04 October 2012
Posted in General

Jayne Kirkham, Chair of the Guild's Children's Committee, reports from the Labour Party Conference in Manchester

Yep, like the Lib-Dems in Brighton last week, the Labour Conference in Manchester was another gathering of the clan. But Labour’s conference is bigger and redder. You would hope so, wouldn’t you? Although actually, I thought the branding was rather blue – blue lighting, blue Union flags: a bit Stella McCartney really. And I was surprised to still be tripping over ice buckets in the Midland Hotel lobby; despite us being one nation under a groove, there’s still quite a lot of champagne socialism around.

Oh, you will have read the reports of the speeches and press releases and know that we’re half way between elections so there were no exciting policies or lines being drawn in the sand in the conference hall. I came in half way through one debate and didn’t realise the speakers were on the other side of the stage. I spent quite a long time watching five purple cushions on a sofa. With a head full of kids’ television, I thought soft furnishings that talk were normal. Although I did remark to my neighbour that their argument was somewhat fabricated. He tutted and said something about cloth ears. Likewise the fringe was not what you’d call dynamic. Walking round the exhibition hall the most exciting and thought provoking thing was a display by some guide dogs. Although I did see Alistair Campbell on a kayak ergometer machine. That was more distracting than anything: I was having a useful conversation about select committee process at the time and there he was, paddling like Goldie Hasler himself on the Boating Alliance’s stand.

I am very pleased that I went, though. Labour aren’t just the lot that lost: they are Her Maj’s Loyal Opposition and while last week I pompously spouted that it was my job to hold the likes of David Laws to account, it isn’t. That job belongs to the likes of Stephen Twigg. So I had arranged meetings and picked out useful fringe events, on the look out for more political allies and friends for the Guild and the Children’s Media Foundation. I didn’t have to search too hard. At least not when I talked about the issues around children’s media and arts. With the Communications Green Paper having been kicked into touch, there was little obvious interest in wider issues such as intellectual property. But it’s a bit like picking raspberries: there will always be some more on the canes.

As I said last week, whether all this has been successful will become clear with time when (not if) policies and laws change. In the meantime, forgive me for not saying too much publicly. What I will tell you is that one senior politician still had the dry cleaning ticket pinned to his suit, Film Four will be screening a movie about the Rochdale Pioneers in early November and that one purple cushion whispered to its comrade, ‘How long do we have to stay before it’s not rude to leave?’

27 September 2012
Posted in General

Jayne Kirkham reports from the Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton

Brighton is supposed to be a sunny, rather hedonistic place isn’t it? Not sure that’s how I would describe the Lib-Dem conference there this week. The weather was cold, wet and blustery and, given the furore about Nick Clegg’s apology and their position in the polls, you might think that would describe the conference too. But, while politicians are always full of wind, everything was rather… fuggy: warm and soporific with any genuine angst or anger covered in a blanket of goodwill.

It is of course a gathering of the clan and, Lib-Dems are no different to the other parties in the midst of a storm: smiling while holding their skirts down firmly lest the wind woofs up and shows us their pants.

So do I have anything new to report? Anything that you couldn’t read in the main papers or hear on TV? Quite possibly I do. Because my agenda was not that of the main press nor of the Lib-Dems. I went as a writer. And a children’s writer at that – someone who believes children deserve the best we can give them. So I went looking to hear from ministers and spokespeople for Education, Culture, Media and Sport about their policies on art, media, children’s art and media, art in education, education, soft education, hard education (beginning to sound like toffees), the creative industries, intellectual property rights…

I didn’t hear very much. On some subjects I was the one doing the telling: about how the new English Baccalaureate will affect the teaching of and children’s access to theatre, music and art; how British children’s TV is the best in the world, yet crippled by an un-level international playing field; how so little public arts funding is spent on children.

What was very satisfying was that they were listening. Now, of course, the important bit is the follow up – will those meetings I had really result in questions at Prime Minister’s Question Time? Have I really found new advocates that will do rather than just say? Will we see changes to policy regarding arts in schools or the funding of children’s arts? In his speech, David Laws, the Minister of State for Schools (pictured above), said ‘A good education is the cornerstone of a liberal society. A good education for all is the cornerstone of the society our party wants to create. My job is to deliver just that.’

My job then is to not let him forget it.

Jayne Kirkham is Chair of the Writers’ Guild Children’s Committee

16 September 2012
Posted in General

The new Writers' Guild Executive Council met for the first time on 12 September.

Pictured, from left to right: David Edgar (President), Anne Hogben (Deputy General Secretary), Gail Renard (Television Chair), Bernie Corbett (General Secretary), Olivia Hetreed (Film) Ming Ho (Deputy Chair), Roger Williams (Guild Chair), Katharine Way (Radio Chair), Jayne Kirkham (Children’s Chair), Andy Walsh (Treasurer), Manon Eames (Welsh Region), Julie Ann Thomason (Scottish Region)

Missing from the photo – but not forgotten: Antony Pickthall (Deputy Chair), Amanda Whittington (Theatre), Nick Yapp (Books), Marie MacNeill (Devon and Cornwall), Richard Pinner (Birmingham and West Midlands).

14 September 2012
Posted in General

The shortlists for the 2012 Writers’ Guild Awards have now been decided. The winners will be announced on Wednesday November 14 at the Tabernacle in Notting Hill.

Best Continuing Drama Series

• Casualty: Saturday Night Fever - Sasha Hails
  
• Coronation Street: Becky’s Final Farewell - Debbie Oates
  
• Hollyoaks: A Little Film About Love by Jason Costello - Nick Leather

Best Play for Children and Young People

• Angel - Kevin Dyer
  
• Hare & Tortoise - Brendan Murray
  
• Holloway Jones - Evan Placey

Best Videogame Script

• Batman: Arkham City - Paul Crocker
  
• Risen 2: Dark Waters - Gordon Rennie, Alan Barnes, Emma Beeby
  
• Zombies, Run! - Naomi Alderman

Best First Feature Film

• Black Pond - Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley
  
• Resistance - Owen Sheers, Amit Gupta
  
• Wild Bill - Danny King, Dexter Fletcher

Best Children’s TV Script

• 4 O'Clock Club: Maths - Dan Berlinka
  
• Horrible Histories - Dave Cohen, Ali Crockatt, Gerard Foster, Giles Pilbrow, Laurence Rickard, David Scott, George Sawyer, Ben Ward, Steve Punt
  
• The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Curse of Clyde Langer - Phil Ford

Best Radio Drama

• Life and Fate - Jonathan Myerson, Mike Walker
• Pandemic - John Dryden
  
• The Diary of Samuel Pepys - Hattie Naylor

Best Screenplay

• Even the Rain - Paul Laverty
  
• Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine
  
• We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay, Rory Stewart Kinnear

Best Fiction Book

• Alys, Always – Harriet Lane
  
• The Last Hundred Days - Patrick McGuinness
  
• Then - Julie Myerson

Best Short-Form TV Drama

• Appropriate Adult - Neil McKay
  
• Sherlock - Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Stephen Thompson
  
• This is England '88 - Shane Meadows, Jack Thorne

Best Theatre Play

• Grief - Mike Leigh
  
• The Kitchen Sink - Tom Wells
  
• The Westbridge - Rachel De-lahay

Best Radio Comedy

• I, Regress - Matt Berry
  
• Another Case of Milton Jones - Milton Jones, James Cary
  
• In and Out of the Kitchen - Miles Jupp

Best TV Comedy

• Holy Flying Circus - Tony Roche
  
• PhoneShop - Phil Bowker
• Grandma's House - Simon Amstell, Dan Swimer

Best TV Drama Series

• Being Human - Toby Whithouse, Tom Grieves, John Jackson, Lisa McGee, Jamie Mathieson
  
• Scott & Bailey - Sally Wainwright, Nicole Taylor, Amelia Bullmore
  
• Prisoners Wives - Julie Gearey, James Graham and Chloe Moss