Short Com writing competition 2020 longlist

Short Com has revealed the list of writers and scripts that have made it on to the longlist for its first sitcom writing competition, which is sponsored by Final Draft.

Short Com creative director Chris Aitken had this to say about the entrants and competition: "I was genuinely surprised by not just the number of entries but also the number of quality of scripts myself and the reading team have analysed. The competition was a lot tougher than initially anticipated, which was really encouraging.

"In these challenging times, we like to thank those who have entered that have kept us busy and our brains' challenged. The overall response from those who have entered has been genuinely heartwarming, thus we have every intention of returning this competition for next year."

The list of following writers will be narrowed down to a final shortlist of five, to be sent to the final judging panel. The shortlisted writers will be announced on 7th August.

Kelvin Wong - Problematic Viewing

Richard Lazarus - Plan B

Sian Goff and Georgia Maguire - Off Grid

James Murphy - Chatter Box

Oliver Prescott - Puzzle

Jody Wiltshire - Another Mother

Stephen Roughsedge - Stay At Home Dad

Ian Smith - Mayor

Isaac Fisher - The Other Side of The Coin

Alistair Inglis - Homesick

Indigo Hinton - Rainbow's End

Carol Younghusband - Echo Village

Emma Ramsay - Sorry

Will Miles - Civil Behaviour/Widowing

Barry Wood - Almost A Superhero

Ian Sweeney - Saviour/Troubadours

Matthew Smith - Vultures

Colin Dowland - Healing

Joe Barnes - Joy

Joel Frosh and Joel Brooks - Gains

Natalie Malla and Sara Butler - 0800 Babe

Lydia Clarke and Liam Conroy - Hooligans

Alexander MJ Smith - Caffeine

Lucie Brownlee - Bend and Flick

Damien St. John - Adventures of a Single Dad

Tony Brinton - Bet or Die

James Everett - The Wolf of Wall Street

Brogan Thomas - Town of Eden

Mike Arber and David Kidder - Mars Hotel

Carwyn Blayney - Carmathen's Strongest Man

Charlotte Ash - Very Much Single

Graham Barrett - Shot To Nothing

Ed Sayeed - Staying Alive

Steven Bowbrick and Mink Kapferer - Walking Back To Happiness

Jack Stanley - All Your Songs Are About Me Aren't They?

Barbara Vonau - Clap

Donna Gray - Foiled

Joanna Tilley - Old

Alberto Lopez - Working From Home

Christopher Anastasi and Charlie Dinkin - Annie Waits

7th August Update: Shortlist

Joe Barnes - Joy
Richard Lazarus - Plan-B
Emma Ramsey - Sorry
Ian Smith - Mayor
Ian Sweeney - Saviour

Short Com says: "Each of the five writers displayed great imagination, craft and uniqueness to stand-out to make the final five shortlist."

The scripts have been sent to the expert panel of judges - Jon Aird, Lucy Lumsden, Mia Ylonen and Toby Smith - who will each pick their favourite scripts to determine an overall winner, to be announced at the end of the month.