Why I would recommend applying for the Kay Mellor Fellowship 2027

Wakefield-based British-Iranian playwright Jasmin Mandi-Ghomi was announced as the recipient of the Kay Mellor Fellowship in February 2025. Jasmin followed Kat Rose-Martin and Kirsty Taylor, both from Bradford, as the third writer to receive the fellowship, which was established in 2019 in memory of the late Kay Mellor, a pioneering writer in the world of TV and theatre.

The fellowship, a collaboration between Leeds Playhouse, Rollem Productions, Leeds City Council and the BBC, serves as a platform to nurture new voices from the North. This joint commitment highlights the organisations’ shared dedication to championing emerging talent and amplifying diverse voices in the arts.

As submissions open for the fourth Kay Mellor Fellowship we asked Jasmin to sum up her experience and why she would recommend that writers apply. Hear from Jasmin below.

Apply for the Kay Mellor Fellowship 2027 before 10am on Saturday 1st August 2026

Could you tell us a bit about your writing background before you applied for the Kay Mellor Bursary?

I was primarily a playwright beforehand. I’d been lucky enough to write several community and youth theatre projects, and had done a number of writing schemes along the away. The Fellowship came at a great time for me because I had lived in London for 10 years and made the decision to move home and try to make a living as a writer here in Yorkshire. In the year prior to getting the Fellowship, I had written a play for the Bush Theatre called ‘The End’ and was commuting between Leeds and London a lot for rehearsals. I was really adamant that I wanted my next project to be northern-based, and then the Fellowship came along.

Why were you keen to apply for the bursary?

I really felt like it would centralise all of my previous writing experience in such a helpful way. I wanted the time and space to explore a project I was passionate about and be able to experiment with new concepts and ideas without the pressure of having to get something ‘right’. More than anything, I wanted the opportunity to work with Rollem Productions, Leeds Playhouse, and the BBC. Writing can be a lonely business so I was very keen to work alongside people I could learn from and that would keep pushing me forward.

I had applied for the Fellowship once before back in 2023 but didn’t get it. The team provided really helpful feedback afterwards and I went away knowing what to work on and improve. When I saw the opportunity come up again, I knew I had to give it another go. 

What have been some of the highlights? What was most rewarding or surprising?

A real highlight for me was sitting in on a writers’ room with Rollem for a couple of days. It was the first time I’d ever done anything like that and had no idea what to expect or how it would work. Being in that room and watching writers and comedians bounce ideas off each other was fascinating and really made me want to work harder to keep up. 

I was also lucky enough to have a writing mentor organised through the BBC. Being able to chat with a professional writer that I had admired and respected for such a long time was a game changer for me. I was suddenly able to ask all the little questions I’d always wanted to know the answer to and get immediate practical advice on anything I was stuck on at the time. 

You’d already taken part in the BBC Writers Voices programme in 2022, can you tell us a bit about that?

BBC Northern Voices was my first foray into writing for TV and what I learnt about screenwriting there was absolutely vital. Having the chance to experience masterclasses with established screenwriters, get advice, and develop my own project alongside other emerging writers really helped me grow. It was particularly beneficial at changing my mindset from writing for stage to writing for screen. The way you develop story is completely different across the two mediums and Voices allowed me the space to learn and get things wrong in a safe environment. It also gave me friends and connections that I still have to this day. 

Why would you recommend that other writers apply for the 2027 Kay Mellor Bursary?

Do you find yourself full of ideas but unsure how to go about exploring them? The Fellowship allows you to invest in a project you’ve always wanted to develop under the guidance of professionals and practitioners who can support you every step of the way. This industry can be incredibly difficult but having champions in the form of Rollem Productions, the BBC, and Leeds Playhouse is so invaluable and means you’ve got someone to fight your corner and steer you in the right direction. 

On a very practical level, having people checking in on you and your writing regularly means that you always prioritise it. For a whole year, you are a professional writer before you are anything else and you get to think like one. Being able to live in that mindset really helps you develop and grow.

Why do you think that these kinds of opportunities are important for writers?

The industry is so difficult right now. We’ve lost so many good creatives to other careers because people no longer have the funding and support to stay. Opportunities like this are crucial for writers because they give you the chance to improve on your craft without constantly having to think about what the next project is or where the next pay cheque will be coming from. We need more authentic and diverse stories to be told and opportunities like this are a great way to find and support writers who may otherwise have fallen by the wayside.