Write A Podcast Drama in Five Weeks

Course Dates: Thursdays 7-9pm

Online from 20 February to 20 March 2025

Location: Live online teaching via Zoom

Cost: £195 for all five sessions

LEARN TO WRITE A COMPLETE PODCAST DRAMA SERIES IN FIVE WEEKLY TWO HOUR SESSIONS IN SEPTEMBER 2024.

‘A brilliant course!’ participant on the September 2023 course.

‘Beautifully written by Helen Cross, this five part fantasy drama creates a wholly convincing alternative reality,’ Engish Rose season two review The Guardian November 2023

‘Novelist Helen Cross proves a sure hand at creating both intrigue and suspense.’ English Rose season one review The Radio Times , July 2023

Join my online classroom and write a complete audio podcast drama over five weekly sessions. These live, interactive online classes will introduce you to the industry of audio drama, and allow you to learn the skills necessary to write drama for radio and podcasts.

The course is taught by me, Helen Cross, an award-winning audio dramatist and fiction writer (www.helencross.net) and creator/writer of two seasons of the current podcast chart hit, English Rose Seasons one and two

Course Content:

On this podcast course we will look at the new opportunities in this growing industry and explore how to structure podcast drama, how to sustain tension in plot, how to build dramatic audio characters and how to write convincing dialogue. We will consider the state of the market now, and what commissioners are looking for from writers.

Each week members of the group will share their writing-in-progress, and by the end of the five weeks you will have a complete podcast drama idea, a first draft of all five episodes, with a clear beginning middle and end to each episode and to the series, a pitch, and a plan for what to do with it next.

Prior to the class you will be sent a listening list of podcast dramas to inspire and educate you about the form. We will discuss and learn from these dramas in the class.

No prior writing experience or knowledge of audio or podcast drama is necessary.

Feedback from 2023/4 course participants:

‘I really enjoyed your input and exercises, and I greatly appreciated your enthusiasm and wealth of knowledge.’ Partipant on the February 2024 course

‘I loved every minute of our course.’ Paricipant on the February 2024 course

‘Thank you for running the sessions, I feel like it’s reignited the writer in me.’ Participant on the February 2024 course.

‘Straight, insightful, practical guidance.’ Participant on the February 2024 course.

‘It was terrific the way it was all broken down with homework and worksheets added.’ Participant on the February 2022 course

‘Excellent throughout.’ Participant on the February 2022 course

’I enjoyed hearing about Helen’s practical advice, and the week on structure was excellent.’ Participant on the February 2022 course .

Tutor Details

Helen Cross is an award winning novelist (author of the novel, My Summer of Love, which became a BAFTA award-winning movie starring Emily Blunt – and which you can currently watch on BBC Iplayer here ). For the last twenty years Helen also written drama regularly for BBC Radio and a number of overseas broadcasters. Her most recent BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play, The Return of Rowena The Wonderful is available now on BBC Sounds . Her Afternoon Plays have previously won Awards in her BBC Audio Drama Awards including The Innovation Award for the drama Blue Eyed Boy. She has most-recently written two seasons of a highly acclaimed podcast drama series, English Rose, currently available on Spotify, BBC Sounds and Apple Podcasts. Her latest audio work is Flixborough 74, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 28 May 2024.

Press praise for BBC Podcast Drama English Rose Seasons 1 & 2

Pick of the Week in: The Sunday Times, The Observer, The Times, The Daily Mail.

‘Beautifully written by Helen Cross, this five part fantasy drama creates a wholly convincing alternative reality,’ Season two review The Guardian November 2023

‘Novelist Helen Cross proves a sure hand at creating both intrigue and suspense.’ The Radio Times July 2022.

‘Taut thriller from the impressive new drama strand Limelight…great fun.” The Daily Telegraph August 2022.

“Stranger fangs: this smart modern spin on vampire lore follows a secretive Yorkshire girl from her home in Whitby to NYC.” The Guardian July 2022

‘An original modern take on vampire lore this throws up some smart surprises and the cast deliver great performances’ – The Yorkshire Post August 2022

You can listen to Helen and the show’s producer, Mary Ward-Lowery, speaking about the process of writing and making English Rose in this September 2022 video Professional Development Session for The Society of Authors .

Dates for the September/October 2024 course:

Dates: Thursday 7-9pm, starting 20 February to 20 March

Location: Live online teaching via Zoom

Cost: £195 for all five sessions