London Screenwriters Festival

06/07/2026

#10 Page Count Is Your First Impression

The Top 10 Script Craft Secrets with Megan Halpern, SVP of The Black List.

Is Your Script Too Long To Get Read? Page count matters more than most writers think.

Not because producers are lazy. They’re not. They’re busy, overwhelmed, and usually sitting on a mountain of scripts they genuinely want to read.

But if there’s a 120-page script on the desk next to a tight 95-page script, which one do you think gets picked up first?

Megan Halpern from The Black List breaks it down simply: a shorter script signals control. It tells a producer you know how to tell your story efficiently, that you respect the reader’s time, and that there’s still room to develop the project together.

The industry has changed. 120 pages used to feel normal. Now, 95–110 pages is often the sweet spot.

Yes, there are exceptions. But unless you’re Ryan Coogler, keep it lean.

Your script doesn’t just need to be brilliant. It needs to look like it’s ready to be read.

Megan Halpern at The London Screenwriters' Festival.

06/07/2026

Megan Halpern, Senior Vice President at The Black List, knows what it takes to help writers get noticed, and what can stop a great script from being read properly.

In this session from LondonSWF 2026, Megan digs into the small but crucial things that can make your script feel professional from page one.

Because yes, voice matters. Originality matters. Having something powerful to say matters most.

But if your formatting, clarity, structure or presentation creates friction, your brilliant idea can get buried before it has a chance to shine.

The goal? Build trust with your reader. Show them they’re in safe hands. Let them feel, from the very first page, that you know where you’re taking them.

Your script deserves a champion. Make sure nothing technical gets in the way of them finding you.

Megan Halpern at The London Screenwriters Festival
https://londonscreenwritersfestival.com/the-top-secret-top-ten-of-screenwriting-craft-elevate-your-script-in-one-hour-with-megan-halpern/

30/05/2026

After 17 LondonSWFs and a dozen features as a director, here are the 7 notes I now give every script before it leaves my desk.

1. Grab the reader from the first sentence.
2. Make sure the protagonist or antagonist is in the first scene.
3. Characters sound the same. Read it out loud and you’ll hear it.
4. Use fewer words.
5. Know thine genre and align passionately with it.
6. Write audaciously, write what only you could write.
7. All your hard work pays off with a deeply satisfying and inevitable, yet surprising end.

Save this for your next pass. None of these are clever. All of them are what changes a draft.

If you want to hear this kind of thinking from people who do it for a living: londonscreenwritersfestival.com

Bonus point: Killer title. Mysterious, evocative and aligned with genre expectations.

28/05/2026

Most festivals have volunteers. Some have stewards. At LSF, we have Superheroes.

They look like regular people, but every one of them has a secret Superhero identity. And the energy, passion, and creativity they bring is what makes LSF unforgettable.

Want to be part of it?

We’re recruiting our 2027 Superhero squad.

Festival dates: 2–4 April 2027, with additional events from 30 March.

Roles range from welcoming delegates and supporting speakers to managing tech and livestreams, there’s a cape for everyone.

Link in bio to read more and apply 🫶🥰🫶

27/05/2026

One word. That’s all we asked for. 🎬

Career-changing. Liberating. Outstanding. Community. Inspiring 🤩

This is what The London Screenwriters Festival sounds like. This is why we do it. YOU are the festival. ❤️

Tickets for next year now live, link in bio x

25/05/2026

If you're an emerging screenwriter trying to break in, read this.

Last month at The London Screenwriters' Festival, I spent an hour on stage with Dan Löwenstein, dubbed the 'King of Vertical Drama in the UK', with 28 verticals under his belt for ReelShort (Pride & Prejudice), DramaBox (Mafia Obsession), JoyReels (My Rookie Agent) and more.

While most of the film and TV industry is talking about contraction, this corner of the business is exploding. And the door is wide open for new writers.

A few things from our conversation stopped me in my tracks:

- One title, How to Tame a Silver Fox, was at half a billion views last summer. Top vertical writers are now commanding 10 to 15K per script. Turnaround? One to two weeks.

- The pitch barrier is tiny. Instead of asking someone to read your 100-page feature, you write a 3 to 5 episode spec. That's about eight pages. A producer can say yes or no in eight minutes.

- In this model, the screenwriter is the chief of everything. Final sign-off across the whole process. That isn't the norm in Western film, it's borrowed from the Chinese model that built this industry.

It's the Wild West. Four or five UK production companies are making these on rotation, with more emerging up north. They're small, nimble, and hungry for writers. No layers of gatekeepers. No decades of red tape.

As Dan put it: this is 1999 with the dot coms. A ship you definitely want to be on.

So, what to do tonight?

1. Download a vertical app and watch a few. Feel the rhythm of the 90 second hook and the 'Holy Ten' episodes before the paywall hits.
2. Write 3 to 5 spec episodes. Around eight pages total.
3. Google the UK production companies producing verticals. Email them. Be brief. Attach the pages. Say you've done your research.

Your first credit matters more than your first paycheck. Get in now, before the gates go up.

14/03/2026

Behind every great festival is a team that makes the impossible happen.

Today’s production meeting brought together the brilliant minds working behind the scenes to build this year’s London Screenwriters’ Festival, the people making sure the ideas, the speakers, the sessions, the tech, and the magic all come together.

Massive shoutout to the team putting in the work: Chris, Lisa, Ollie, Judith, Bob, KT, Lucia, Maxim, Heather, and Gabe. Your dedication, creativity and collaboration are what turn a vision into a world-class festival! 💯

The momentum is building. The planning is real. And we can’t wait to welcome you home ♥️

04/03/2026

Thrilled to announce that Catherine Hardwicke will be flying in from LA to attend LondonSWF this year, for cool sessions and a Script To Screen with Twilight. She is a total rockstar and I am AMPED this is happening! And I just posted an intervierw we did with her BEFORE Twilight when she was riding high on her success with 13, an interview that went in the Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook in 2006 or so.

In 2006, we interviewed Catherine Hardwicke for the Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook, before 'Twilight' and after her indie hit '13'. I am thrilled she is joining us for this years featival and as she was then, and is now, her eccentric, indie spirited and inspirational energy will infect us all!