Claire Wilson came a long way from London, UK to study Writing for Film & Television here at VFS. Upon her return after graduation, she – like many of our international alumni – took a unique hands-on approach to breaking into her native film industry.

Now represented by London’s Casarotto Ramsey & Associates, Claire initially broke in through placing well in screenwriting competitions. However, the swarm of media attention she garnered last year wasn’t for writing, but for reading.

Claire co-founded an organization to fight against the free daily mini-newspapers that have had “a huge environmental and cultural impact on London.”

The organization is called Choose What You Read. The first Monday of every month, she and her team set up CWYR stands near major public transportation outlets and offer books to commuters, free-of-charge. All that’s asked is that borrowers return the books in a timely fashion, and maybe donate one once in a while too.  The idea has attracted attention from the Financial Times, BBC News, and The Guardian, and has even spawned a Choose What You Read New York.

Claire took some time out to talk about this project, where her career is now, and where she’s headed.

Hi, Claire. Thanks for answering a few questions for the blog. Could you start off by talking a bit about your background? What drew you to this industry?

Claire: I studied English Literature and Art. I suppose film was my way of bringing those two subjects together. It came late though; I wasn’t one of those kids born with a Super 8 in their hand. Writing has always been a love but when I discovered dramatic writing, screenwriting just clicked. I remember reading the script for Reservoir Dogs and just understanding how dialogue worked. It was very powerful.

It’s been a few years since you graduated from the Writing for Film & Television program. Can you explain what the transition was like when you returned to the UK to start working as a screenwriter?

Claire: Well, I returned home and instantly had to get a job, any job, to start paying off my debts. Once I was employed, I started trying to find an agent by writing to everyone I could find. I soon realized that as an unknown it was impossible to even get people to read my work, so I looked at other options. I entered competitions, schemes, whatever to just get out there and eventually I was signed.

For the benefit of other VFS Writing grads in the UK, what can you say about finding work as a writer there? How does it differ from what you know about Vancouver or Los Angeles?

Claire: My experience is really just in the UK, as I studied but never worked in Vancouver and have yet to try LA. If it’s anything like here, it’s persistence and a lot of writing. There are some great schemes available: the BBC have the Writers’ Room on their website, Rocliffe Writing Forum is an excellent platform, and there are plenty of regional projects and initiatives. This is just to get yourself noticed. Once you have something to put on your CV you’ll get the attention of an agent, and then, hopefully, things start to move on. All of my current projects came about as part of a workshop or competition.

What is Choose What You Read? Can you explain what you want to accomplish with this program?

Claire: Choose What You Read was born out of frustration with the free media which we felt was ruling our city. On any given day one million papers were being handed out, having a huge environmental and cultural impact on London. We started CWYR as a gesture. By giving out books we wanted to remind people that they did not have to take a paper.

What’s the public response been like so far?

Claire: The response has been excellent. Really positive. The two free sheets [newspapers] we were fighting against have since closed down. We can’t take credit for that, but we hope we have been part of the movement of change.

What about your current projects? What’s going on right now in your career? Do you have anything coming up that we should look out for?

Claire: I have a feature script in development with Element Pictures called BACK TO JACK. The title may change though as there is another screenplay doing the rounds by the same name. It’s a teen drama set in Dartmoor, England. My delivery date is the end of January and then (fingers crossed) we will start looking at directors. I also have a couple of TV projects which I am waiting to hear back on, a one-hour drama series and a five-part crime serial. I’m pretty excited about this year.

Click here to visit Choose What You Read’s website or join their Facebook group here.