Across the world, news and entertainment are closer than ever. From American late-night shows to viral tweets, the way we talk about the current events has the power to shape the dominant narrative, and effect real change.

Comedians and comedy writers have the potential to fight back against incomplete, inaccurate and hateful narratives in our society, but the comedy industry, as it stands, is not fit for purpose. Writers’ rooms in the UK are overwhelmingly white, and schemes do not go far enough to empower new and vital voices to gain access the networks they need to enter these spaces, or to succeed to their full potential when they get there.

The day is divided into two parts:

From 10-12pm (BST)– a crash-course in everything you need to know to submit to existing avenues for topical comedy, and to develop your own. We’ll cover the basics of joke and sketch-writing, pitching, formatting and, most importantly, understanding what producers are looking for, and what they *actually* need from you. It’ll be full of tips, tricks and good advice. Ask anything you like: no question too silly!

From 12-3pm (BST)-you’ll write your own material, under pressure, and receive detailed written feedback from a working comedy writer/producer. This is your chance to dry run a real-life writing process, so the first time you work on a show, you’ll feel like you already know the ropes.

Leila Navabi s an prolific and disruptive producer, writer and comedian. Having begun her career at MTV, she has since gone on to write (both editorial and screen pieces) for MTV, Comedy Central, Channel 4 and BBC. Her credits include: BBC One’s ‘Tourist Trap’, and BBC Sounds’ ‘The Leak with Tom Price’ and Comedy Central’s ‘Josh Investigates’. At 20, she became the youngest producer at BBC Studios where she works in house producing audio comedy including ‘Newsjack’ and ‘The Now Show’. She’s also Welsh.

Charlie Dinkin is the current comedy staff writer at BBC Studios, working across radio shows including Newsjack, The Now Show and The News Quiz. With Benjamin Sutton, she is a founding member of Seize The Means of Production, an open-access information sharing project from the next generation of TV, film and digital creators.

This session is run independently by a community of experienced topical writers and producers who have worked at the BBC, amongst other places, but it is not affiliated with any production company or channel.