Leads the Kino Eyes International Masters in Film programme and teaches across the post-graduate courses in screenwriting. He combines teaching with his work as a professional screenwriter. His credits for television span 20 years across soaps, series, and single dramas, including The Bill, Monarch of the Glen and Split Second, a TV movie starring Clive Owen and Helen McCrory. He has also written award-winning work in short film, theatre, radio and short fiction. Since joining Screen Academy Scotland in 2007, James has been involved in a number of adaptations and collaborations with crime author Ian Rankin, including Reichenbach Falls (2007) and Doors Open (2012), a 120′ comedy thriller for ITV produced by and starring Stephen Fry.

Recent work includes script development with Edinburgh-based, Bafta-winning animation team Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson on Dom, their debut feature doc. James is working with producer John McKay on Berwick Law, a low budget feature film in development with BFI/Scottish Film Talent Network, and on Chosen, a spooky TV series set in Estonia, with John McKay’s Compact Pictures and Allfilm in Estonia. Research interests include adaptation and developing collaborative projects and links between students and industry.