Emerging: How to Eventually Make it in Film & TV

So many writers suffer from imposter syndrome, especially us Brits, it's hard to feel like you belong in an industry that doesn't feel like it's built for any of us. So we asked our resident American Mr Tray Epps to help break it down; where does he find his confidence, and how exactly does one "fake it til you make it"? Cue also a little bit of important tough love.

This episode also features the story of our surprising celebrity run-in in Soho during the TV Foundation's First Draft event, and again how Tray's ability to quiet the negative voices in his head lead to an encounter to remember.

📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps

✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes the best way to learn how to write is to read how other people have done it. And we don't just mean the pros. We spend a lot of time reading each others work, scripts from friends, and the absolute smorgasbord of unproduced screenplays floating around on the internet, on top of the regular funnel of 'For Your Consideration' writing released every awards season.

But what's the best way to approach reading a screenplay to get the most out of the experience? How long should it take? Where can I find scripts and how do I physically read them?

All this and more within! And if you're trying to find the unproduced Michael Waldron Blacklist script we talk about, it's called 'The Worst Guy Of All Time, And The Girl Who Came To Kill Him' and like most things, it's probably out there somewhere if you look hard enough.

📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps

✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spring is finally here, and it's been a very busy Q1 for a bunch of different reasons; Martin's on a new scheme, Tray's spreading his networking wings, and Ben's producing(!), we're a long way from where we were a few months ago. But what does that mean for our writing resolutions?

Staying on track with your goals can be hard - we set each other some pretty hefty resolutions back at the start of 2026, so here we are checking in. What's working, what's not, what have we written / worked on, what do we WISH we'd written / worked on, what are we missing, and most of all, are we *okay*? (the answer may surprise you)

Checking in is important, so why not give it a go yourself?

📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps

✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The podcast is a whole year old! And even though Martin refuses to admit it, it's definitely had a big impact on the way we approach our writing and networking. So this week we're looking back - not in a clip show way, but in a reflective way - and chatting through what we've learned, how we've changed and how the show has managed to re-shape us as writers.

As a bonus, we also reached out to our previous guests and asked them the same question, so dotted throughout are voice notes from some of the industry's best and brightest, who have far more interesting and exciting things to say than we do!

With thanks to Beatty Smith, Mike Powell, Olivia Ababio, Thomas Burr, Hanna Tatschl, Max Krupski, Sophie Park, Rachel Flynn, Emma Sheldrick and Yuan Hu for their insight.

📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps

✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Oscars and BAFTAs pass us all by once again, we're digging into awards season as a whole and the very concept of awards full stop. Do they matter? Is it actually the best films that win? How do you judge if something should win an award for writing? And will WE ever actually win one?

Not only are we going through the Best Screenplay nominees and winners, we're also taking a look at our favourite bits of writing from the year that didn't get anywhere near an award - we don't have to let the Academy dictate the conversation!

📬 Get In Touch:
Email us: [email protected]
Follow us on Instagram: @theemergingpod
Ben is @bmlrobins
Martin is @bananabreadfilm
Tray is @ByTrayepps

✨ Support the Show:
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate and review! And share it with a fellow emerging writer who needs a boost (or a laugh).
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.