What Guild members are getting up to

PERRIE BALTHAZAR wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 21st May.

KAREN BROWN wrote the episode of Moving On - The Rain Has Stopped going out on BBC1 at 2:15pm on Monday 18th May.

RHIANNON COUSINS has written the first and fifth episodes of the new online drama Break Free.

DAVID CROFT and JIMMY PERRY co-wrote the episode of Dad's Army "The Royal Train" going out on BBC1 at 7:50pm on Saturday 16th May.

MARY CUTLER'S dramatisation of Falco: Poseidon's Gold begins on Radio 4 at 7:45pm on Monday 18th May.

DAVID EDGAR'S radio play Something Wrong About the Mouth is going out on Radio 4 at 2:30pm on Saturday 16th May.

PETER FLANNERY wrote the episode of Inspector George Gently "Gently in the Blood" going out on BBC1 at 8:30pm on Sunday 17th May.

LOL FLETCHER wrote the episode of Doctors "Sound of Silence" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Wednesday 20th May.

JEREMY FRONT wrote the episode of Murder Unprompted: a Charles Paris Mystery going out on Radio 4 at 11:30pm on Wednesday 20th May.

CAROLINE HARRINGTON wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 17th till Friday 22nd May with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original broadcast.

DAWN HARRISON wrote the episode of Doctors "A Kind Of Hush" that won Best Single Episode at the British Soap Awards.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 18th May.

LISA HOLDSWORTH wrote the episode of Waterloo Road going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Wednesday 20th May.

BILL LYONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 22nd May.

SUE MOONEY wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 19th May.

DAVID NOBBS co-wrote the episode of Reggie Perrin going out on BBC1 at 22nd May.

DEBBIE OATES wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Friday 22nd May.

JESSE O'MAHONEY wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 19th May.

LYN PAPADOPOULOS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 20th May.

JAMES PAYNE wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 21st and at 8:00pm on Friday 22nd May.

ALAN PLATER has a revival of Confessions Of A City Supporter starting on May 21st at the new Hull Truck Theatre.

MARC PYE wrote the episode of Moving On - Bully going out on BBC1 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 19th May.

HEATHER ROBSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 22nd May.

JULIE RUTHERFORD wrote the episode of Ashes to Ashes going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Monday 18th May.

DANNY STACK wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Monday 18th May.

SHELAGH STEPHENSON'S dramatisation of JG Farrell's novel The Siege Of Krishnapur concludes on Radio 4 at 9:00pm on Saturday 16th May (repeated 4pm Sunday 17th).

DAN TETSELL co-wrote the episode of Rudy's Rare Records "The Heart of Saturday Night" going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Monday 18th May.

CHRIS THOMPSON wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st May.

KATHARINE WAY wrote the episode of Doctors "Out of Control" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Monday 18th May.

JC WILSHER wrote the episode of New Tricks "Powerhouse" going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday 19th May.

ESTHER WILSON wrote the episode of Moving On - Butterfly Effect going out on BBC1 at 2:15pm on Friday 22nd May.

STEVE WOOD'S latest book, The Angels of Mona Terrace, was published by Priory Press on 2nd May. Set in Manchester and the Isle of Man in 1971, it's a crossover title aimed at older children and adults.

KARIN YOUNG wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 18th May.

Multilingualism In Drama

Othniel Smith reports from a Guild event at Sherman Cymru, Cardiff

On 9th May 2009, the Welsh Committee of the Writers’ Guild hosted a forum discussion around the issue of multilingualism in theatre, at the Sherman Cymru in Cardiff. This was in conjunction with their production of Gary Owen’s play Amgen : Broken, whose central character exists in both English- and Welsh-speaking incarnations.

The event was chaired by noted Welsh writer and director Ian Rowlands, and in addition to Owen (currently Sherman Cymru’s writer-in-residence), the panel consisted of Dutch playwright Jeroen van den Berg, and Dominic Rai, the Indian-born founder of the Mán Melá Theatre Company, now resident in Brecon. Despite a disappointingly low audience turn-out, the discussion was both lively and stimulating.

Following an introduction during which Rowlands reflected on his experience of directing multi-lingual productions of Under Milk Wood and Branwen, Owen was asked to explain his reasons for writing Amgen. As an adult learner of Welsh rather than a native speaker, he said that it had not originally been his intention to write a bilingual play, but he found himself using the learning of Welsh as a metaphor for personal transformation. Both he and Rowlands spoke of the experience of having had their previous work criticised on the basis of the 'correctness' of the Welsh used, rather than its power and relevance as drama.

Dominic spoke of his experience as a speaker of Punjabi, a stateless, “lower-class” language. Citing the comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar, who is able to perform in English, Punjabi or both, he suggested that more plays were needed which reflected the multilingual experience.

Jeroen discussed his experience of working with a Frysian-speaking theatre company in Holland, whilst developing his play Injury Time via a process of improvisation and back-and-forth translation, which he felt enriched his work. He also suggested that the indirectness of the Dutch language made writing for theatre difficult. Following on from this, Owen pointed out that he felt that his writing in Welsh was less “pregnant” than his writing in English. Dominic reflected on the use of Punjabi as the informal, “language of the heart”, using the example of Urdu speakers who scold their children in Punjabi.

Jeroen pointed out the influence that Arabic is having on Dutch as spoken by young residents of Amsterdam, and all panel-members agreed, from their varying geographical perspectives, that writers will increasingly need to reflect linguistic hybridity within society.

Questions from the floor addressed the fear which Owen expressed over the 'correctness' issue; audience-members’ experience of creating multilingual work; the value of music, within drama, as a common language; and the non-Welsh speaker’s experience of watching Amgen.

Discussion turned to the subject of Y Pris, the gangster-themed television series whose scripts are written in English - by Tim Price, who was present - but which is produced in Welsh for broadcast on S4C; the author felt that, from an artistic perspective, there were both gains and losses, but that the piece would have been more naturalistic had bureaucratic considerations allowed it to develop as a bilingual production.

The lack of opportunities in Wales for non-Welsh-speaking television writers was bemoaned. There was friendly disagreement amongst the Welsh panel members on a number of issues, including the value of there being two national theatre companies in Wales (one operating in English, the other in Welsh), and the extent to which English is viewed as a language of oppression.

Everyone agreed, however, that dramatists should be encouraged to work multilingually, but that this can only work if the drama arises organically from the author’s choice of subject-matter, whether it be social inclusion, power politics or, as in the case of Amgen, alienation.

The panel: Ian Rowlands, Jeroen Van Den Berg, Dominic Rai, Gary Owen (Photo: Paul Rees)

AmazonEncore (sic)

From the Amazon press release:

AmazonEncore is a new program whereby Amazon uses information such as customer reviews on Amazon websites to identify exceptional, overlooked books and authors that show potential for greater sales. Amazon then partners with the authors to re-introduce their books to readers through marketing support and distribution into multiple channels and formats, such as the Amazon Books Store, Amazon Kindle Store, Audible.com, and national and independent bookstores via third-party wholesalers.

The first book to receive such treatment will be Legacy, a self-published novel by 16-year-old Cayla Kluver.

What the Dickens?

On the Guild website, an article by Piers Beckley (from the current issue of the Guild's magazine, UK Writer) about adapting A Christmas Carol.

The first thing I did was read the story again, from beginning to end.

The second thing I did was read the story again, from beginning to end.

The third thing I did was read the story again, from beginning to end. But this time I was armed. I used a highlighter pen to mark up anything that I thought was interesting, or relevant to the story. Sometimes it was a line of dialogue, sometimes a description or a turn of phrase.

And then I did that again, too, trying to capture everything that I'd missed the first time.

Barbara Lanik as The Ghost Of Christmas Yet To Come

John Furia Jr. 1929-2009

From the Writers Guild of America West:

Prolific screen and television writer and past president of the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) John Furia, Jr. has died. He was 79.

Throughout his career, Furia worked for major studios and the networks. He wrote for popular television series such as Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildare, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Hawaii Five-O, The Waltons, and Kung Fu, as well as wrote or produced numerous movies-of-the-week (MOW) including The Death of Ocean View Park, The Healers, Caring and The Widow. Furia’s screen credits include The Singing Nun starring Debbie Reynolds and Greer Garson, in addition to executive producing films in Mexico, France, Canada, Spain, Croatia, and Kenya.

John Furia was also a founding chairman of University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television Writing Division.

C4 boss criticises BBC for US acquisitions

Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, has criticised the BBC for buying overseas shows, reports Urmee Khan for The Daily Telegraph.

"I don't understand why any of the licence fee is spent on acquisitions" he said.

"The BBC competes against us and ITV for feature films and acquisitions, all of which would appear on British television some other way.

"If they didn't spend this money, they could spend it on original programming. There might have been a day decades ago when people went to watch a Christmas Day film on BBC One but that has gone."

He added: "One or two things the BBC have done like The Wire and Mad Men they argue wouldn't be picked up [elsewhere] but a lot of the money they spend would be picked up by others."

Join the Guild for just £50 - today only

Today's the day you can join the Writers' Guild of Great Britain for just £50.

The special offer is part of the Guild's 50th anniversary celebrations and will only apply to the first 50 people joining today.

Full details are on the Guild website.

Short Circuit writing competition

The Media Lunch Club is running Short Circuit, a search for the best 10 minute drama script on the theme of: “A discussion about film or TV over lunch”

You have to be a member of the Lunch Club, a non-profit making networking organisation, to apply.

Submissions Deadline: All script submissions must be received by Gareth Owen, c/o The Lunch Club, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Bucks SL0 ONH ~ or via email to lunch@lunch-club.org.uk by Thursday, 30th June 2009.

The best three scripts, as chosen by the panel, will be rehearsed and staged by a well-known film director and by actors, and performed at a special evening in front of the Media Lunch Club audience and guests in late September 2009.

There will be an opportunity for the winning script to be produced as a short film by members of the Brighton Film School, plus a year’s subscription to Twelve-Point scriptwriter magazine for the winner and finalists.

Sony Award winners

Among the winners of the 2009 Sony Radio Academy Awards announced last night were:

The Drama Award

Gold Award: Mr Larkin's Awkward Day
Written by Chris Harrald
Producer: Steven Canny
BBC Radio Drama for BBC Radio 4
Judges comments: Assured direction, excellent performances and concise, skilfully-researched writing all made this deceptively straightforward story a masterpiece. Funny and touching by turns, a single, seemingly insignificant incident in the life of Philip Larkin brought out the humanity and humour of a poet whose personal life is not commonly associated with either.

Silver Award: The Color Purple
Dramatised by Patricia Cumper from the novel by Alice Walker
BBC Radio Drama for BBC Radio 4

Bronze Award: Goldfish Girl
Written by Peter Souter
BBC Radio Drama for BBC Radio 4

The Comedy Award

Gold Award: Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!
Written by Steve Delaney
Producer: Mark Radcliffe
Komedia Entertainment & Smooth Operations for BBC Radio 4
Judges comments: A traditional format made contemporary and edgy by strong writing and great performances. It simply makes you laugh out loud.

Silver Award: Adam and Joe
Presenters: Adam Buxton, Joe Cornish & Garth Jennings
BBC Audio & Music for BBC 6 Music

Bronze Award: The Now Show
Writer/Performers: Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis, Jon Holmes, Mitch Benn & Holly Walsh
Writers: John Finnemore, Nick Doody, Chris Chantler, Jon Hunter, James Sherwood & Stephen Carlin
BBC Radio Comedy for BBC Radio 4

US TV to cut writing jobs

As TV companies around the world look for ways to save money, in America, reports Cynthia Littleton for Variety, writing jobs could be cut.

Industry sources say studios producing skeins for Big Four nets are pushing for cuts of as much as 10%-15% in the writing budget for returning series, while new shows will start out with smaller staffs than first-year shows in recent seasons. Where skeins once had as many as 10-12 writers, not including the showrunner(s), the new norm is becoming six to eight.

As Littleton continues:

The big unknown in all of this is how the cuts will affect the quality of shows. Execs stress that making trims where possible on writing staffs help keep onscreen production values high. But the thinning of the scribe herd will undoubtedly put more pressure on showrunners, who might've otherwise delegated some rewrites and story-related tasks to their more experienced lieutenants.

Join the Guild for just £50

Don't forget, Wednesday 13th May is your chance to join the Writers' Guild of Great Britain for just £50.

It's a once-only offer, as part of the celebrations of the Guild's fiftieth anniversary.

Full details are on the Guild website.

What we owe Alan Plater

In The Guardian, Paul Allen pays tribute to Guild member (and former President), Alan Plater.

This week I write in praise – as they say – of Alan Plater, who has now been "writing the north" for stage, screen and occasional hardback for nearly half a century. He's funny, a natural storyteller and a man who has vigorously campaigned for, and supported, other writers without ever drawing attention to himself. We owe him.

Writing with constraints

On the Freakonomics blog, Stephen J Dubner, inspired by Wordsmith.org, considers the challenge of writing with self-imposed constraints - such as writing a novel in which every sentence contains a negative.

What Guild members are getting up to

SIMON ASHDOWN wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Friday 15th May.

SARAH BAGSHAW wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 12th May.

HELEN BLAKEMAN wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 14th May.

RAY BROOKING wrote the episode of Doctors "Impact" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Wednesday 13th May.

ROY BOULTER and JIMMY MCGOVERN co-wrote the episode of The Street going out on BBC1 at 10:45pm on Wednesday 13th May.

SIMON BOVEY'S radio play Sargasso is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 12th May.

RICHARD BURKE wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 12th May.

MARK BURT wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 11th May.

TONY COTTRELL'S new play The Thick of it All opens on Thursday 7th May until Tues 12th May as part of the 2009 Daphne du Maurier Festival.

JOHN CHAMBERS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 14th May.

ROY CLARKE wrote the episode of Last of the Summer Wine "Who's That Looking Sideways at Nelly?" going out on BBC1 at 6:30pm on Sunday 10th May.

DAVID CROFT and JIMMY PERRY co-wrote the episode of Dad's Army "My British Buddy" going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Saturday 9th May.

STEVEN FAY wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 15th May.

PETER FLANNERY wrote the episode of Inspector George Gently "Gently in the Night" going out on BBC1 at 8:30pm on Sunday 10th May.

JEREMY FRONT wrote the episode of Murder Unprompted: a Charles Paris Mystery going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Wednesday 13th May.

CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON wrote the screenplay for Cheri, adapted from the story by Colette, which opens in cinemas next week. He has teamed up again with director Stephen Frears and actress Michelle Pfeiffer; they last worked together on Dangerous Liaisons, twenty years ago.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 13th May.

CHRIS LANG wrote the episode of Robin Hood "Too Hot to Handle" going out on BBC1 at 6:15pm on Saturday 9th May.

JANE MARLOW wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 13th May.

ANDREW MCCULLOCH wrote the episode of Heartbeat "Ups and Downs" going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 10th May.

DAVID NOBBS co-wrote the episode of Reggie Perin going out on BBC1 at 9:30pm on Friday 15th May.

ASHLEY PHAROAH wrote the episode of Ashes to Ashes going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Monday 11th May.

MARTIN RILEY wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 11th May.

SHELAGH STEPHENSON'S dramatisation of The Siege of Krishnapur is going out on Radio 4 at 3:00pm on Sunday 10th May.

TIM STIMPSON wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 from Sunday 10th till Friday 15th May.

DAN TETSELL co-wrote the episode of Rudy's Rare Records "Get Up, Stand Up" going out on Monday 11th May.

TINA WALKER wrote the episode of Doctors "Worlds Apart" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Friday 15th May.

PETER WHALLEY wrote the episodes of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on Friday 15th May.

KARIN YOUNG wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 15th May.

Survey of Playwrights

The Guild is conducting a survey of playwrights on behalf of a group conducting research for the Arts Council England to assess new writing in the British theatre from 2003 to 2008, to see what effect the Arts Council’s big injection of money had, and to look at more profound trends (like the move towards greater intervention by theatres in script development, more collaborative procedures, etc).

The group includes the Guild's President, David Edgar. The research will culminate in a report with recommendations about the future of new writing in the subsidised theatre, to be presented to the Arts Council in the summer.

The survey is open to all playwrights, whether Guild members or not.

You can take the survey online here until 12th June 2009.

50 is the magic number

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain is celebrating its 50th anniversary on Wednesday 13th May 2009 and, to commemorate this momentous occasion, we are offering 50 people the chance to join the Guild on its 50th anniversary for just £50.

This offer applies to Full members, who currently pay a minimum of £150 per annum, and Candidate members who pay £100. The offer applies to a new member's first year of membership only.

To be one of the lucky 50, call the Guild's Membership Team on 13th May 2009, between 9.30am and 5.30pm, on 01952 214 063 and quote 'WGGB Anniversary Offer'. You can pay your £50 over the telephone by credit or debit card and your welcome pack will be sent on within a few days.

Alternatively, members of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Facebook Group can take advantage of the special offer by sending a Facebook message with their name and contact details to fellow group member Naomi MacDonald AND changing their status on 13th May to "Happy 50th Birthday to the Writers' Guild of Great Britain"

Please note that this special offer is only available on 13th May 2009.

We look forward to welcoming our 50 new members. What better way to celebrate our half-century?!

Vamps, Vixens and Feminists - The Elephant In The Room

Sphinx is convening a professional forum on the issues around women's employment and representation in theatre, film and TV. The Writers’ Guild, with Equity and the Directors Guild of Great Britain, Women in Film and TV, and the Arts Council are collaborating in presenting this forum which will take place at the National Theatre in the Olivier Theatre on 16th June 2009 from 10am to 1.30pm. Tickets are free but places are limited.

The recent Gender Equality Duty has mandated all public institutions to give due regard to proactive promotion of gender equality within their organisations. More importantly, a significant aspect of the Gender Equality Duty is the responsibility of public bodies to actively promote equality between men and women.

Speakers include:

Kate Buffery, Katherine Rake, Beatrix Campbell, Tanika Gupta, Tracy Brabin and David Edgar.

To book a place please email info@sphinxtheatre.co.uk with the subject line “Vamps, Vixens and Feminists” including your name, contact details and the professional body to which you belong (if applicable) in order to receive an e-invitation; alternatively you can call 020 7401 9994.

Please make sure you reserve your place by Friday 5th June if you would like to attend.

Comedy and politics

On The Huffington Post, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members and academics consider the relationship between comedy and politics. From Sabiyha Prince:

We should not be surprised to know that, in the search for real information about U.S. politics and similar goings-on around the world, many Americans turn to "Saturday Night Live" and the, back-to-back, fake news and punditry programming offered by "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." As politicians and the mainstream media who cover them, too often, appear out of step with the concerns of most Americans, these shows fill an aching void. For those of us who have spent the last eight years alarmed by unwarranted war, torture, fired prosecutors, illegal wiretapping, botched hurricane relief, no-bid contracts, missing billions, and other outgrowths of corporate corruption and governmental malfeasance, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Loren Michaels and their crew of writers and performers are among an invaluable cohort of entertainers who remind the reality-based community that we are not alone.

WGAE is holding an event on the subject in Washington tonight.

JJ Abrams interview

In The Guardian, Steve Rose talks to writer-director-producer JJ Abrams about Lost and the new Star Trek film (written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman based on the TV series by Gene Roddenberry).

Like Spielberg, Abrams has been immersed in film-making for so long, he seems to have mastered every aspect of it. He appears to have an innate feel for entertainment that is cult yet mass-market, accessible but not dumb, polished and high-tech yet character-driven, zeitgeisty but infused with good old-fashioned storytelling. Abrams hasn't revolutionised film-making, though he may be perfecting it. What he has revolutionised, though, is the art of 21st-century entertainment. The movies and TV shows are just one feature in a landscape of viral marketing campaigns, merchandising tie-ins, spoiler alerts, online chat forums, fan blogs, websites that treat fictional worlds as real places, and so on. "People want to find magic," he says. "It's almost like a Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe thing. You want to find that secret. You want there to be some kind of portal between reality and fiction."

Alison Hume: writing Summerhill

On the Writers' Guild website, Children's BAFTA winner Alison Hume explains how she came to write a TV drama about Summerhill school.

Dramatising the story of how a tiny progressive school took on David Blunkett’s disapproving education department in 1999 had been a separately but equally long held dream for both CBBC’s Jon East and Tiger Aspect’s Greg Bremnan. In 2006 the planets came into alignment and Summerhill was commissioned as a 4 x 30 minute drama for CBBC. I was presented with a court transcript as thick as a brick and quickly felt the dead-ish hand of responsibility settling on my shoulder.

I put the research aside, packed my swimming costume and caught the train down to the Suffolk coast from my home in York. Most of a day later I arrived at Summerhill School. The very first thing I saw were kids playing up in the trees. Up in the trees! I felt challenged and I wasn’t even through the front door.

Alison Hume (right) with Chae Eun Park, a Summerhillian who had a part in the drama

Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story

The short list has been announced for what might be Britain's only prize for short story collections, the Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story. On the shortlist are:

• Chris Beckett, The Turing Test (Elastic Press)
• Gerard Donovan, Country of the Grand (Faber)
• Anne Enright, Yesterday’s Weather (Random House)
• Shena Mackay, The Atmospheric Railway (Random House)
• Ali Smith, The First Person and Other Stories (Hamish Hamilton)
  

Some people have expressed surprise that Chris Beckett, a science fiction writer, should be in contention alongside 'literary heavyweights.' His publisher, Elastic Press, is certainly a lot smaller than those of the other contenders.

Beckett, who said he'd tried writing stories without the science fiction element, but found himself thinking "oh, just put a robot in it", was also pleased to be "recognised outside the field" of science fiction. "It's nice company to be in," he said. "I never understand people saying that short story collections don't sell. It's odd, because we're always being told what a short attention span everyone has nowadays, so you would have thought that short stories would be popular. [They're] different to a novel in that they're much more concentrated. It would be much more work to write an 80,000 word short story collection than an 80,000 word novel ... That's the beauty of the short story – it can be very rich, densely packed."

Susannah Grant on adapting The Soloist

For the Writers Guild of America West's Angle On video series, Susannah Grant talks about adapting Steve Lopez's book The Soloist.



The Soloist was released in America last month and will be released in the UK in September.

AL Kennedy on inspiration

On The Guardian books blog AL Kennedy says that writers can find inspiration in everyday tasks. Sometimes.

Tomorrow I'll attempt to find something majestical and of use in washing and ironing a travel-week's worth of clothes. Yeah, well, if I could actually do that I'd be a majestical and useful author. Things being as they are, at least I'll get the laundry done, ready for the next trip – Ullapool beckons. Onwards.

Marilyn French 1929-2009

Marilyn French, author of The Women's Room, has died at the age of 79. There are obituaries in The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph and by AG Sulzberger and Herbert Mitgang in The New York Times.

Her first and best-known novel, “The Women’s Room,” released in 1977, traces a submissive housewife’s journey of self-discovery following her divorce in the 1950s, describing the lives of Mira Ward and her friends in graduate school at Harvard as they grow into independent women. The book was partly informed by her own experience of leaving an unhappy marriage and helping her daughter deal with the aftermath of being raped. Women all over the world seized on the book, which sold more than 20 million copies and was translated into 20 languages.

Gloria Steinem, a close friend, compared the impact of the book on the discussion surrounding women’s rights to the one that Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” had had on racial equality 25 years earlier.

Ending Lost

In The New York Times, David Itzkoff talks to Damon Lindelof, an executive producer and co-creator of Lost, about how the writers are approaching ending the long-running show.

There was always an option in past seasons which was, “Let’s hold it for next year. I don’t think they’re ready for that,” or “That’ll have more emotional impact later.” And then there are also actor deals to contend with – what’s the stable of regulars you can maintain at any one time? Next year, I feel like for the first time we’ll have the entire box of crayons to color with, without having to worry about the mechanics. All our ducks are in a row.

Tom McGrath 1940-2009

The playwright Tom McGrath has died at the age of 68. There's an obituary in The Herald:

McGrath was a free-thinker who set the tone for the proliferation of alternative thought among an underground arts culture in Scotland that would not exist without him. Influenced both by American Beat literature and the Glasgow music hall he saw as a child, McGrath melded these sensibilities in a body of work where laughs and the quest for enlightenment went hand in hand.

The Herald also has a selection of tributes.

The end of an era for professional writing?

In The Guardian, Ian Jack argues that, thanks to new technology, we are set to return to an age where professional writers become increasingly rare.

At British and American universities, this future has to be kept as a woeful secret. A great paradox of the age is that while newspapers continue their inexorable decline and publishing cuts its costs, journalism and creative writing degrees have never been more popular. Year on year, journalist applicants stood a quarter higher at 13,229 for courses beginning this autumn. Creative writing can now be learned at nearly every British institute of higher learning. Figures are hard to come by, but Britain is probably turning out about 1,300 "creative writers" every year.

Why do young people apply? Because they think they can be the next Zadie Smith. Why do universities encourage them? Because money can be made from fees. Is this responsible behaviour? We need to weigh the smashed hopes of creative writers against the financial needs of their tutors, who are themselves writers, and earning the kind of money that writing would never supply. A closed little dance: tutors teach students who in turn teach other students, like silversmiths in a medieval guild where a bangle is rarely bought though many are crafted, and everyone lives in a previous world.

What Guild members are getting up to

CAREY ANDREWS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Friday 8th May.

SEBASTIAN BACSZKIEWICZ wrote the episode of Holby City "Smoke and Mirrors" going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 5th May.

TONY BLACK wrote the episode of Doctors "Hang onto Nurse" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Thursday 7th May.

HELEN BLAKEMAN wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 8th May.

ROY CLARKE wrote the episode of Last of the Summer Wine "Will Howard Cross the Atlantic Single-Handed?" going out on BBC1 at 6:30pm on Sunday 3rd May.

PAUL COATES wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 6th May.

ANGELA CORNER wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 4th
May.

DAVID CROFT and JIMMY PERRY co-wrote the episode of Dad's Army "The Deadly Attachment" going out on BBC2 at 6:30pm on Saturday 2nd May.

SIMON CROWTHER wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 4th May.

PAUL FARRELL wrote the episode of Primeval going out on ITV1 at 7:20pm on Saturday 2nd May.

CHRIS FEWTRELL wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Monday 4th May.

PETER FLANNERY wrote the first episode of the new series Inspector George Gently "Gently with the Innocents" going out on BBC1 at 8:30pm on Sunday 3rd May.

JEREMY FRONT wrote the episode of Murder Unprompted: a Charles Paris Mystery going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Wednesday 6th May.

ANDREA GIBB'S radio play Tough Love is going out on Radio 4 at 9:00pm on Friday 8th May.

DAVID HANSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 7th May.

DEBBIE HORSFIELD wrote the episode of All the Small Things going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday 5th May.

MARK ILLIS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 7th May.

MICHAEL JENNER wrote the episode of Waterloo Road going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Wednesday 6th May.

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

BILL LYONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 4th May.

JIMMY MCGOVERN wrote the episode of The Street going out on BBC1 at 10:45pm on Wednesday 6th May.

PAULA MILNE's political thriller End Game goes out on C4 at 9:00pm on Monday 4th May with a cast including Jonny Lee Miller, Derek Jacobi and Timothy West.

DAVID NOBBS co-wrote the episode of Reggie Perin going out on BBC1 at 9:30pm on Friday 8th May.

GARY OWEN'S new play Amgen:Broken is on at the Sherman in Cardiff till May 9th, then at Clwyd Theatr Cymru from 12th to the 16th.

TIMOTHY PRAGER wrote the episode of Robin Hood "Do You Love Me?" going out on BBC1 at 6:20pm on Saturday 2nd May.

MARTIN RILEY has a feature in The Stage this week in the Q and A section on page 12.

TRACEY SPOTTISWOODE'S radio play Solo behind the Iron Curtain is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 5th May.

RICHARD STEVENS wrote the episode of Doctors "Code of Silence" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Tuesday 5th May.

BILL TAYLOR wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th May.

DAN TETSELL co-wrote the episode of Rudy's Rare Records "Roots Manoeuvres" going out on Radio 4 at 11:30pm on Monday 4th May.

JOANNA TOYE wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 3rd till Friday 8th May with each episode being repeated at 2:00pm the day following its original release.

STEVE TRAFFORD wrote the episode of Midsomer Murders "King's Crystal" going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Wednesday 6th May.

Carol Anne Duffy is new Poet Laureate

From BBC News:

Carol Ann Duffy has been named as the new Poet Laureate, the first woman to be appointed in the 341-year history of the post.

Duffy, 53, who takes over immediately from Andrew Motion and will serve 10 years in the position, says she will give the £5,750 annual payment away.

The author, who is best known for her collection The World's Wife, is also the first Scot to be named Laureate.

Duffy said she felt "very honoured and humbled" by her appointment.

BBC News also has a profile of Carol Anne Duffy by Mark Savage.

Critics have praised Duffy for her storytelling (her works have been called "minutely compressed novels") and even more so for the way she seems to inhabit her characters, memorably described by novelist Charlotte Mendelson as "ventriloquism".

UA Fanthorpe 1929-2009

The poet UA Fanthorpe has died at the age of 79. There's an obituary in The Daily Telegraph.

UA Fanthorpe was much more inclined towards humour than sentiment, and was a mistress of the anachronism: she makes St George say, "I have diplomas in Dragon / Management and Virgin Reclamation", and Christ introduce his parables with such lines as "What did the high priest say / To the belly dancer?" Her use of a weary female voice to deflate the aspirations of orotund male poets anticipated the quips of Wendy Cope and Carol Ann Duffy. Even when writing about terminal illness, she could approach the subject in the spirit of Woody Allen: "Library fines and income tax returns / Have lost their sting."

BBC 2 planning 'event drama'

By Matthew Hemley for The Stage

New BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow has revealed she plans to make original drama “the major event of the week” on the channel and draw inspiration from its previous successes including literary adaptations and series such as Our Friends in the North.

Speaking exclusively to The Stage, Hadlow, who was previously controller of BBC4 and replaced Roly Keating as head of BBC2 at the end of last year, said she was looking for dramas that audiences know “no one else is going to do”.

Let's hope she heeds the words of Guy Hibbert (whose work she praises), and allows writers to write without interference.

Google Book Settlement delay

From Ryan Singel for Wired:

Google’s attempt to build the digital library of the future was slowed down significantly Tuesday, as the judge overseeing a landmark court settlement between the search giant and all U.S. copyright holders gave authors four more months to decide whether to join, fight or opt-out of the deal.

There's more background about the Google Book Search Settlement, including Guild advice to UK writers, on the Guild website.

BBC "right not to replace Tranter"

On his Guardian blog, Gareth McLean argues that the BBC is right not to replace Head Of Fiction Jane Tranter and commends their pursuit of a "flatter, simpler editorial structure".

...from the outset, the head of fiction post was a folly, an entirely unnecessary and anti-creative construction, an unhealthy concentration of power in the hands of one person. Who that person was is actually irrelevant. Such a consolidation of control over scripted comedy, drama, film and acquisitions is improper, irrespective of what you think of the person who wields the power. It was too big a job for one individual, regardless of how "good" their taste.

All Together Now? British Theatre after Multiculturalism

Michael Boyd, Richard Eyre, Vicky Featherstone, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Stewart Lee are among theatre practitioners who will be gathering at the Warwick Arts Centre near Coventry in June to discuss whether theatre has a role in defining Britishness and bringing communities together.

Titled All Together Now? British Theatre after Multiculturalism, the conference will be held over the weekend of 13-14 June 2009.

Under Labour, the arts were charged with challenging social exclusion, celebrating diversity and reasserting Britishness. But is there a contradiction between diversity and national identity? Should theatre foster cohesion or challenge it? If multiculturalism is dead, should theatre be promoting it? Is the theatre's role to encourage tolerance or provoke outrage? What has been the experience of the National Theatre of Scotland and the National Theatre on the south bank?

These and other questions will be debated during panel discussions, whose subjects will embrace national arts policy, how repertory theatres should relate to their communities, whether identity politics still has a role in drama's agenda, and if theatre should be allowed or even encouraged to offend. The conference will begin with a discussion on Shakespeare and history, led by the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and it will end with a panel consisting of a former director of the National Theatre in London, the current director of the National Theatre of Scotland, and the chair of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

The current line-up of speakers includes playwrights Richard Bean, Howard Brenton and Kwame Kwei-Armah , comedian and writer Stewart Lee; directors Richard Eyre, Simon Reade, Michael Boyd (RSC) and Jonathan Church (Chichester); Barrie Rutter of Northern Broadsides and Vicky Featherstone of the National Theatre of Scotland; Stuart Rogers of the Birmingham Rep, and Lisa O'Neill-Rogan of the Bolton Octagon; academic Lynette Goddard, commentator David Aaronovitch and writer Kenan Malik; Barbara Matthews of the Arts Council, Conservative arts spokesman Ed Vaizey MP and 2012 Cultural Olympiad chair Jude Kelly.

The conference organisers are playwrights Steve Waters, Julie Wilkinson and Guild President David Edgar, playwright/academic Dan Rebellato and Janelle Reinelt of Warwick University. In December 2007 the organising group produced a sell-out one day conference on the last decade of British Theatre (How was it for us? Theatre under Blair) at the Writers' Guild Centre in Kings Cross.

The Warwick Arts Centre conference starts at 11.00am on Saturday 13 June and finishes at 4.00pm on Sunday 14June. The registration fee is £100 (£50 student rate) which includes attendance on both days and a conference banquet on Saturday evening. Onsite accommodation for the Saturday night is available at a supplement of £50. Bookings can be made at the conference website.

For other booking methods and enquiries, please contact Janelle Reinelt at j.reinelt@warwick.ac.uk.

The conference is supported by generous contributions from Royal Holloway University of London, the University of Warwick, and Warwick Arts Centre.

Apple rumoured to be planning 'Mediapad'

Despite the relative success of Amazon's Kindle e-reader in the US, it might take a company like Apple to bring such devices to the mainstream. Rumoured plans for a 'mediapad' - like an iPod Touch but with a larger screen - could be the start, reckons David Coursey for PC World.

The larger screen would be a more pleasant way to view movies or the Internet than an iPod or iPhone and the device could have decent speakers, too. By using a touch screen, Apple could save space necessary for Kindle's keyboard, resulting in a smaller device.

While not pocket-sized, the Apple mediapad would be easy to carry and offer an entertainment experience a smaller device could not match. Reading a book might be such an experience, right?

Adopt a playwright

For the second year OffWestEnd.com is running an 'adopt a playwright' scheme, inviting patrons to "buy time for struggling new playwrights to write".

The aim is quite simply to encourage new voices from every corner of our multifaceted society by buying them the time to write. We want to make sure that talented new writers from backgrounds that offer them little encouragement or financial support do not give up but are given a fair chance to prove themselves and take their place among our culture's storytellers.

Every year an Advisory Panel of 'talent scouts' and 'experts' will recommend and short-list new writers who show talent and need help. One writer will be chosen for adoption each year.

In The Guardian, Alfred Hickling considers the merits of the scheme.

Adopting a playwright is a fine idea. But if you really want to subsidise unpublished authors and out-of-work actors, you could always go down the established route and open a restaurant.

DVRs - the revolution that wasn't

Unusually, some good news for the TV industry: it seems that Digital Video Recorders, frequently predicted to have a devastating effect on commercial TV revenues by allowing viewers to skip adverts, seem to have had little impact.

From The Economist:

Families with DVRs [in America] seem to spend 15-20% of their viewing time watching pre-recorded shows, and skip only about half of all advertisements. This means only about 5% of television is time-shifted and less than 3% of all advertisements are skipped. Mitigating that loss, people with DVRs watch more television.

BAFTA TV Awards winners

Winners at last night's BAFTA TV Awards included:

• Single Drama - White Girl (written by Abi Morgan)
• Drama Series - Wallander (written by Richard Cottan and Richard McBrien, from the books by Henning Menkell)
• Drama Serial - Criminal Justice (written by Peter Moffat)
• Continuing Drama - The Bill ( see writing credits)
• Comedy Programme - Harry and Paul (created by Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse)
• Sitcom - The IT Crowd (written by Graham Linehan)
• Audience Award - Skins (created by Jamie Brittain amd Bryan Elsley)
  

Webby honour for Brothers McLeod

Sticks, a series of animations by the Brothers McLeod (including Guild member Myles), has been named an Official Honoree of the 2009 Webby Awards to recognise its "standard of excellence".

Guild members can look forward to an article by Myles in the next issue of UK Writer.

Here's the first Sticks. The other two are also available online.

Andrew Motion steps down

On the BBC News website the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, talks about his ten years in the role.

You wrote eight special poems while laureate. Are there any of which you're particularly proud?

Overall, I think of them as left-handed poems written by a right-handed poet. Some of them don't work at all well.

I tried to write something for Prince William's 21st birthday in the style of a rap, because I thought "he's a young person and I'll do it in a kind of humorous way" and I wish I hadn't done it really, I wish I'd stayed on the higher ground.

New ITC rates

The new rates payable to writers under the WGGB agreement with the Independent Theatre Council (ITC) has been announced. You can download the new ITC rates (pdf) from the Guild website.

Martin Baum on the phone-in experience

On the Writers' Guild wesbite, Martin Baum recounts the experience of taking part in Richard Bacon's BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in talking about his book, To Be or Not To Be, Innit – A Yoof-Speak Guide To Shakespeare.

There was another guest. A traditionalist who held a different view to mine who was sat on her own in an unmanned studio in Liverpool - and this taught me the valuable broadcasting lesson that out of sight is out of mind, especially if you’re not actually in the studio at the time of transmission. Unfortunately for the lady ’cross the Mersey, the balance of air time given was very much tipped in my favour.

What Guild members are getting up to

ABBY AJAYI wrote the episode of Holby City "Running on Empty" going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 28th April.

SARAH BAGSHAW wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 28th April.

MARK BURGESS'S radio play A King's Speech is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Thursday 30th April.

RICHARD BURKE wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 29th April.

MICHAEL CHAPLIN'S radio play Two Pipe Problems going out in two parts on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th April.

ANNA CLEMENTS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Tuesday 28th April.

TIM DYNEVOR wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 30th April.

JEREMY FRONT wrote the episode of Murder Unprompted: a Charles Paris Mystery, staring Bill Nighy its going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Wednesday 29th April.

DIANA GRIFFITHS' radio play Therese Raquin concludes on Radio 4 at 9:00pm on Radio 4 at 9:00pm on Saturday 25th April.

DAWN HARRISON wrote the episode of Doctors "Someone to Watch over Me" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Wednesday 29th April.

JANE HOLLOWOOD wrote the episode of Heartbeat "Looking for Isabelle" going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 26th April.

DEBBIE HORSFIELD wrote the episode of All the Small Things going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday 28th April.

KAREN HUGHES wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 27th April.

JULIE JONES wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 29th April.

DAVID KANE wrote the episode of Taggart "Grass" going out on ITV1 at 9:00pm on Thursday 30th April.

NICK KING wrote the episode of Doctors "Playing Away" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Monday 27th April.

ROB KINSMAN wrote the episode of Doctors "Lucky" going out on BC1 at 1:45pm on Tuesday 28th April.

KAREN LAWS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Monday 27th April.

JANE MARLOW wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Friday 1st May.

JIMMY MCGOVERN wrote the episode of The Street going out on BBC1 at 10:45pm on Wednesday 29th April.

DAVID NOBBS co-wrote the episode of Reggie Perrin going out on BBC1 at 9:30pm on Friday 1st May.

MOYA O'SHEA is performing in fellow Guild member Mark Burgess's radio play A King's Speech going out on 2:15pm on Thursday 30th April.

CHRISTOPHER REASON wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 28th and Thursday 30th April.

HEATHER ROBSON wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 27th April.

DAN TETSELL co-wrote the episode of Rudy's Rare Records "Take Me Home, Country Roads" going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Monday 27th April.

JOANNA TOYE wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Sunday 26th till Friday 1st May.

Arts Council England to invest extra £44.5 million

From The Arts Council:

Arts Council England will invest an extra £44.5 million in artists and arts organisations over the next two years to help maintain artistic excellence during the economic downturn.

These counter-recessionary measures were announced by Chair Dame Liz Forgan, in a speech at an Arts Council sponsored seminar, Maximising the importance of arts and culture through the economic downturn, today 24 April 2009, in London...

The new funds have been made available by the Arts Council radically reducing its Lottery cash balances over the next two years.

Wired edited by JJ Abrams

The latest (US) issue of Wired magazine is guest edited by writer and director JJ Abrams.

As you might expect from the creator of Lost, it contains some hidden messages (none of which, apparently, work online).

Can a writer be too famous?

With The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown's follow-up to his global bestseller The Da Vinci Code, set for release later this year, Hillel Italie asks if fame can damage a writer's work.

"Lost Symbol" took far longer to complete than his previous books. In his increasingly rare public statements, Brown has lamented that he can no longer fly on commercial planes because of autograph seekers and expressed shock at the vehemence of the questions he faced while promoting the book.

Like other celebrities, he has learned the meaning of being sued. His most extended comments in the past few years came in a 69-page court statement he submitted for a copyright infringement case filed against him (and eventually rejected) in London.

"As soon as 'The Da Vinci Code' was published and had become a runaway success, I found myself in a firestorm of controversy," Brown wrote in his statement. "I had never experienced this kind of media attention, and it was very difficult at times (especially the criticism from Christians). Often at my book signings, I found myself interrogated publicly by an angry Christian scholar who quizzed me on details of Bible history from the novel."

Blue plaque commemorates Stewart Parker

From BBC News:

A blue plaque marking the birthplace of Belfast playwright and poet Stewart Parker has been unveiled by his niece.

Lynne Parker performed the ceremony at the house in Larkfield Road, Sydenham, in the east of the city where her uncle spent his early years.

Stewart Parker died in 1988 after battling cancer. He was 46 years of age.
Among the works for which he is best known are the plays Spokesong and Catchpenny Twist.

Update: Also, the winners of the annual Stewart Parker awards for new playwrights have been announced.

Rhianna Pratchett interview

On the Guild website I've put up the interview with video games writer Rhianna Pratchett that was the cover story in the most recent issue of the Guild's magazine, UK Writer.

How does writing a game story compare to say, a TV series or feature film?

I’d say it has a little more in common with TV writing, rather than film writing, because you’re trying to tell a story in a small space while executing scenes and establishing characters quickly and succinctly. That’s while still trying to squeeze colour, personality, imagination and good writing into the mix! Ultimately you’re not dealing with a linear medium, nor one in which the needs of story are particular well established or respected. That can be pretty challenging, even for experienced games writers. Understanding how games work and what gamers want from them is actually not something you can walk in from another medium and just know. You have to have had some experience of games and, ideally in my opinion, be a gamer yourself, even if it’s just casually. No one would expect to write a movie having never watched one or read a screenplay.

Gregory Burke's new play

In The Guardian, Mark Fisher talks to playwright Gregory Burke about his new play, Hoors

Until recently, Burke, now 41, was touting Hoors as the "disappointing follow-up to Black Watch" - displaying the self-deprecating humour typical of this man brought up in the tough expat naval community of Gibraltar, and in a working-class area of Dunfermline during the miners' strike. But he does have a point: it will be tough for Hoors to match the success of Black Watch, his riveting story of "The Gallant Forty-Twa", as the now-amalgamated Scottish regiment was known. Based on interviews with soldiers who served in Iraq, Black Watch hurtled its cast from a smoky Fife pool room to a world of bullets, bombs and brutal death. Last month, it picked up four Olivier awards, including one for best new play.

Today, Burke is feeling much more positive about Hoors, which opens at Edinburgh's Traverse next month before touring the UK: "I really like the script. It's funny and it's done all the things I wanted it to do." There are several reasons why Burke chose the play's title. "It's not a searing verbatim exploration of the sex industry. It's a metaphor. We're all whores. We all believe in what we believe at the time, and say what we want to get somewhere. How often do we reveal our true feelings?"

Martin Baum on Richard Bacon show

Guild member Martin Baum will be on the Richard Bacon phone-in programme on BBC Radio Five Live tonight from midnight, talking about his book,To Be Or Not To Be, Innit - A Yoof-speak Guide to Shakespeare.

The book, as those of you who read Martin's article in the Guild magazine last year will remember, was self-published and has become a huge hit that has attracted a massive amount of publicity - including an appearance on Richard and Judy.

JG Ballard 1930-2009

Writer JG Ballard has died at the age of 78. Best known for his books Empire Of The Sun and Crash, both of which were turned into high-profile feature films, Ballard described the majority of his work as "picturing the psychology of the future".

BBC News has a series of tributes from readers, and there are obituaries in The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph and The Times.

The Guardian also has tributes by fellow writers, including Michael Moorcock.

JG Ballard was one of my closest friends for 50 years. Together with Barry Bayley, who died last year, we "plotted" the revolution in science fiction which led to the so-called New Wave and he was a regular contributor to New Worlds, which spearheaded that movement

US deal brings movies to YouTube

It might still be best known for showcasing unlikely talent, but Google's YouTube is increasingly looking to establish partnerships with established content providers.

Last week, as Brian Stelter and Miguel Heft report for The New York Times, YouTube signed deals with Hollywood studios including Sony, Lions Gate and MGM (the content will currently only be available in the USA).

“We think the prime-time slot of the future is very much user-programmed,” Shiva Rajaraman, a senior product manager for YouTube, told reporters in a conference call Thursday. He said users could come home to a mixture of TV shows, music videos and amateur videos.

For Wired, Chris Snyder wonders whether the deal represents a fundamental shift in strategy.

The moves signal a significant evolution for YouTube away from its beginnings as a platform for homegrown video — roots that helped catapult the site to mad popularity while also creating friction with copyright holders over thousands of unauthorized video clips submitted by the YouTube community.

The changes will not impose download or streaming fees for premium content, although Google CEO Eric Schmidt hinted at the possibility down the road in an earnings call on Thursday. ("We do expect over time to see micropayments and other forms of subscription models coming," he said.)

Rather, YouTube said it will offer new technology, dubbed Google TV Ads Online, to insert ads in the middle of video clips, rather than just at the beginning or the end. It will also allow partners for the first time to use their own video players on the site.

What Guild members are getting up to

ROY APPS wrote the episode of Penelope's People "Divorcing Grandpa" going out on Radio 4 at 3:30pm on Tuesday 21st April.

PAUL CAMPBELL wrote the episode of Holby City "No Legacy So Rich" going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 21st April.

JOHN CHAMBERS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 22nd April.

MARK CLOMPUS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Monday 20th April.

RICHARD DAVIDSON wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 23rd and at 8:00pm on Friday 24th April.

BBC Radio 2 are re-running the entire first series of KRIS DYER'S On the Blog on Thursday nights at 10.30pm. It began on Thursday 16th April

LISA EVANS' adaptation of Melvyn Bragg’s best-selling story of romance and betrayal in 19th century Cumbria The Maid of Buttermere, has its last night at the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, Cumbria, on Saturday 18th April.
STEVEN FAY wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Wednesday 22nd April.

MICHAEL FRAYN's play Alphabetical Order is now back at the Hampstead Theatre where it was first produced in March 1975. It transferred to the West End and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy.

PETER GIBBS wrote the episode of Heartbeat "Return Crossing" going out on ITV1 at 8:00pm on Sunday 19th April.

DAVID GOODERSON'S play The Killing of Mr Toad which tells the extraordinary story behind The Wind in the Willows will be at the Finborough Theatre on April 19th,20th,26th,27th, and May 3rd,and 4th.

LUCY GOUGH wrote the episode of Doctors "Innocence" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Tuesday 21st April.

DIANA GRIFFITHS'S dramatization of Theres Raquin is going out on Radio 4 in two parts at 9:00pm on Saturday 18th and at 3:00pm on Sunday 19th April.

JONATHAN HARVEY wrote the episodes of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on Friday 24th April.

DEBBIE HORSFIELD wrote the episode of All the Small Things going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday21st April.

ALEX JONES' play about global flooding finishes its tour with Oxfordshire Touring Theatre on 24th April.

ROBERT JONES wrote the episode of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency "A Real Botswana Diamond" going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 19th April.

JESSICA LEA wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 23rd April.

MIKE LEIGH's televised interview about his life and career with Mark Lawson will go out on Sunday 19 April at 10.30 pm on BBC Four

DOUGLAS LIVINGSTONE'S radio play Road to Durham staring Timothy West is going out on Radio 4 at 2:30pm on Saturday 18th April.

DAVID MCDERMOTT wrote the episodes of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th April.

JIMMY MCGOVERN wrote the episode of The Street "Twin" going out on BBC1 at 10:50pm on Wednesday 22nd April.

ROLAND MOORE'S one-act play Lonely Hearts has been selected as a finalist in the Congleton One Act Play Competition

PAUL MOUSLEY wrote the episode of Primeval going out on ITV1 at 6:55pm no Saturday 18th April.

MAEVE MURPHY'S new feature Beyond The Fire, which she has written and directed, will be showing at the London Independent Film Festival at the Curzon Mayfair on Wednesday 22nd April at 6.30pm. It has been nominated for Best UK Feature and Best Director and will be released around the UK by Met Film in June, kicking off at the ICA (date to be confirmed).

DAVID NOBBS' much-loved character Reginald Perrin returns to our screens next week and will star Martin Clunes and Fay Ripley. David co-wrote the first episode of the new series which will be going out on BBC1 at 9:30pm on Friday 24th April.

DEBBIE OATES wrote the episodes of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on Monday 20th April.

JULIE PARSONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Monday 20th April.

ASHLEY PHAROAH wrote the first episode of the new series of Ashes to Ashes going out on BBC1 at9:00pm on Monday 20th April.

ALAN PLATER'S radio play The Gallery is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Wednesday 22nd April.

PAUL ROUNDELL wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Tuesday 21st April.

DAVID STAFFORD co-wrote the episode of Hazelbeach going out on 11:30pm on Monday 20th April.

TIM STIMPSON wrote the episodes of The Archers going out on Radio 4 at 7:00pm from Monday 20th till Friday 24th April.

SANDY TOKSVIG is giving an exclusive, after-dinner performance of her witty new show England, Shakespeare &St. George at the Holland House Hotel, Redcliffe Hill, Bristol, BS1 6SQ at 7:30pm for 8:00pm on Wednesday 22nd April.

NICK WARBURTON'S radio play Available Means is going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 21st April.

TOBY YOUNG will be the guest speaker at the Last Tuesday Society's lecture on Tuesday 28th April in the Romanesque splendour of the Tabernacle, Powis Square, Notting Hill. 6.30 for 7.00 pm. Tickets £10. Complimentary cocktails delightfully concocted by Hendrick’s will be served afterwards.

Royce Ryton dies

As The Stage reports, playwright Royce Ryton has died at the age of 84.

His best know work was Crown Matrimonial, which opened in 1972, and has enjoyed numerous revivals around the world.

Update (18th April): There's a nice obituary today by Michael Coveney in The Guardian.

Ryton was a burly man, with a mass of orange, curly hair. He was devoted to his family - he was married to the actor Morar Kennedy (Ludovic's sister) - and was incorrigibly camp in manner. His daughter admits that he had the most appalling taste in clothes, often wearing lots of red with plenty of glitter and frills. For much of the year, he went around looking like a Christmas tree but, like Quentin Crisp, he couldn't care less. He spoke in clipped, aphoristic sentences, a style he carried through in his work. Like Oscar Wilde, he was always "on" in public, and like Nöel Coward, whom he admired inordinately, he was given to a lot of finger-wagging, both on and off stage.

The Virginia Prize for Fiction

To celebrate 20 years as a small independent publishing house based in Richmond-upon-Thames, Aurora Metro is launching a new competition to encourage and promote new writing by women.

The Virgina Prize is open to any woman over 18 who has written an unpublished novel in English. The shortlist will be compiled in October 2009 and the £1000 prize will be awarded in November as part of Richmond’s Book Now! Literary Festival. The winning entry will be published by Aurora Metro Press in the following year.

Quest for 'gequality' on stage

A new project, 50:50 Quest For Gequality, is holding meetings in Cardiff on 21st April 2009 and Aberystwyth on 22nd April to explore ways of achieving gender balance on stage.

For more information about the meetings or the project in general contact fiftyfiftygroup@ymail.com

When Spielberg calls

For the Writers Guild of America Foundation, screenwriter Diablo Cody recounts how a call from Stephen Spielberg, before her first script Juno had even gone into production, led to the TV series United States of Tara.

Arts Council funding threat

From Lalayn Baluch in The Stage:

Industry leaders have warned of “disastrous” consequences for the culture sector if Arts Council England is forced to axe up to £14 million of its 2010 government funding package.

Cuts across unprotected government agencies, such as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, are expected when Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announces his second budget on April 22.

In expectation that cuts could be passed on from DCMS, the arts council last week announced that it was preparing for three scenarios - a 1.5%, 2.5% or 3% drop in its third and final year of allocated funding for 2010/11, which equates to £7 million, £9.4 million or £14 million.

In The Guardian, Lyn Gardner has blogged on the same subject.

"The arts," declares [Culture Minister, Andy] Burnham," have to live in the real world." I would say that the arts always have lived in the real world — in fact, much more so than the bankers and politicians. Most arts organisations are already nimble, lean, fleet of foot and ingenious. With proper investment, and with schemes to lease to artists the empty premises that are blighting town centres, the arts could play a major part in reviving the economy, and, as I've said before, give people reasons to be cheerful.

Theatre's bright young things

As Michael Billington warns of the danger of theatre succumbing to directors as auteurs, in The Sunday Times, Ed Caesar talks to 22-year-old playwright Polly Stenham and profiles other leading young British playwrights.

“The first play [That Face] was, in many ways, so easy,” she says. “It felt like a massive blag. I wrote it in four months, I only did three or four drafts, and it all happened so quickly.

“With this one [Tusk Tusk], it was so hard to write. It took 18 months, and 17 drafts. It was real blood, sweat and tears. I knew that I wanted to write about siblings, and I knew my characters, but

I didn’t stand back like an older writer would have done, and think, ‘What is the best way of dealing with these people and their situation?’ I just kept running and running at it like a demented pony.”

Disney's research into boys

In The New York Times, Brookes Barnes looks at Disney's new research led by Kelly Peña into what makes boys tick.

Children can already see the results of Ms. Peña’s scrutiny on Disney XD, a new cable channel and Web site (disney.go.com/disneyxd - not available in the UK). It’s no accident, for instance, that the central character on “Aaron Stone” is a mediocre basketball player. Ms. Peña, 45, told producers that boys identify with protagonists who try hard to grow. “Winning isn’t nearly as important to boys as Hollywood thinks,” she said...

In Ms. Peña’s research boys across markets and cultures described the television aimed at them as “purposeless fun” but expressed a strong desire for a new channel that was “fun with a purpose,” Mr. [Rich] Ross [president of Disney Channels Worldwide] said. Hollywood has been thinking of them too narrowly — offering all action or all animation — instead of a more nuanced combination, he added.

Amazon back-tracks on 'adult' books

In the face of widespread protests, online retailer Amazon has re-instated a number of 'adult' titles from its sales rankings that had been removed last week, reports Publisher's Weekly. Books affected apparently included numerous 'gay' titles such as James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room, Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain and Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.

American writers and publisher Mark R. Probst reports that Amazon told him:

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

However, they now claim that it was all a terrible mistake and have offered an apology:

This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection.

It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles – in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica. This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon's main product search.

Many books have now been fixed and we're in the process of fixing the remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future.

Update (16 April 09): More on this from blogger Meg Pickard, including the role of Twitter in the controversy.

In classic internet style, the voices of the Twittering community - so keen to call Amazon homophobic or start an immediate boycott or googlebomb just 36 hours ago - aren’t apologising for misunderstanding, or admitting they were wrong to lump a fairly liberal internet bookseller (which, let’s remember, still stocks all sorts of literature to cater for every persuasion) in with the Nazis.

Instead, they’re pouring suspicion and scorn on the explanation, criticising Amazon for not fixing the problem, or allowing it to happen, or speaking up earlier - essentially, blaming Amazon for all their hysteria.

Link courtesy of The Guardian Technology blog.

What Guild members are getting up to

MARTIN ALLEN wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 8:30pm on Monday 13th April.

ALAN AYCKBOURN'S radio play Man of the Moment is going out on Radio 4 as part of his 70th birthday celebration at 2:30pm on Saturday 11th April.

PERRIE BALTHAZAR wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on C4 on Friday 17th April.

ABI BOWN wrote the episode of Holby City "Too Much to Ask" going out on BBC1 at 8:00pm on Tuesday 14th April.

KAREN BROWN'S radio play I'm the Boss is going out on Radio 4 at 9:00pm on Friday 17th April.

RYAN CRAIG wrote the episode of Robin Hood "Lost in Translation" going out on BBC1 at 7:45pm on Saturday 11th April.

ARNOLD EVANS wrote the episode of Doctors "Got the T-Shirt" going out on BBC1 at 1:45pm on Tuesday 14th April.

MATTHEW EVANS wrote the episode of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Tuesday 14th April.

DIANA GRIFFITHS'S dramatisation of Therese Raquin is going out on Radio 4 at 3:00pm on Sunday 12th April.

JAYNE HOLLINSON wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 17th April.

DEBBIE HORSFIELD wrote the episode of All the Small Things going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Tuesday 14th April.

ROBERT JONES wrote the episode of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency "Beauty and Integrity" going out on BBC1 at 9:00pm on Sunday 12th April.

PETER KERRY wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Wednesday 15th April.

DAVID LANE wrote the episode of Coronation Street going out on ITV1 at 7:30pm on Wednesday 15th April.

DAVID NOBBS'S adaptation of What a Carve Up! continues on Radio 4 at 11:30pm from Monday 13th till Thursday 16th April.

JESSE O'MAHONEY wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Thursday 16th April.

LYN PAPADOPOULOS wrote the episode of Hollyoaks going out on C4 at 6:30pm on Monday 13th April.

JULIE PARSONS wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Friday 17th April.

GILLIAN RICHMOND wrote the episodes of EastEnders going out on BBC1 at 7:30pm on Thursday 16th and at 8:00pm on Friday 17thApril.

ADAM ROLSTON'S debut play, A Sentimental Journey. The Story of Doris Day, a stage musical based on the life and songs of Doris Day has had its full professional premiere run at The Mill at Sonning Dinner Theatre in Berkshire. It has run for six weeks from February 25th and will run for a further two weeks until April 19th.

DAVID STAFFORD co-wrote the episode of Hazelbeach going out on Radio 4 at 11:30am on Monday 13th April.

CHRIS THOMPSON wrote the episode of Emmerdale going out on ITV1 at 7:00pm on Thursday 16th April.

NICK WARBURTON'S radio play series Witness: Five Plays from the Gospel of Luke
concludes with "Beginnings" going out on Radio 4 at 2:15pm on Tuesday 14th April.

Mark Wilkinson wins Red Planet Prize

Congratulations to Mark Wilkinson whose script Ropes has won this year's Red Planet Prize, run by Tony Jordan's Red Planet Pictures.

Mark won £5,000 and a script commission from Red Planet.

Choose What You Read

In The Financial Times, screenwriter and one-time Guild employee Claire Wilson explains how she and some friends decided to challenge the tyranny of the freesheets with Choose What You Read.

It’s quite sad to get on the tube and see the whole carriage reading the same paper. I remember when the novel White Teeth by Zadie Smith came out – everyone was reading that. You could pretty much read the whole book over a few weeks just by looking over somebody’s shoulder. That hasn’t happened for a long time. You never see everyone reading the new Booker winner, because they’re all reading Metro. We’re missing out on so much.

You can find out more from the Choose What You Read Facebook Group.

Mike Leigh's early work

In The Daily Telegraph, writer-director Mike Leigh talks about his first films for TV.

The weather was particularly uncooperative during the [Nuts In May] shoot, he recalls. “There was one scene where the couple are meant to get caught in a serious rainstorm in Lulworth Cove and, of course, whenever we wanted to shoot it it was really lovely weather. So we’re definitely not at Lulworth Cove here.”

Writing scene description with John August

On his blog, American screenwriter John August has posted a video tutorial, "Writing better scene description":

Sony Radio Awards shortlists

Another day, another awards announcement - this time for the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2009.

In contention for The Drama Award are:

• Cavalry - By Dan Rebellato (BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4)
• Goldfish Girl - By Peter Souter (BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4)
• Mr Larkin's Awkward Day - By Chris Harrald (BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4)
• The Color Purple - By Pat Cumper from the novel by Alice Walker (BBC Radio Drama for Radio 4)
• The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – By Andrew Lynch from the novel by Robert Tressell (Above the Title & Woolyback Productions for BBC Radio 4)
  

Shortlisted for the Comedy Award are:

• 606 with Danny Baker - Campbell Davison Media for BBC Radio 5 live
• Adam and Joe - BBC Audio & Music for 6 Music
• Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! - Komedia Entertainment & Smooth Operations for BBC Radio 4
• Miranda Hart's Joke Shop - BBC Radio Comedy for Radio 2
• The Now Show - BBC Radio Comedy for Radio 4

The awards will be presented in London on 11 May.

BAFTA Craft Awards

Short-lists for the BAFTA Craft Awards have been announced. In the Writer category it's between:

• Sam Bain, Jesse Armstrong (Peep Show)
• Simon Block (The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall)
• Russell T Davies (Doctor Who - Midnight)
• Peter Moffat (Criminal Justice)

In addition, two writers have been nominated in the Breathrough Talent category:

• Charlie Brooker (Dead Set)
• Tony Saint (Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley)
  

As you can see from the poll (right), Doctor Who won the vote for Best Drama Series from readers of this blog. I've now put up a poll for the Best Writer...

Josh Schwartz's new web drama

Last month Josh Schwartz, the man who created The OC, launched his latest series, Rockville CA, online. Unfortunately it goes out on thewb.com which is not available in the UK but there is a preview on YouTube (above).

In The New York Times, Schwartz spoke to Ari Karpel about the show.

Warner Brothers is hoping the duo can grab the attention of the coveted female 18-to-34 demographic in particular. The studio allowed them a creative freedom not typically given to producers at the network level.

“They said, ‘Here’s what your budget is, here’s how many episodes we’d like,’ ” Mr. Schwartz said. “I gave them a rough shape of what the show would be, and then we got to go discover it, cast who we wanted to cast and write the scripts without notes.”

The bite-size episodes presented Mr. Schwartz with a new challenge. “It’s not like you’re doing an hourlong soap where people are dying,” he said. “It’s smaller. Part of the excitement of doing it was figuring out how to tell stories in this format. It’s less incident-driven and more observational.”

The New York Times also has a round-up of some of the highest profile web series so far.

Five Minutes Of Heaven

If you saw Five Minutes Of Heaven on BBC Two last night, a reminder that there's an interview with the writer, Guy Hibbert, on the Writers' Guild website.

If you missed the drama (starring Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel) you can watch it for the next seven days on BBC iPlayer.