Sparks is the name for a BBC Radio Drama writers initiative which takes place every year (run by the BBC Writers room www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom and the Radio Drama Department). Up to ten writers are nominated by radio drama producers across the UK, and they come together for a 2-day workshop. This time, because the audiotheque was up and running we decided that it would be interesting to get the writers to work in groups of 3, and to give them a Marantz recorder and a mic and ask them to write and record three short audio pieces in the course of a three-hour session.