How do you get a job working on the biggest soap in the UK?  Tell the truth and admit you’ve never seen the show!  It worked for Peter Mattessi, but he’s also a talented, hard-working writer.  While writing for Neighbours here in Australia, Peter still writes for Eastenders and Holby City back in England.  Peter talks about writing those popular shows, the pitching and development process in England and he also shares some great insights into balancing such a demanding workload in both Australia and the UK.

Adam Zwar has appeared on our screens since the late 90's, but it was when his sitcom about a man in a dog suit (Wilfred) first aired in 2007 that his profile exploded.  Since then, he has been a constant in the comedy scene in Australia with The Agony... series of shows, Lowdown and even a US adaptation of Wilfred.

We talk about how Adam writes, how Wilfred and Lowdown came to be and what his next projects are.

Kristen Dunphy started her career in the ABC script department, back when broadcasters did everything in-house.  She quickly moved up the ranks and got her first script on GP.  Over the years Kristen has written for numerous crime dramas including White Collar Blue, the acclaimed Wildside and East West 101 amongst many more.  

In this podcast, Kristen relates stories of her days at the ABC, the encouraging words given to her by a mentor after she won an AWGIE and like all writers, she still gets insecure about her scripts once she’s turned them in.

Prolific screenwriter and AWGIE winner Sam Meikle may well be the most versatile writer we’ve had on the podcast.  Not only is he a prolific writer of Home & Away and Neighbours, but he’s written a documentary, numerous hour-long dramas, kid’s animation and currently has a feature film in the works.

Amongst other things, Sam outlines his technique for writing feature film screenplays and we find out he turned an early setback on All Saints into a great learning experience that helped him become the award-winning writer he is today.

This is a must listen for all aspiring screenwriters.  Emerging Writer Niki Aken shares her experience of breaking into the industry and gaining her first professional script.  We also delve deep into her writing process, learn that she did so much research for Underbelly she could have consulted back to the Police about their cases and how she managed to write the criminal characters who inhabit a very different world to herself.

Zak Hilditch is a Perth based Writer/Director who released his first feature film These Final Hours to much acclaim last year. 

On the podcast Zak discusses writing the film, how he obtained funding from ScreenWest and Screen Australia, being introduced to Rob Connolly, alternate endings and how he bounced back from the disappointing Australian box office.