Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards
Contest · 2026Prestige 66/100
Three thousand pounds and a long-term placement inside a named production company. North of England only.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 round opened on 15 May and closed at 12 noon on 26 June 2026, with all applicants hearing back by 30 September. New Writing North's index says the awards open again later in 2027 without giving a month. The pattern is consistent in shape but drifting later: opening has been stable at 15 or 16 May, while the deadline has walked from 4 June in 2024 to 16 June in 2025 to 26 June in 2026, always at midday. The production partners rotate annually, so treat the company list as year-specific. A caution if you go looking: the strand cards still display live Enter here buttons and present-tense deadline text after closing, and the dedicated 2026 page carries no closure indicator at all, though the underlying submission forms are genuinely shut.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- TV Pilot
- Eligibility
- UK residents18+Emerging writers
- Open to
- United Kingdom
- Required materials
- An outline of an original TV storyline of up to 400 words, in no set format, for a single episode or a standalone · A sample script of up to 10 pages, which may be one scene or several, need not be the opening, and need not relate to the outline · The sample may be a different form entirely, such as a stage play, short film or radio drama · Application questions, anonymised with your name left off every part of the submission
Open to writers of any nationality or descent who are permanently resident in the North of England and currently living there full-time, defined as the Arts Council England areas of Yorkshire, the North East and the North West, with a requirement to plan to remain for at least another 12 months. New Writing North states plainly that writers who are writing scripts set in the North but who do not live in the region are not eligible. Applicants must be over 18. There is no credit bar and no representation bar: no writing experience is necessary and entries are welcomed from people new to writing as well as those with more experience. You may reapply, including with the same script. Single author only. Employees and trustees of New Writing North, Arts Council England, Northumbria University, Channel 4, FilmNation and Warp Films are barred. One entry may be submitted to all four strands. Applications are anonymised: leave your name off the application questions and off every part of the submission.
Prizes
3,000 pounds per strand across four strands, with one winner each, alongside a long-term placement working closely with the partner production company and mentoring support. New Writing North frames the bursary as covering the cost of participating in developmental projects rather than as a fee for work. Applicants may additionally opt in to the television development slate, which carries a further 1,000 pound bursary and support from New Writing North and script editors. Payment staging is not published, and travel or accommodation for the placement is not addressed anywhere. RIGHTS, AND THIS NEEDS CARE: New Writing North's event page states that copyright stays with you at all times and that it does not exert or ask for any rights over your work at any point. But its separate eligibility and conditions page states that FilmNation TV UK and Warp Films will be given the right of a first look at any scripts developed during their respective placements. Those reconcile, since New Writing North takes nothing and the first look applies to work created during the placement rather than to your entry, but a writer reading only the event page would never know the clause exists. Note too that the conditions page names only two of the four 2026 partners, so whether Merman and Hat Trick hold the same right is unverified.
Judging
Each strand is judged by its production company partner together with New Writing North, with shortlisted writers invited to an online interview with the company. Note that Channel 4 itself was named in the judging line for 2025 but is absent from the 2026 line. No individual judges are named. Group mentoring is led by Hannah Rose. All applicants hear back by 30 September, but New Writing North states it cannot enter into individual correspondence about unsuccessful submissions or give specific feedback.
The PreList verdict
The only open call we have found that puts a writer inside a specific, named production company rather than in front of an unnamed industry panel. Four strands, four winners, 3,000 pounds each plus a long-term placement with Warp Films, FilmNation TV UK, Merman or Hat Trick, and group mentoring led by Hannah Rose. Better still, there is no credit bar and no representation bar: New Writing North says outright that no writing experience is necessary and that entries from people new to writing are welcome. For an unproduced writer in the North of England, this is about as good as an open call gets.
The catch is geography, and it is strict. You must be permanently resident and living full-time in Yorkshire, the North East or the North West, and planning to stay at least another twelve months. New Writing North states explicitly that writing a script set in the North is not enough if you do not live there. That is a condition of their Arts Council funding rather than a preference.
One thing worth knowing that their own pages make hard to find. The event page says copyright stays with you at all times and that New Writing North asks for no rights at any point, which is true of New Writing North. But a separate conditions page says the production companies get a right of first look at any scripts developed during the placement. Both are accurate and they do not conflict, but you would not learn the second from reading the first. That conditions page also names only two of the four current partners, so whether all four hold that right is genuinely unclear. Applications closed 26 June and reopen later in 2027.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 9 Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
Do I need writing credits or an agent?
Neither. New Writing North states that no writing experience is necessary and welcomes entries from people new to writing alongside those with more experience. There is no representation bar. You may also reapply in future years, including with the same script.
Where do I have to live?
Yorkshire, the North East or the North West of England, as defined by Arts Council England, permanently and full-time, with plans to remain at least another twelve months. Writing a script set in the North is explicitly not enough if you live elsewhere. Nationality is irrelevant; residency is the test.
Does anyone take rights over my work?
New Writing North does not, and says so. But their conditions page states that FilmNation TV UK and Warp Films get a right of first look at scripts developed during their placements. That covers work created on the placement rather than your entry. The conditions page names only two of the four 2026 partners, so whether Merman and Hat Trick hold the same right is unclear.
What exactly do I submit?
An outline of an original TV storyline of up to 400 words, plus a sample script of up to 10 pages. The sample need not relate to the outline, need not be the opening, and can be a different form entirely such as a stage play, short film or radio drama. Everything must be anonymised.
Is your script right for Channel 4 Writing for Television Awards?
Upload your screenplay and The PreList scores how well it fits this contest: genre, format, eligibility and readiness, before you spend anything.
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