MANCHESTER'S Contact theatre has been chosen by the BBC to receive £60,000 over the next two years to develop new writing.

The BBC Northern Exposure programme will invest in the discovery of new writers and encourage diverse writing for stage, screen and new media.

Funding will be made available throughout the North of England to pay for writers in residence, commissions, readings and forums.

At Contact there will be commissions, residences and courses targeted at everyone from young people who have never written for the stage to more experienced writers who want to try their hand at something new.