Tony Schumacher had one dream when he was a kid, and that was to be a writer. Instead of becoming a writer he bombed out of school aged 16 with no qualifications and a sigh of relief.
He worked his way around the world as a roofer, a jeweller, a bouncer, a barman, a binman, and on-board cruise ships selling underpants, before eventually returning to Liverpool to become a response policeman dealing with 999 jobs morning, noon and nights. Eleven years later, after a breakdown and a period of homelessness, he found himself driving a taxi around the night-time streets of Liverpool. That was when he remembered his dream and finally started to write. His first three novels were published by HarperCollins in the USA, and since then he has been mentored by Jimmy McGovern as part of the ScreenSkills High End TV Writers Bursary Scheme (2018) and been invited to join the BBC Writersroom Northern Voices Scheme.
His TV series, The Responder with Martin Freeman premiered in 2022. It was nominated for BAFTAs and RTS Awards. It went on to win for Best Drama at the Edinburgh TV Awards and Best Actor for Martin Freeman at the International Emmy Awards. Series 2 premiered in 2024. Tony is currently developing a new series starring Bafta award-winner Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha. The series has been described as a ‘high-stakes, high energy crime story set in the world of a Liverpool casino with two unforgettable characters at its heart’ and will film in the Liverpool City Region.
This talk will be hosted by Zodwa Nyoni (Lecturer in Scriptwriting).