Breakthrough scholarship for LGBTQIA+ screenwriters

Course dates: 14th May to 30th July 2026

Want to develop your TV drama writing with guidance from industry professionals? This scholarship offers three months of teaching, workshops and feedback to help shape your script.

We're the creative writing school affiliated to the major UK literary and talent agency. Curtis Brown Creative has been helping writers tell their stories for over 14 years. We launched in 2011 with our flagship London-based Writing Your Novel courses with the aim of finding talented writers, and helping them to get the best out of their writing and to develop their novels to their full potential.

We are thrilled to announce that this scholarship will provide the full course fee for a LGBTQIA+ screenwriter with limited financial means to study on our three-month online Writing TV Drama course led by Jamie Nuttgens. Course runs 14 May to 30 Jul.

This scholarship is part of our Breakthrough Writers’ Programme, a major outreach programme which offers opportunities to under-represented writers. We are keen to promote diversity in our student groups and to enable talented writers to join our courses who we might not otherwise have heard from.

You don't need a degree or any experience of the TV industry to apply for this scholarship: If you a have good idea, the desire to write television drama and to learn – and if you’re a writer of colour without the financial means to attend a Curtis Brown Creative course, this scholarship opportunity is for you.

Course Details

Eligibility

This scholarship is open to anyone over the age of 18, who identifies as LGBTQIA+ and fulfils our low-income eligibility criteria.

Your submission does not necessarily have to be about LGBTQIA+ experiences, although we are particularly interested in stories with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer characters or themes.

Applicants must also fulfil our financial criteria:

• Unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than £30,000 and personal savings of less than £10,000.
• Married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross pre-tax) household income of less than £45,000 and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than £10,000.

If you don’t quite fit our financial criteria but are nonetheless financially challenged, then do apply, explaining your circumstances in the form.

Terms & Conditions

• Applicants to the Breakthrough Scholarship for LGBTQIA+ Screenwriters must fulfil our eligibility criteria. Our form asks you to make statements about your gender identity and sexuality, your financial income and the reason you deserve this fully funded opportunity.
• With respect to the earnings thresholds set out in our eligibility section: for salaried applicants, your current salary at date of application must be under the threshold. For self-employed applicants, your gross pre-tax profits (average figure for the last two financial years) must be under the threshold. State benefits such as jobseeker’s allowance should be counted as income.
• Applicants may be asked to provide proof of their financial circumstances in support of their scholarship applications.
• Because the scholarship is open only to those who do not have the means to attend the applicable course without financial assistance, applicants should bear in mind that their application will be considered only for the scholarship place on the relevant course and not for other fee-paying places on the course.
• Applicants to this scholarship must not be currently represented by an agent for their screenwriting.

Ready to apply?

The Breakthrough Scholarship for LGBTQIA+ Screenwriters will be awarded to the applicant whose submission material shows the greatest potential and promise in our view. The decision will be made by the Curtis Brown Creative team.

Our application process is simple, and we encourage all writers meeting the eligibility criteria to apply.

Don’t worry if you have little or nothing to say in response to questions about e.g. writing experience or employment. Just fill out the form, upload your work and we’ll be in touch soon.

Please apply with the opening of your pilot script (up to fifteen pages – maximum 2,200 words) in industry standard format, 300 words synopsising your entire pilot episode and 300 words synopsising the rest of your serial. All of these materials need to be in the same document, as you can only upload ONE PDF file. The CBC team will select applicants based on the quality of the writing sample provided. The deadline for applications is midnight, end of day Monday 20 April, and we will respond to applicants by Friday 24 April.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.