大象传媒

It鈥檚 a great pleasure to present the 大象传媒 Writers鈥� Voices of 2024. From January to June this year, we had the privilege of collaborating with 68 exceptionally talented emerging writers from all corners of the UK.

Through six UK-wide hubs, these writers engaged in an intensive craft and industry programme that included workshops, expert masterclasses, and discussions with guest writers like (DOMINO DAY), (EVE; THE DEMON HEADMASTER), and (WATERLOO ROAD; DINOSAUR). Additionally, they had the opportunity to learn from key industry figures, including agents, producers, and members of the 大象传媒 Drama Commissioning team, along with sessions from and the .

Over the past six months, all our Voices 24 writers have been busy defining and developing new series ideas to the outline stage, with editorial support from the 大象传媒 Writers team.

It鈥檚 been a real privilege for all of us in 大象传媒 Writers to work with and get to know these writers and series creators of the future. We鈥檙e excited to see where their talent takes them next and how their projects develop over the coming months. I鈥檓 delighted to introduce them to you and hope you enjoy reading their biographies and learning more about them.

For further details on any of the Voices 24 writers, please feel free to contact the 大象传媒 Writers team at bbcwriters@bbc.co.uk

Jess Loveland, Head of New Writing, 大象传媒 Writers & Drama Commissioning

"We are delighted to introduce the passionate and talented Voices 2024 cohort from Scotland. We鈥檝e spent the last six months working closely with these ten exciting writers to help develop and hone their writing skills, as they worked on their highly original TV series ideas. We have been challenged, entertained and inspired by their distinctive ways of looking at the world and we are really looking forward to following their writing journeys in the future."

Ros Ward, Development Producer & Audrey McFadden, Assistant Producer, 大象传媒 Writers

Rachelle Atalla

Represented by Nick Marston, Curtis Brown

Rachelle is a Scottish-Egyptian writer, and former community pharmacist, based in Glasgow. Her debut novel The Pharmacist, published by Hodder and Stoughton, was shortlisted for Scottish Fiction Book of the Year, followed by her climate-focused second novel Thirsty Animals and her soon-to-be released third novel The Salt Flats. Her short stories have been published widely, she has written for 大象传媒 Radio 4, is the recipient of a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award and was appointed as the 2024 Dr Gavin Wallace Writing Fellow.

Her first short film TRIFLE was commissioned by SFTN, appearing at BAFTA and Oscar qualifying film festivals. She was selected to participate in the Young Films Foundation Residency Programme, developing her first feature-length screenplay with 大象传媒 Film, and in 2022 was a participant in EIFF鈥檚 talent lab. She is now developing a film adaption of The Pharmacist with Compact Pictures and the BFI.

Colin Bell 

Colin is a writer and director based in Glasgow, where he recently completed a Masters (with distinction) in television writing from Caledonian University.

His previous work includes the award-winning short films COAST and CLOSE and the highly acclaimed augmented reality experiences RESONANCE and ANALYSIS PARALYSIS. His first (co-directed) feature film, RIBBONS is currently in post- production.

In 2023 he was named as one of the Ten winners of the All3 Media and the Edinburgh Television Festival New Voice Awards and his TV pilot PLASTIC LASSIES was shortlisted for the 大象传媒 Open Call.

Colin likes to work with stories that go to unexpected places and find humour amongst the drama.

Sarah Grant

Sarah is a writer, director and performer based in Glasgow.

She鈥檚 an RTS Scotland award winner and has a number of BAFTA qualifying shorts under her belt, and has created short- form work for 大象传媒 The Social and 大象传媒 Short Stuff, gaining tens of millions of views across digital and social media. She is moving towards writing and directing long form for film and television, shadowing Jack Clough as part of the 大象传媒 Comedy Bursary, and other programmes such as Young Films Residency, BAFTA Flare, the EIFF Talent Lab and UKTV Comedy 50:50 pilot initiative.

Sarah is committed to creating body-positive, sex-positive and inclusive female-led stories that are honest, feminist and fearless.

Lorna King

Represented by Steven Russell of Collective Talent.

Ghanaian-Scottish and neurospicy (AuDHD), Lorna graduated with an MA in screenwriting from Screen Academy Scotland in 2019. Her short film HER MIDAS TOUCH was developed as part of the inaugural Sharp Shorts scheme, with its script earning several laurels in competition. This includes the Top 5 scripts in the Shore Scripts Short Film Fund 2020 and it's due for release soon. She has an episode of RIVER CITY under her belt and an original pilot written for Sky as part of the Young Films Foundation 2021/2 cohort.

She's coming to the end of ITV Studios' Disabled Writers in Development program, having developed an original series for ITV. Her writing tends to focus on themes of injustice and redemption, particularly as it relates to women.

Rachel Main

Rachel is a playwright and screenwriter from Glenrothes, Scotland.

She received her MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University鈥檚 Tisch School of the Arts in 2019. She is an alumni of Traverse Young Writer鈥檚 Group and is a two-time BAFTA LA Scholarship recipient. Her work is concerned with representing working-class, queer, disability & caregiver narratives on stage and screen.

Her plays have been commissioned through WoLab and Paines Plough鈥檚 First Commissions programme and by Playwrights Studio Scotland鈥檚 New Playwright Award. Her screenwriting work has been commissioned by Short Circuit鈥檚 First Features programme and the Alfred P. Sloan award. She has been short-listed for Sundance Theatre Lab, Theatre503 Five and Young Films Foundation鈥檚 Skye Residency.

She鈥檚 been long-listed for the Bruntwood Play Prize, Papatango Prize, St. Andrews Play Prize, Theare503 International Play Prize and Triforce Writerslam.

Conor McLeod

Represented by Lizzie Newell and Leah Graham at ITG talent.

Conor McLeod is an Actor/Writer from Glasgow, who graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2021. He was part of the first cohort of Open Door, a charitable organisation who helped working-class actors attain places at the top drama schools in the country.

He has just finished his first short film working alongside Daniel Boulton, Arsalan Jamshid and Brandon Grace called SH!T SANDWICH.

He was most recently shortlisted for the final stage of Artist Development at National Theatre Scotland for his play GOD DOG.

Liam Moffat

Liam (he/him) is an emerging playwright and screenwriter from East Lothian. He is drawn to writing stories that explores queer and working-class identities, with a bit of dark humour thrown in for good measure!

Since graduating from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, he has been longlisted for the Papatango New Writing Prize (2021) and reached the top 10% of submissions for 大象传媒 Writersroom鈥檚 Script Room Drama (2021).

More recently, Liam was part of the Traverse Theatre Breakthrough Writers: In Residence programme, developing his play JACK. JACK opened the 20th anniversary season of Play, Pie and a Pint at the Oran Mor in Feb 2024, before going on to the Traverse Theatre and Macroberts Arts Centre.

Laurie Motherwell

Laurie is a Glaswegian playwright. In 2023 his play Sean and Daro FLAKE IT 鈥橳IL THEY MAKE IT premiered at the Traverse Theatre, before being performed again during the Edinburgh Fringe later that year. Also in 2023, Laurie was the Tron Theatre Resident Writer where he developed a new Scottish Sci-Fi play THE GRAND SUN SHINES ETERNAL.

In 2024 his play Roost performed at Play, Pie and a Pint. He has developed work with other organisations such as the National Theatre of Scotland, An Tobar and Mull Theatre, Macrobert Arts Centre, and Paisley Book Festival.

He has previously been a recipient of a MGC Futures Bursary and a recipient of a New Playwrights Award from the Playwrights鈥� Studio, Scotland.

Dorothy Jane Stewart

Represented by Michael McCoy at Independent Talent

Dorothy is a Scottish screenwriter with an MA in TV Fiction Writing from Glasgow Caledonian University for which she received the David MacLennan Scholarship. Dorothy formerly worked as an actress and created her own theatre company touring throughout Scotland. She has subsequently taught Theatre Arts in schools and children鈥檚 filmmaking workshops within the community.

In 2021 her first feature script ALWAYS CRASHING IN THE SAME CAR was selected for the Writers Lab UK & Ireland development scheme with funding provided by Cate Blanchett鈥檚 Dirty Films and Scottish Screen. In 2023 the script was also selected for the prestigious WScripted Cannes Screenplay List sponsored by MUBI and presented at the BFI/Film London Production Market.

She has previously written for Ambush, a comedy collective who have performed at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe and currently has original television projects in development with several production companies.

Raymond Wilson

Raymond is a writer, performer, and environmental-educator from Clydebank. After studying Earth Science at undergraduate level, he gained a postgraduate scholarship to study Classical & Contemporary Text at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he graduated in 2021.

He is a multi-disciplinary artist, creating across literature, spoken-word, science-communication, screen, and stage. Much of his work explores working-class experiences, modern masculinity, and connections to the natural world, often finding where these themes intersect.

His debut feature-length play, I HOPE YOUR FLOWERS BLOOM (with All the Figs company) was part of the Made in Scotland Showcase at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023, leading to a Scottish and Scandinavian sell-out tour. These performances garnered an array of 4 and 5 star reviews, while finding itself on 鈥淭op Pick/Must See鈥� lists for publications including for The Times, The Scotsman, and The Skinny.

Other credits include INNER-CITY SOIL (TRACS, 2022) and LEWIS CAPALDI GOES TROPICAL (A Play, A Pie and Pint, 2024).