08): An interesting debate has ensued on the Guardian Organ Grinder blog, including a contribution (apparently) from Nick Elliot.

Writers’ Guild Awards 2008 Shortlists Announced

The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is delighted to announce the shortlist for the Writers’ Guild Awards 2008, to be held at BAFTA on Sunday 23rd November:

Best Short Form TV Drama

• Tony Basgallop - Hughie Green, Most Sincerely
• Gwyneth Hughes - Miss Austen Regrets
• Sarah Williams - Poppy Shakespeare (based on a novel by Clare Allan)
  

Best Soap

• Mark Cairns, Andrew Holden, Martha Hillier, Sam Wheats, Graham Mitchell, Jake Riddlell, Chris Murray, Tony McHale, Matthew Evans, Martin Jameson, Dana Fainaru, Len Collin, Joe Ainsworth, Peter Lloyd, Ian Kershaw, Veronica Henry, Gert Thomas, Jeff Dodds, Dan Sefton, Sebastian Baczkiewicz, Daisy Coulam, Abi Bown - Holby City, Season 10
• Angela Corner Anna Clements Barry Woodward Carol Ann Docherty Chris Gill Daran Little David Mcdermott Helen Blakeman Jane Marlow Jane Pearson Jesse O'Mahoney Jessica Lea Johanne Mcandrew Elliot Hope Kim Millar Lyn Papadopoulos Mariam Vossough Mark Bickerton Matthew Westwood Maurice Bessman Nick Saltrese Nick West Paul Coates Perrie Balthazar Richard Burke Roger Williams Steven Fay Tara Byrne Tony Green Tracy Brabin - Hollyoaks
• Geoff McQueen (series deviser), Richard Ommanney, Neil Clarke, Steve Griffiths, Emma Goodwin, Julian Perkins, Steve Attridge, Clive Dawson, Peter G. Morgan, Andrew Taft, Chris Murray, Tom Higgins, Julia Wall, Maxwell Young, Jane Marlow, Sally Tatchell, Si Spencer, Matthew Bardsley, Jonathan Rich, Matthew Leys, James Hall, Chris Murray, Stuart Morris, Nicholas McInerny, Chris Ould, Alan Pollock, Simon Moss, Nicholas Martin, Scott Cherry, Doug Milburn, Steve Trafford, Stephanie Lloyd Jones, Steve Baillie, Frank Rickarby, Andrew Alty, Will Shindler, Chris Dunn, Sarah-Louise Hawkins, Len Collin, Gregory Evans, Tom Needham, Patrick Homes - The Bill, Season 23
  

Best TV Drama Series

• Heidi Thomas - Cranford
• Matthew Graham, Ashley Pharoah, Julie Rutterford, Mick Ford and Mark Greig - Ashes to Ashes
• Clive Bradley and Peter Harness - City of Vice

Best TV Comedy / Light Entertainment

• Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin - Outnumbered
• James Corden and Ruth Jones - Gavin and Stacey, Series 2
• Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain – Peep Show, Series 5

Best Play (Theatre)

• Lucinda Coxon - Happy Now?
• Levi David Addai - Oxford Street
• Martin Crimp - The City

Best Play for Children and Young People (Theatre)

• Mike Kenny – Electric Darkness
• John Moorhouse - Fly Away Peter
• Neil Duffield – Small Fry

Best Screenplay (Feature Film)

• Martin McDonagh - In Bruges
• Ronald Harwood - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (based on the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby)
• Matt Greenhalgh - Control (based on Deborah Curtis’ autobiography ‘Touching from a Distance’)
  

Best Radio Comedy / Light Entertainment

• Mark Evans – Bleak Expectations
• Sanjeev Kohli and Donald McLeary – Fags, Mags and Bags
• Nigel Smith - Vent

Best Radio Play

• Dan Rebellato - Cavalry
• Jennie Buckman and Ulises Rodriguez Febles - Cuba
• Chris Harrald - Mr Larkin's Awkward Day

Best Videogame Script

• Rhianna Pratchett - Overlord
• Tom Jubert - Penumbra Black Plague
• Rhianna Pratchett, Tameem Antoniades and Andy Serkis - Heavenly Sword
• Steve Ince - So Blonde

Best Book

• Tim Butcher - Blood River
• Kate Clanchy – What Is She Doing Here?
• Owen Sheers - Resistance
  

Also presented at the ceremony on Sunday 23 November will be:

• An Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Writing
• A Lifetime Achievement Award

100 tickets to the ceremony, which will be hosted by Jeremy Hardy, are now on sale at a cost of £30 to Writers’ Guild members and £50 to non-members.

For further information, please contact the Writers’ Guild office on 020 7833 0777 or email Lauren@writersguild.org.uk.

What Guild members are getting up to

Taken from the Guild's weekly ebulletin for Members.

EMMA ADAMS’S play Forgotten Things is about to begin touring the country as Red Ladder Theatre Company's Autumn show beginning in Yorkshire.

GUY ANDREWS wrote the episode of Lost in Austen going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Wednesday 24th September.

TARA BRYNE wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 25th September.

TIM DYNEVOR wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 24th September.

CHARLIE FLETCHER wrote the episode of Wire In The Blood, Fall the Shadow Part 1, going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Friday 26th September.

SIMON FRITH wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 21st till Friday 26th September, with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day after its original broadcast.

LUCY GANNON wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 26th September.

JULIA GILBERT wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Monday 22nd and at 7:30pm on Tuesday 23rd September.

CHRIS GILL wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 23rd September.

JONATHAN R. HALL wrote the episode of Doctors, Seeing Red, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Thursday 25th September.

PATRICK HARBINSON wrote the episode of Place Of Execution, a new crime drama going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Monday 22nd September.

JANE HOLLOWOOD wrote the episode of Heartbeat, Mixed Messages, going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 21st September.

MAGGIE INNES wrote the episode of Doctors, Smokescreen, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Monday 22nd September.

JULIAN JONES wrote first episode of Merlin, The Dragon’s Call, going out onBBC1 at 7:30pm on Saturday 20th September. The cast includes John Hurt and Anthony Head.

JULIE JONES wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 22nd September.

MARCY KAHAN wrote the episode of Psmith In The City, The Haunting Of Mr Bickersdyke, based on the books by P.G. Wodehouse, going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Friday 26th September.

FIN KENNEDYS radio play Caesar Price Our Lord is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Friday 26th September.

ROB KINSMAN wrote the episode of Doctors, The Watcher, going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Tuesday 23rd September.

DAVID MCDERMOTT wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 25th September.

DAVID NOBBS’S play, Silent Nights, goes out on BBC Radio 4 at 2.15pm on Monday 22nd September.

LYN PAPADOPOULOS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 24th September.

HEATHER ROBSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 26th September.

BILL TAYLOR wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 26th September.

CHRIS THOMPSON wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 23rd September.

NICK WARBURTON’S radio play Last Days Of Grace is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Wednesday 24th September.

J.C. WILSHER wrote the episode of New Tricks, Diamond Geezers, going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Monday 22nd September.

Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale

If your hunger for the inside track on writing the Doctor isn't yet satiated, you can read extracts of a new BBC book, Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale, in The Times. It's 'writer' in the singular - i.e. Russell T. Davies. Here's his response to the question, "How do you know when to start writing?"

"I leave it till the last minute. And then I leave it some more. Eventually, I leave it till I'm desperate. That's really the word, desperate. I always think, I'm not ready to write it, I don't know what I'm doing, it's just a jumble of thoughts in a state of flux, there's no story, I don't know how A connects to B, I don't know anything! I get myself into a genuine state of panic. Except panic sounds exciting. It sounds all running-around and adrenalised. This is more like a black cloud of fear and failure."

Blimey.

Guild books co-op

On her blog, Frances Lynn reports from a meeting about the establishment of a publishing co-operative.

It's early days, but one of the co-op's aims is to help book writers (traditionally published and self-published) with their marketing. A brilliant idea! When my two novels Crushed and Frantic were published in 2006, I had to heavily promote them myself on the net: a time consuming learning curve. Back then, it would have been helpful to have belonged to a virtual world for authors who work co-operatively: to be a member of a website which 'could' be called "The Writers' Guild book co-operative".

Enda Walsh interview

In The Guardian, Maddy Costa talks to Enda Walsh abouthis play, The Walworth Farce, which opens at the National Theatre next week.

For Dublin-born Walsh, avoiding naturalism is written into his "Irish playwright DNA". "I don't like seeing everyday life on stage: it's boring. I like my plays to exist in an abstract, expressionistic world: the audience has to learn its rules, and then connect with these characters who are, on the surface, dreadful monsters." If he feels a strong connection with his grotesque characters, it's partly because they are reflections of himself.

The return of Václav Havel

In The Times, Alan Franks talks to Václav Havel about his return to writing.

Playwrights take career breaks for all sorts of reasons, but none quite so strikingly as Václav Havel, the former President of the Czech Republic. This week his first play for nearly 20 years receives its British premiere, at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. He was, of course, getting on with other things in the meantime, such as seeing the Soviets out of his country, dissolving the Warsaw Pact, reshaping Europe. It was hardly a retreat from drama.

Leaving, by Václav Havel, is at The Orange Tree in Richmond.