INDUSTRY FELLOWSHIPS + WRITERS LABS
WHAT ARE THEY?
Film Fellowships may require a service commitment of some kind. These may also include a residency requirement and additional follow-up with the awarding committee on the project’s progress.
Writers Labs may or may not include a stipend for living or travel and have a heavy focus on mentoring and craft. While a lab might sound time-consuming and restrictive, it is still a great way to secure film funding for your project. Labs are also great ways to network for future opportunities.
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Try searching for keywords: (stipend, Diversity, Women, LGBTQ+, Black Filmmakers, etc)
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CBS Diversity Writers Mentoring Program
The focus of this eight month program is opening doors to the Industry, and of the 97 emerging, diverse writers have graduated from the program over the course of 13 years, 53 careers have been launched. That's a good track record! Applicants are expected to submit a half-hour or one-hour episodic spec as well as a piece of original material such as an original pilot, a stage play, or short fiction story.
Disney | ABC Writing Program
A submission to the Disney/ABC Writing Program isn't a contest submission so much as a job application. Winners are paid a weekly salary for a one-year gig that provides access to executives, producers and literary representatives leading ultimately to a potential staff position on a Disney or ABC television program. The best part? It's free to submit.
Kickstart Diversity
This diversity-focused incubator program supports projects that are written, directed, and/or produced by women, people of color, and LGBTQI filmmakers. Fellows who are chosen for the program get to meet with the Big Vision team each month and receive access to exclusive pitch opportunities throughout the year. All of the chosen projects are produced by Big Vision Creative and the Big Vision team.
WESCREENPLAY Diverse Voices Lab
The Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Winner in each category are flown to Los Angeles and put up in an iconic LA Hotel for a Four-Day Screenwriting Lab. The Lab includes hands-on development with industry executives, WeScreenplay staff, writers, and each other. It also includes meetings with executives and managers about the winners, their writing careers, and their projects in development. This program is open to “writers of color, women writers, writers with disabilities, writers in the LGBTQ+ community, and any other voice that is currently underrepresented by Hollywood today.” Applicants should be non-professional screenwriters. Writing teams are allowed, as are applicants under 18. There are three possible submission categories – Feature, TV, or Short.
Fox Writers Lab
The Fox Writers Lab is a highly selective opportunity for experienced writers with diverse voices, backgrounds, and life experiences. Eight writers will be selected to receive priority meetings on Fox TV shows, and from among those eight, one writer will be selected to receive a blind script deal with the Fox Broadcasting Company. Not bad!
LA SKINFEST Native American Writers Lab
The NATIVE AMERICAN TV WRITERS LAB is an intensive scriptwriters workshop that prepares Native Americans for writing careers at major television networks. The five-week lab consists of panel discussions, one on one meetings and group workshops. One of the main components to be introduced is the writers room. This is an opportunity to have each participant’s script offered up in a professional capacity as a new television script. The lab for seasoned Native American writers who have written feature, short or television scripts. Each selected participant is expected to complete a draft of a pilot by the end of the five-week session.
HBO Access Writing Fellowship
The HBO Access Writing Fellowship provides participants with eight months of mentoring by HBO Creative Executives, as each writer develops a script suitable for HBO or Cinemax. Applications are accepted in the Spring, so keep your eyes open.
Nicholl Fellowships
Sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Nicholl Fellowships remain the 800-pound gorilla of the screenwriting contest world, a competition so prestigious that its winners are almost guaranteed representation and a toe-hold in the industry. Need more convincing? Consider some previous winners: Erhen Kruger (Arlington Road), Michael A. Rich (Finding Forrester), Bragi Schut Jr. (Season of the Witch), Doug Atchison, (Akeelah and the Bee), and lots more. This contest routinely attracts more than 7,000 submissions every year, but even its finalists and semifinalists have been known to garner significant attention for their success.
Outfest
Promotes LGBTQI equality by creating, sharing, and protecting LGBTQI stories on the screen. In addition to holding three LGBTQI film festivals, the organization has educated and mentored hundreds of emerging filmmakers and protected more than 20,000 LGBTQI films and videos. It also holds workshops, training young LGBTQI and allied filmmakers via its young filmmakers project OutSet, and holds the Outfest Screenwriting Lab to mentor the next generation of screenwriters.
NBC Writers on the Verge
Writers on the Verge is a 12-week program designed to help writers who are "almost there" but need a final bit of preparation with their writing and presentation skills. Like a lot of the Industry programs listed here, they're especially interested in attracting writers of diverse backgrounds, but all writers are welcome to submit. For Asian and Hispanic writers, NBC also co-sponsors the CAPE New Writers Awards, and the NHMC Television Writers Program.
Nickelodeon Writing Program
Like Disney, Nickelodeon is offering a one-year, salaried position interacting with executives, writing spec scripts and pitching story ideas. They're particularly looking for writers with diverse backgrounds and experiences, so if that sounds like you, there's no better opportunity anywhere. And like Disney, this one's totally free.
Universal Writers Program
Unlike most of Hollywood Fellowships listed here, the Universal Writers Program focuses primiarly on feature film development. Program participants write feature-length scripts, and participate in a curriculum designed to strengthen their creative approach, personal presentation skills and overall knowledge of the Studio production process. As with Disney's program, this is a year-long paid gig.
National Hispanic Media Coalition TV Writers Program
The NHMC TV Writers Program is a five-week workshop where 10 writers write a spec script and create a mock writers room, lead by former NBC VP of Script Development, Geoff Harris. These writers receive a small stipend. Past winners have been staffed on Jane the Virgin, The Catch, NCIS, Rosewood, and Elena of Avalor. The program is open to people of all races and ethnicities. Applicants must be employed in the US, and over 18. Submission materials include a resume, a statement of interest, and a writing sample. For the writing sample, TV scripts are preferred, but plays, pilots, specs, or books are allowed.
Warner Bros. Writers Workshop
The Warner Bros. Workshop has been around for more than 30 years, and its list of past participants includes a fair number of industry heavyweights like Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Greg Garcia (My Name Is Earl) and Felicia Henderson (Soul Food). The submission process is competitive, so be sure to check their website regularly for deadlines and requirements.
Circle of Confusion Writers Discovery Fellowship
Circle of Confusion will provide an immersive introductory experience to the world of professional screen and television writing to a diverse group of aspiring writers who have not yet been employed or represented by the industry. The Fellows will each be given a $10,000 stipend by way of a first look deal with Circle of Confusion Television Studios. Each Fellow will be assigned a mentor who will educate and guide them by way of script development, career advice, and support.
Junior Hollywood Radio and Television Society
The great contribution that the Hollywood Radio and Television Society has made to its members, the entertainment industry and the community at large are well recognized. The creation of a junior membership division allows HRTS to nurture those young professionals working in the industry who are not yet executives, the future of HRTS and the television, radio, new media and advertising industries. There is a yearly membership fee to consider.