Applications are now open for Year 3 of The Creators, a career-defining initiative for mid-career screenwriters ready to step into the showrunner spotlight.
Screen Australia and the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) are once again joining forces to deliver The Creators, a career acceleration program designed to propel Australian screenwriters toward authorship of their own original series.
Now entering its third year, the program continues to evolve, this time with an international edge.
For the 2025 edition, up to six selected writers will head to Sydney in October for an immersive retreat-style experience, featuring exclusive training with none other than Emmy Award-winning showrunner Jeff Melvoin (Northern Exposure, Killing Eve, Designated Survivor).
Melvoin, also the founder and Chair of the Writers Guild of America’s Showrunner Training Program, will lead participants through high-level development, pitching and showrunner-focused sessions tailored to help writers break into both domestic and international markets.
‘We are thrilled to welcome Jeff Melvoin to Australia this year to deliver The Creators at home,’ says AWG President Peter Mattessi. ‘This program is an invaluable opportunity to strengthen the Australian industry and empower writers as creators and leaders.’
ScreenHub: Inside the writers’ room
Since launching in 2022, The Creators has become a proving ground for writers with a strong voice and a slate of ambitious episodic projects. Past participants have gone on to develop original series, with many already attracting local and international interest.
‘The Creators supports Australian screenwriters to step into leadership roles,’ says Bobby Romia, Screen Australia’s Head of Development. ‘With access to world-class mentorship and industry training, this program equips mid-career writers with the skills, confidence and connections to develop bold new projects and pitch at the highest level.’
Susie Hamilton, Program Director for The Creators, praises the impact of the program so far: ‘The calibre of writers who’ve completed the program has been incredibly high and we’re pleased to see a number of Creators’ projects already in development. We look forward to welcoming the next group of talented writer-creators to partake in this program.’
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Am I eligible for The Creators?
Backed by Scripted Ink. and held in partnership with the AWG, The Creators is open to writers with recent credits across television, film and/or theatre, and with at least one scripted episodic project already in draft.
Applicants must have a slate of three to five projects in active development, including a lead project with a completed pilot script.
The program will run from 19-27 October 2025. Applications are open now, and close at 5pm AEST on Thursday 29 May 2025. Successful applicants will be notified by Friday 18 July 2025.
For The Creators eligibility requirements and how to apply, head to the AWG website.
Related to The Creators: Inside the writers’ room
31 Oct 2024 14:42
Canadian-born, Melbourne-based comedian Jack Druce worked in the writers’ room for one of Australia’s biggest shows, the long-running current affairs program The Project. Colleagues from the stand-up scene recommended him for the gig, which involved writing jokes for the show’s stars, including Tommy Little and Peter Helliar. He initially came on board on a casual basis, filling in when full-timers were away, before landing a more permanent role.
Druce says adjusting to the pace and volume of the show was one of the main challenges. “When I first started, I was like: ‘Oh, I should have focused more on that story’, but when you get into the rhythm of the work, the show goes on, it’s done, and you’re onto the next one. It’s a unique situation in comedy writing; normally, there’s a lot more space to obsess about the details.”
Druce suggests aspiring writers consider doing stand-up even if it seems removed from their ultimate goal. “It gets you in front of people, puts you on deadline and makes you write,” he explains. But he says doing well on the stand-up circuit won’t get you writing gigs on its own. “Being willing to introduce yourself as a writer when you’re contacting people is a huge factor.”
More recently, Druce has focused more on his own projects, like his newly released sketch pilot All Good if Not, which he wrote, directed and edited. He says pursuing his passions has “been more high risk/high reward” than working on an established program, but there are pros and cons to both types of work.
“There’s definitely a comfort in the security of working on a show that’s on every night, and I would hope to be in those kinds of writers’ rooms again down the line. But my view is that you’ve got to ultimately be moving in the direction of making the stuff you want to make. I enjoyed the process of [All Good if Not] much more than any other writing I’ve done for myself or anyone else.”
