EXCLUSIVE: Words Across Europe, the virtual reality-based writers’ room program, has unveiled its 2026 cohort.
Nine writers hailing from across the European continent will take part, having been selected from more than 60 applicants to form the third edition of the initiative. A full list of participants is below.
Running from this month until July, the group will develop original series concepts in fully immersive VR writers’ rooms. The sessions in virtual rooms will include industry expert masterclasses, talks and networking events. At the culmination, the participants pitch their work directly to European TV producers and commissioners.
The European Union‘s Creative Europe Media and Dublin-based production house Wide Eye Films co-fund the program, which has in the previous two editions featured input from the likes of Paramount UK commissioning editor Paul Testar, Fremantle acquisitions exec Hattie Burles, ITV Studios Germany CEO Christiane Ruff, Warner Bros. International TV Production Germany Managing Director René Jamm, Intaglio Films boss Robert Franke, Roku’s Brian Tannenbaum, former HBO Europe exec Johnathan Young and writer-producer Andre Bormanis, who has credits for the Star Trek franchise and The Orville.
The initiative was created to bridge the gap between the way European and U.S. writers work – the former broadly work solo, while American writers tend to develop scripts through writers’ rooms.
Franke, the former VP of Drama at ZDF Studios called the program “a genuinely valuable initiative for the European drama ecosystem.”
“European writers are often trained to work alone. Words Across Europe exists to change that,” said Nathalie Lichtenthaeler from Wide Eye. “We want to give them the experience of creative collaboration and show them what becomes possible when you build a story together.”
Here are the nine selected writers for the 2026 edition.
Sofia Rimskaya (Russia): Riga-based screenwriter with an MA from the London Film School and an alumna of Eureka and the TFL Series Lab. Her comedy series Honey, Bye! was selected for Writers Campus at Series Mania 2026.
Ioana Bogdana (Romania): A scriptwriter and producer based in Berlin, with credits spanning international film festivals and CEE video-on-demand platforms across all stages of production.
Andrija Ilić Prša (Serbia): A Cologne-based screenwriter, director and producer with a background in dramaturgy and serial storytelling.
Carlos Robisco Peña (Spain): A writer and director from Barcelona with experience across theatre, film and television.
Katie Murphy (Ireland): A screenwriter with a decade of experience in high-end TV and script development who was most recently attached to Netflix’s upcoming Grown Ups, based on the novel by Marian Keyes.
Maksim Nikiforovski (North Macedonia): A screenwriter whose work explores contemporary Europe from a distinctly underrepresented perspective.
Hanna Stock (Germany): A filmmaker trained in screenwriting at HFF Munich, with a background in documentary filmmaking across film and television.
Eve Tisler (Estonia): A screenwriter and creative producer with a background spanning journalism, communications and marketing.
Jonathan Farrelly (Ireland): A writer of audio drama, television and film.
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