All posts tagged: Writers

3 Must-Read Costa Rican Writers

3 Must-Read Costa Rican Writers

Published by Jenni Sidey

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The sitcom finales that almost ended very differently – and why the writers changed their minds

The sitcom finales that almost ended very differently – and why the writers changed their minds

Published by Daniella Wilson

As if launching a hit TV show wasn’t hard enough, ending on a high note seems to be an even greater challenge. Recent examples have demonstrated how a lacklustre finale can tarnish the legacy of even the most esteemed series, so it’s no wonder that some writers consider multiple options for their grand farewell. But what becomes of those alternate endings? Some are scrapped before they can see the light of day, others lie on cutting room floors, becoming either the stuff of legend or seldom seen treasures consigned to DVD box sets. The minds behind some of TV’s most celebrated sitcoms have candidly discussed original pitches for their all-important series finales – and some are wildly different to the endings that made it to the screen. Here’s 10 stories of how our favourite sitcoms could have ended – and why, for better or worse, a different path was taken. 10. The Office (US) John Krasinski as Jim Halpert in The Office. Justin Lubin / NBCU Photo Bank Greg Daniels’s long-running workplace sitcom is one of …

‘It looked stunning on Joanna Lumley!’ 10 writers on their biggest hair disaster | Beauty

‘It looked stunning on Joanna Lumley!’ 10 writers on their biggest hair disaster | Beauty

Published by Sam Flores

‘It reminds me of the botched Jesus fresco’ ‘If you squint it could be a trendy mullet’ … Kate Lloyd. Composite: Guardian Design; Courtesy of Kate Lloyd It’s the late 1990s. Big, round, feathered fringes are a huge deal at my primary school. Most of my friends have one, influenced by Britney Spears or Emma Bunton. I, too, have a fringe. Mine, as you can see, appears more inspired by Kevin Keegan circa 1993. Of course, calling what I’m sporting here “a fringe” is an incredible understatement. If you squint it could be a trendy east London mullet. Otherwise, I look a bit like a Knight Templar. Or someone wearing a hat made out of their own hair, on top of their own hair. It may surprise you to learn this cut was not the result of a sleepover prank gone wrong. It was done by a professional – a hairdresser who lived up the road from my parents and came round to our house to cut my brother’s, my mum’s and my hair. Not …

Sandi Toksvig: “Irish writers’ work could only have sprung from Ireland”

Sandi Toksvig: “Irish writers’ work could only have sprung from Ireland”

Published by Daniella Wilson

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. “What is it about the Irish?” asks Sandi Toksvig, sounding slightly exasperated. She’s being nice, though: the broadcaster and author is wondering aloud how this tiny island has produced so many world-class writers – and she’s wandering around it in a tome-filled two-part travelogue to find out. So can she be persuaded to tell us which are her favourite spots for literature lovers? Fortunately, she’s an open book… Marsh’s Library, Dublin Books to die for “So much literature has come out of Dublin: Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Roddy Doyle… But one truly extraordinary place is Marsh’s (marshlibrary.ie), which was founded in 1707 – 150 years before London got its first public library. It’s one of the most astonishing collections of books I’ve ever seen in my life, and it has that wonderful musty smell, but you can still wander in there and look at the books, some of which date back to the 1600s. They showed me one that was actually shot through, in the …

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan accused of stealing writer’s idea in copyright lawsuit

Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan accused of stealing writer’s idea in copyright lawsuit

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Taylor Sheridan has been accused of stealing the idea for Yellowstone from a writer’s 2016 pitch, according to a new copyright infringement lawsuit. In the complaint, obtained by The Independent, Lauren J. Salkin alleges that her rejected pitch bore a number of striking similarities to Sheridan’s hit neo-Western drama. 101 Studios, Paramount Global and NBCUniversal are also named as defendants in the suit. The Independent has contacted representatives for Sheridan and those companies for comment. In the complaint, Salkin’s lawyers claim she spent more than a decade developing a TV series named Sovereign Nation, which centered on “tribal governance, casino-driven economic power, and a modern war over land and development.” Taylor Sheridan is accused of copying the idea for ‘Yellowstone’ from a writer’s 2016 pitch in a new lawsuit (Getty) Kevin Costner starred as John Dutton in Sheridan’s wildly successful Western …

HBO Max Names 12 European Writers for Script Engine Program

HBO Max Names 12 European Writers for Script Engine Program

Published by Daniella Wilson

HBO Max and WBD Access, Warner Bros. Discovery’s talent development division, have picked the 12 European writers who will participate in this year’s Script Engine Program. Veteran producer and showrunner Frank Spotnitz, (The X-Files, The Man in the High Castle, Medici) will serve as lead facilitator and mentor on the four-month program which aims to help screenwriters develop original locally-rooted series concepts that they will pitch to HBO Max executives in November. “European storytelling has never been in greater demand,” said Spotnitz. “Audiences around the world are looking for distinctive voices and stories that reflect different cultures and perspectives, and European writers are increasingly creating work that travels internationally. Script Engine is important because it doesn’t just help writers develop their craft, it introduces them to a collaborative way of working that empowers writers to do their best work. [The program] gives mid-level writers the confidence, skills and professional mindset to build sustainable international careers.” The writers for the 2026 program include France’s Tolula Dada (Gangs of London, Grantchester), Justine Gautier (Petits Secrets en Famille, Leo Mattei), …

‘I lose all sense of time in the hypnotic flow’: five writers on their favourite British rivers | United Kingdom holidays

‘I lose all sense of time in the hypnotic flow’: five writers on their favourite British rivers | United Kingdom holidays

Published by Sam Flores

Paddleboarding the Esk in North Yorkshire It’s early afternoon on an unusually hot and sunny Yorkshire day. I’m standing on my paddleboard on the tidal section of the River Esk, near Whitby’s New Bridge, as cars stream across. The 28-mile-long Esk is special, as it is the only major river in Yorkshire that flows directly into the North Sea. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Ahead of me is a bustling marina, the famous abbey and the West and East piers. The town is full to the brim with visitors in search of the best fish and chips, amusement arcades and tales of Dracula and Captain Cook. Later, in the autumn, goths in their finery will parade the cobbled streets. Here on the river, however, it is tranquil. A salmon leaps from the water to my right, bubbles rise from the seaweed beneath my board, and to my left, the riverbank absorbs abandoned boats into its grassy knolls. On an evening paddle, you might spot the …

Writers Guild Foundation Executive Was 78

Writers Guild Foundation Executive Was 78

Published by Daniella Wilson

Angela Wales Kirgo, who spent nearly two decades as executive director of the Writers Guild Foundation, the educational and charitable arm of the WGA West, died Tuesday in her native Sydney after a battle with cancer, a family spokesperson announced. She was 78. After serving as executive director of the Australian Writers’ Guild, she came to Los Angeles in 1990, joined the Writers Guild Foundation in 1993 and helped transform it into one of the entertainment industry’s premier educational institutions. During her tenure, she oversaw the creation of the Shavelson-Webb Library, now home to more than 50,000 produced film and television scripts, granting unprecedented access to the art and history of screenwriting and ensuring that the voices and legacies of generations of writers would be preserved. Wales Kirgo also increased fundraising at the foundation more than tenfold and dramatically expanded its oral history archive, public events and other. Oscar-winning screenwriter Tom Schulman, who served as president of the foundation from 1998-2002, credited her with helping usher in the organization’s modern era. “Angela often said that …

More Typos, Fewer Em Dashes: Writers Are Creating an Anti-AI ‘Literary Counterculture’

More Typos, Fewer Em Dashes: Writers Are Creating an Anti-AI ‘Literary Counterculture’

Published by skeptic

Last year, when the novelist Laura Brooke Robson began writing Love Is an Algorithm—a love story between the cofounder of an AI dating app and a musician trying to survive in the age of large language models—she took extra care not to sound like AI herself. She wrote sentences she doubts she would have attempted before the advent of LLMs, avoiding what she calls “wishy-washy metaphors,” and took “a more winding path to avoid an em dash or a tripartite list.” Since the widespread adoption of LLMs, Robson says her writing has fundamentally changed for the better, becoming a deliberate inverse of what she sees as AI’s default lack of style. “I find myself writing less mechanically,” she says. “I have this urge to make little mistakes, like winks to the reader, to show that there’s a human behind the words. Like: What if I just invented a phrase? What if I did something unexpected with my punctuation?” Robson is part of a larger cohort of writers who are practicing what could be called an …

Are fictionbots triumphing over writers?

Are fictionbots triumphing over writers?

Published by Jenni Sidey

Here’s his story: This week I was replaced by AI. I saw it coming, but it didn’t make the news any easier to deal with. To be honest, it terrifies me for the future of our species. If that sounds a bit over the top, hear me out. I am a writer. Not only that, I am a commercially successful one. Although you probably haven’t heard of me, I’ve published more than 300 short stories in women’s magazines over the past 15 years. From ghost stories in Woman’s Weekly to tales of romance in Take a Break Fiction Feast, I write them all. Sorry – wrote. ‘Dear Geoff,’ the email said. ‘Going forward, our in-house team will be using AI tools to compile future editions, but we thank you for your many contributions to the magazine over the years. Kind regards, Rebecca.’ Or to put it more bluntly: ‘We’ve replaced you with a robot.’ “AI has taken my job,” July 21, 2026 He goes on to admit that, while he was a good craftsman, the …