How do you grab the attention of the reader within the first three pages of your script? As part of SCRIPT TALKS we will be holding a session called Three Page Challenge: Horror Edition hosted by BAFTA Winning Producer Emily Leo and featuring a panel of industry experts who will read and feedback on the first three pages of your feature horror script and offer advice on how to make it really stand out. The selected three projects will receive free tickets and travel to SCRIPT TALKS at Arc as well as three sessions with a professional script editor to polish your script after the event.

If you are a Northern based writer and would like to submit your Horror feature script for consideration for the Three Page Challenge please complete the submission form here.  Deadline to submit scripts 27 October.

Eligibility: In order to be eligible to submit your script you must be over 18 on point of submission, live in the North of England and be available to attend the Three Page Challenge event on Wednesday 24 February at Arc, Stockton 7.15pm.

SCRIPT TALKS is funded by the Tees Valley Combined Authority. Tees Valley – An Engine Room of Creative Production.

There are three awards that young people can submit to/be nominated for. You can submit to one, two or all three at once depending on your eligibility. Please read about the awards below before submitting.

Applications for the awards are accepted in two ways:

• by application directly from yourself
• an adult who works with the young person can submit a nomination (for example, parents, teachers or other adults)

We accept both written applications and recorded files for these awards.

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The Young Northern Writers’ Awards are open to young writers aged 11–18 in the North of England. Young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap. There are two age categories, 11–14 and 15–18. Entrants must be 18 years or under on 15 March 2027 when the awards close. The winner in each category will receive prize money of £150. Up to two writers may also be highly commended across the age categories. This award is made possible through New Writing North's partnership with our lead partner Northumbria University. Judges will be announced in November 2026.

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The Matthew Hale Award is open to young writers who show promise but have had limited opportunities to pursue their talent. This could be due to a number of factors, including physical or mental ill-health, family circumstances, financial circumstances, lack of access to cultural opportunities or other reasons. This award is for a young person aged 11–18 based in the North of England. Entrants must be 18 years or under on when the awards close on 15 March 2027. Young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap.

There is one winner. The winner will receive a package of support created by New Writing North to the value of £500. The package will be tailored to the specific interests and needs of the winner, but could include anything from one-on-one mentoring with a professional writer, enrolment on a course, books, theatre tickets or a pass to a literature festival. We’re grateful to the Hale family for generously supporting this award. This award is judged by the family of Matthew Hale and New Writing North.

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The Eva Ibbotson Award is open to young writers aged 11-15 in the North of England who are writing in English as an additional language. Young writers can submit creative work in any form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap. Entrants must be 15 years or under on 15 March 2027 when the awards close.

There will be one winner. The winner will receive a bespoke package of support created by New Writing North to the value of £500. The package will be tailored to the specific interests and needs of the winner, but could include anything from mentoring with a professional writer, enrolment on a course, books, theatre tickets or a pass to a literature festival. The Eva Ibbotson Award will include a collection of Pan Macmillan books to the value of £200 to the winning pupil's school library and a set of Eva's books to the winner (and any runners up). We’re grateful to the Ibbotson family and Pan Macmillan for generously supporting this award. This award is judged by the family of Eva Ibbotson, New Writing North and a guest judge (to be announced).

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For more information, please read the Eligibility and Conditions of Entry carefully.For any enquiries, please read the FAQs. If you still need an answer, contact us at awards@newwritingnorth.com.