By Cera Rose Pickering.
Whenever a screenwriter asks me how they can advance their career, I always tell them that one of the best things they can do is attend The London Screenwriters’ Festival. Over the past fourteen years, LSF has taught me more about screenwriting and the world of film & TV than a university degree ever could, with its excellent panels, mentoring labs, and craft workshops, but there’s an important element of the festival that some delegates might overlook: Networking.
I’ve met so many screenwriters at LSF that have since become friends and collaborators, alongside experienced producers, directors, development execs and agents that have helped me get to where I am today.
But where can you meet such a high calibre of industry professionals once the festival is over?
It’s no secret that the film and TV industry has been on a downward turn since the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023. As soon as the strikes were announced, my projects were put on hold and I suddenly found myself without work. By the end of 2024, I felt extremely frustrated and powerless – two types of energy that never sit well on me – so instead of waiting for the industry to change by itself, I decided to take Ghandhi’s advice and be the change that I wanted to see in the world. I had no idea what ‘change’ I was going to make or how I was going to make it, until the opportunity arose for me to take part in the Film & TV Supply Chain Innovation Programme, run by Create Growth, ESTU, and The Royal College of Art.
The aim of the programme was to create a new, innovative business idea that would benefit my career and also provide real value to the wider UK film and TV industry. For the first few weeks, I was stuck for an idea that would make any kind of difference, then my tutors asked me to note down all of the pains and barriers that screenwriters face while trying to advance their careers. Of course, there are many! But the main issue that stood out was that there aren’t enough opportunities for screenwriters to network with development execs, agents, producers, and directors on a regular basis. That’s when I realised that I needed to create a platform that connects screenwriters with the wider UK film and TV industry.
It took me over a year to bring my vision to life, through countless meetings with website developers, designers, lawyers, insurance brokers, and business mentors, but I launched the finished product in December 2025 and The Screenwriters’ Slate UK was finally born!
The platform has three types of membership – Screenwriter, Student/Graduate, and Industry. Subscription for screenwriters and students/graduates is currently priced at £6 a month (the price of a Starbucks Frappuccino!) or £70 for the year. Industry membership for development execs, assistants, producers, directors, agents, actors, crew, and everything in between, is always FREE to maximise the number of potential connections.
Once signed up, members create a profile that showcases their skills, knowledge, education, life experience, location, background, their previously produced work, and any upcoming projects that they wish to promote. This information then becomes part of The Screenwriters’ Slate’s database. Industry members can then use the database to find screenwriters with specific skills and knowledge to staff their upcoming projects. For example, if a development exec from the BBC needs an Asian, female writer from Scotland who writes romcoms and also knows about cooking, they can enter these criteria into our search engine and it’ll give them a list of relevant screenwriters that are perfect for their project. The exec can then contact these writers through our messaging system and start a conversation – something that will hopefully lead to employment! Alongside the database, the platform also has a jobs and opportunities page, a script consultancy service, and runs various screenplay competitions throughout the year – submissions are currently open for our short film competition! We will also be running our own networking events and workshops as the year progresses. Screenwriters can also use the database to connect with other writers for script collaborations, or link up with producers and directors to form teams for schemes such as the BFI Film Fund.
To sign up to The Screenwriters’ Slate UK, please visit www.thescreenwritersslateuk.com and choose the membership strand that’s right for you. I’ll also be at The London Screenwriters’ Festival in April to chat about the platform and show everyone what it has to offer, so please do come say hi if you see me!
As Chris Jones always says, we work in an industry that is built on trusted relationships and connections, so it’s important to network with as many people as you can – and discount nobody! You never know who will lead you to your next job.
Follow The Screenwriters’ Slate UK on social media for updates, industry news, and screenwriting tips!
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Cera is a screenwriter, playwright and producer who has a passion for creating comedy, adventure, and romance stories for audiences of all ages.
