We have brought together three award winning writers; Showrunner Adjani Salmon (BBC & A24’s Dreaming Whilst Black), Joy Wilkinson (Netflix’s Lockwood & Co) & Thara Popoola (Netflix’s Sex Education). The writers will dissect the craft of writing for TV and their creative process. They will also break down how they got their first writing job, finding your voice as a writer and navigating the pressures of writing for high-end TV.

Adjani Salmon

Adjani filmed the pilot of DREAMING WHILST BLACK for the BBC in early 2021. The pilot was nominated for an international Emmy and Adjani won the 2022 BAFTA for Emerging Talent: Fiction. The first season of DREAMING WHILST BLACK was released on BBC3 in July of 2023 and Showtime in the US in September 2023 and received unanimous praise. The series was nominated for Best New Scripted Series at the 2024 Independent Spirit Awards and for Best Scripted Comedy at the 2024 BAFTA Televisions Awards. Adjani is currently on post production on the highly anticipated second series of the show.

Joy Wilkinson 

Joy Wilkinson is an acclaimed writer-director, working across film, television, theatre and radio. A Screen International ‘Star of Tomorrow’, selected twice for the Brit List, Joy has built a successful writing career on shows including DOCTOR WHO (BBC), LOCKWOOD & CO (Netflix) and SUSPECT (Channel 4), while directing her shorts MA’AM and THE EVERLASTING CLUB, which won awards at festivals world-wide. Joy’s debut feature 7 KEYS had its World Premiere at SXSW in 2024 and its UK Premiere at Frightfest, where it won nominations in the Total Film Awards for Best Film and Best Actress, as well as a nomination for Best First Feature at Dinard Festival.

Thara Popoola

A graduate of the 2021 4Screenwriting scheme, Thara has been a guest writer on multiple series including SEX EDUCATION (Eleven/Netflix), QUEENIE (Lionsgate/C4), MED SCHOOL (Studio Lambert/Netflix), CRONGTON (BBC), BLACK OPS (BBC Studios/BBC), DREAMING WHILST BLACK (A24/BBC). Her original project AWAKENING is in paid development with Warp/C4 and COMFORT VS HARM is under option to Double Dutch Productions; she has several other original projects in development with producers.  Thara’s original short JOBLESS, was filmed in April 2023 for Zeppotron/BBC and she is now writing the pilot script for a half hour series.