2021 Screenplay Award Shortlist

Jon Plant was born in Sheffield in the North of England, spending much of his later life in and around London. He exhausted ambitions to be a pastor, teacher, lawyer, architect, journalist and marine-biologist before completing a master’s degree in chemistry. In his early twenties, Jon finally

Nick’s writing journey was unusual. Invited onto the set of a high profile TV show, he witnessed the power of storytelling and was completely hooked. Nobody was more surprised by this than him, and in the last two years he has written a novel (placed 2nd in a national competition), a short story

I am an Irish LGBT author/screenwriter and full-time development assistant with over 7 years experience in the film and TV industry. I live for writing genre; mainly psychological thrillers, metaphorical horror, and grounded sc-fi, but am also drawn to comedy and gritty kitchen sink drama. Ryan

Originally an influential epistemologist, Sandy spent three years working with survivors of domestic abuse, and learned how valuable storytelling can be in helping people to understand complex emotional issues. He wrote a short film campaign for the charity Women's Aid, and became a professional

A Russian born living in the US, I am a data engineer by trade and have worked in tech for the last 10 years. I tend to focus on stories that echo the issues that I am facing personally.

SCOTCH WICHMANN is a writer/director, performance artist, comedian, hacker, and occultist in Los Angeles. Co-nominated for Best Comedy and Best Stunt at the Hollywood Fringe, Scotch attracted a swarm of press from CNN, NPR, and the NY Times after launching METH COFFEE, a cracked-out coffee brand

Jason studied film at NYU, where his thesis film won 'Gold Prize' at the Student Academy Awards. He has written & directed award-winning feature films, which have shown at festivals around the world and have been theatrically released. His yet to be produced screenplays have received much industry

The mother of five children, Peggy and her husband served over 25 years as a therapeutic treatment foster home (lots of stories) and then adopted their last four foster children. "Under 'S' for Sucker" is based on one of those stories. Peggy is a peace activist, ran for state and federal political

Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel (MOHEGAN) was trained in Mohegan traditional knowledge by Medicine Woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon (1899-2005). She currently serves her tribal nation in the traditional roles of Medicine Woman and Tribal Historian, in addition to her job as Creative Media Liaison

Born in Wisconsin, USA, to Spanish parents, raised between California and Spain, in Madrid I lived Spain’s transition to democracy, was a racetrack jockey, and obtained a Biology degree. At 23 I moved to Santa Cruz, California, and earned an M.S. in Marine Sciences. I worked for Fish and Wildlife

Born in a small village in India, I came here at a young age. I have a unique perspective on the human condition through my passion for writing and as a medical doctor. My dream is to produce a tv series for a global audience and am always striving to improve my craft. I’ve written a produced film

Nick wrote his first screenplay over 20 years ago using Syd Field's book as a reference and it won 2nd Place Runner-up at the Austin Film Festive. He didn’t write another until he retired from the construction business five years ago and got a Master Screenwriter Certificate after attending

Steve Blame lives in Germany. He explored his sexual identity during the rampant homophobia in Britain of the '80s, going from denial to acceptance to the fight against bigotry as his generation's only 'out' TV host. Today, having experienced the up and downsides of fame, Steve continues his

(From my website: http://theshakespeareplays.com/) Martin Keady is an award-winning dramatist, journalist, poet and lyricist. As a dramatist, his major credits include: Man of Colour, a biopic of Walter Tull, one of Britain’s first black professional footballers who subsequently became a hero of WWI

Born and bred in Walsall in the West Midlands, I moved to London in my early 20s with very little to my name. Spending over a decade in the city, in a dramatically different socio-economic environment, had a lasting effect on my writing. Much of my work has a 'fish out of water feel' to it. The

Studied at AFTRS (Australian Film, Television and Radio School), Sydney, NSW. Currently writing a sequel to my biopic feature The Split, entitled The Reunion. I have dual nationality, born and raised in London, UK, moved to Australia over 25 years ago, where I have lived in Adelaide, South Australia

Aspiring writer/director based in Ireland. I've written and directed numerous shorts, the most recent of which, Hunger, has been selected in festivals around the world winning numerous awards in the process. I hold a first class Honours degree in film production and have three years industry

Joseph Black grew up in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. After hearing his accent, people frequently accuse him of lying about this. He assures those that do that this is the truth, citing that: 1. A childhood filled with movies, TV, video games, audiobooks, and podcasts led to him never developing all

Peter Gajdics is an award-winning writer whose essays, short memoir and poetry have appeared in Huffington Post (Canada), Maclean’s, The Advocate, New York Tyrant, The Gay and Lesbian Review / Worldwide, Gay Times, Manhattan Book Review, and Brevity, among others. He is a recipient of several

I'm a musician by day, writer by night, originally from High Wycombe - which genuinely has a chair museum - but now living a seagull poop-spattered existence in Plymouth, Devon. I began pursuing screen/comedy writing in 2015, starting off writing jokes and sketches for radio, before moving on to