About Us

Southwest Scriptwriters was set up in 1994 for stage, screen, radio and television drama writers in Bristol and the surrounding area. We develop and promote drama writers and writing, working with local and national writing and production organisations. Our current Honorary President is the prolific TV writer Michael Jenner, whose credits include Taggart, EastEnders, Heartbeat and Holby City.

The group’s meetings feature workshops, practical writing sessions and guest speakers. We also organise special events to bring members’ work to a wider audience.

• Workshops give writers the chance to have their scripts read and discussed with other writers. This is an invaluable opportunity to get feedback before submitting your script to a production company.
• Practical writing sessions focus on different aspects of the writing process – from characterisation to dialogue to the use of space and time in drama.
• Recent guest speakers have included Ashley Pharoah, co-creator of the hit BBC TV series Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, and our former Honorary President Catherine Johnson, who, as well as having a string of theatre and TV credits, wrote the book for the Abba musical Mamma Mia! and the screenplay for the film of the show.
• Scripts @ Starbucks presented rehearsed readings of members’ work to paying audiences at a central Bristol branch of the coffee shop.
• Links with writing and production organisations include BBC writersroom, The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and the Training And Performance Showcase (TAPS). We also have a close relationship with Bristol-based new writing company Theatre West.

How to get involved

We welcome drama writers at all levels of experience and you can join by just coming along to a meeting.

We meet on Tuesday evenings at the Bristol Old Vic in King Street (Map). Meetings start at 7.30pm and end between 9 and 10pm. There’s also a chance for a sociable drink after the meeting.

Membership is £6 for the year and everyone pays £1 at meetings they attend. For the annual subscription you receive a bimonthly e-newsletter, which has news of drama writing opportunities, full details of our upcoming programme and updates on members’ writing success.