There's so much to accomplish in the first act of a feature. Worse, if the reader isn't hooked by page 15, they'll likely stop reading. For the First 30 Consultation, you'll submit the first 30 pages of your feature or one-hour pilot script, and then have a 30-minute story notes call with the executive. They will help you boost your hook and refine your set up to make sure it is as strong as possible so readers HAVE to know what happens next.
Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
I enjoy pitching and I believe it is a conversation, not a BIG IMPOSSIBLE MOMENT. Just tell us who you are, and then tell us what really interests you... and leave us wanting to ask for more!
I'm interested in fresh writing from any perspective, and as an indie producer who came from a nowhere village and has made the no1 show on British TV, I especially encourage people from minority identities to get loud and reclaim the main stage.
Favourite movies in the last year - Anora, The Brutalist, Civil War, Barbarian, The Girl with the Needle, The Teachers Lounge, In Love, Hilde
Favourite TV shows in the last year - Slow Horses, Andor, Adolescence, Colin from Accounts, and ok ok Baby Reindeer too!
John McKay is a UK-based producer of film and TV with a background in writing and directing, known for bringing powerful stories to the screen. In 2024, he was longlisted as a BIFA Breakthrough Producer for his work on FAALING INTO PLACE —the debut feature from writer-director Aylin Tezel, co-produced with Weydemann Bros (The Outrun), which received the FIPRESCI Critics Prize for Best Debut prior to its worldwide release.
John’s recent credits as producer also include THE PRIMROSE RAILWAY CHILDREN (2024), a 90-minute feature drama for BBC1 and BYU Networks starring Kevin McKidd, winner of the 2025 RTS Scotland Award; and THE BEAKER GIRLS(2022), a 3-part series for CBBC. He also produced MY MUM TRACY BEAKER (2021), a flagship 90-minute drama for BBC1 and CBBC, which was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Series.
Earlier in his career, John directed feature films including CRUSH with Andie Macdowell and Imelda Stanton, PICCADILLY JIM with Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney, and NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING with Karen Gillan; leading TV direction includes CANTERBURY TALES, LIFE ON MARS, SHETLAND, and WE'LL TAKE MANHATTEN, which went on to win the Prix Europa for Best Drama; and charming family single film Katy, which won the International Emmy..
Partnering with award-winning queer producer Laura McBride at Compact, a new production company based in Scotland but producing and trading worldwide, projects in current development include Egyptian-Scottish Rachelle Atalla’s movie adaptation of her acclaimed novel The Pharmacist, set in a post-nuclear bunker, James Ley’s sparkling gay romcom, LOVESONG TO LAVENDER MENACE, selected for finance forum Inside Out 2023, and PRICKER, Cora Bissett’s debut feature, a feminist witch-finding drama; and a growing slate of TV drama, including thriller CUCKS by Layo Akinlude on the dangerous life of illegal immigrants in the UK, ASSYNT, a sophisticated eco-thriller created by writer James Mavor (Reichenbach Falls), and womens football drama THE MUNITIONETTES by Skye Lab alumnus Alice Clarke.
Originally a Perrier-nominated writer in theatre and comedy, McKay's hit debut play Dead Dad Dog was recently revived in sell out runs at the Finborough London and the Traverse Edinburgh, together with its contemporary sequel, Sunny Boy.
For screen, John wrote the aforementioned CRUSH and WE'LL TAKE MANHATTAN, and many others screen commissions, including GHOST HUNTERS for Warners UK and BREAK THE BANK for StudioCanal; as well as TV series projects THE PROS, THE BRUCE and STATE OF INDEPENDENCE for BBC Drama, Wallace for STV, and sitcom MY DEAD DAD for Channel 4.
After registering, you will receive instructions on how to submit your material in your order confirmation email. After submitting your material, please allow 3-4 weeks to receive proposed times for scheduling your call with the exec.
**Please note only features and one-hour pilots are eligible for First 30 Consultations. Half-Hour pilots are ineligible for First 30 Consultations.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with Roadmap's Code of Conduct.
Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration for a refund or Roadmap gift card if you have not yet submitted your material for review. However, once your material has been received by Roadmap, your registration cannot be canceled. Having revised material or a desire to retroactively apply a discount or gift card code are not grounds for cancellation, refunds, or gift card credit. Once your material has been submitted, the only acceptable grounds for cancellation and a refund or gift card credit is an unforeseen, ongoing emergency on the part of either the writer or the exec resulting in more than 6 weeks without any scheduling update from the exec via direct contact or Roadmap, or a sudden change in the exec's ongoing availability. In the instance of an irreconcilable scheduling issue, the writer may still receive a written feedback report from the exec. In this case, the writer is not entitled to a refund or gift card credit as the exec has read the submitted material and provided written feedback in lieu of the call.