INFO: The Tulsa Artist Fellowship, which seeks talented and diverse voices to support Tulsa’s expanding arts scene, has expanded its program this year to include writing (creative nonfiction, fiction, graphic novel, young-adult fiction, poetry, and play/screenwriting). Fellowships are merit-based, not project grants, and include a two-year term for writers. The program will begin on January 9, 2017.
AWARD: $20,000 stipend, and in most cases, free housing and studio work space.
DEADLINE: March 4, 2016
tulsaartistfellowship.org/index.html
ACADEMY NICHOLL FELLOWSHIP IN SCREENWRITING
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
INFO: Each year, the Academy Nicholl screenwriting competition awards up to five fellowships to amateur screenwriters. Fellowship winners are invited to participate in awards week ceremonies and seminars in November and expected to complete at least one original feature film screenplay during the Fellowship year.
AWARD: $35,000 Fellowship
DEADLINE & SUBMISSION FEES:
- Early Submission – March 7, 2016 ($45 entry fee)
- Regular Submission – April 18, 2016 ($60 entry fee)
- Late Submission – May 2, 2016 by 11:59pm PST ($85 entry fee)
CHAMPION OF CHANGE FOR AAPI ARTS & STORYTELLING
White House Initiative on AAPIs
INFO: As a part of AAPI Heritage Month (May 2016), the White House Initiative on AAPIs is seeking nominations for Champions of Change for AAPI art and storytelling – individuals who have raised the visibility of diverse AAPI experiences and created dialogue around issues the community faces. The Champions of Change program honors individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities
Nominees may include:
- Storytellers who have included and continue to include AAPI characters in their films, television shows, and literature to address pressing issues, including immigration, civil rights, economic opportunity, health, diversity and inclusion, and more.
- Poets and spoken word artists who highlight AAPI experiences in their work in order to advance pressing issues, including immigration, civil rights, economic opportunity, health, diversity and inclusion, and more;
DEADLINE: March 9, 2016
DIVERSE VOICES SCREENPLAY CONTEST
WeScreenplay
INFO: WeScreenplay’s contest is focused on promoting and encouraging diverse voices and stories. The contest encourages stories that are told from perspectives – through the author and/or characters (ethnic minorities, women, women over 40, LGBTQ members, senior citizens, faith-driven characters, etc.) – that are often underrepresented in Hollywood today. The contest accepts Features, TV Pilots, Web Series, and Shorts.
PRIZES:
- Grand Prize - $1,654 ($1,000 in cash, $654 in prizes) + Script Distribution to Managers, Producers, and Agents
- Honorable Mention by Category - $654 in prizes each
- Finalists (Top 20) - $69 in prizes each
DEADLINE AND FEES:
- Regular - March 15th, 2016 ($39 entry fee)
- Final - April 15th, 2016 ($49 entry fee)
wescreenplay.com/contests/diverse-voices
New York Women in Film & Television
INFO: The Writers Lab is seeking submissions of full-length narrative screenplays by women all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural groups over the age of 40 (born before 4/14/76). The Lab will bring 12 women screenwriters (with promising scripts) together with outstanding professional female filmmakers for an intensive four-day screenwriting retreat of one-on-one meetings, panel discussions and other activities designed to inspire the artists; to prompt rigorous creative exploration; and, through revision, to cultivate first-rate cinematic stories.
DEADLINES & FEES:
- Regular - Thursday, March 31, 2016 ($50 entry fee)
- Final – Thursday, April 14, 2016 ($65 entry fee, $30 Member fee)
nywift.org/newsletter.aspx?id=5866
Penn State Altoona
INFO: The Penn State Altoona English Program is accepting applications for a one-semester teaching residency in both poetry and playwriting/screenwriting. Candidates should have credentials in both genres – publications in poetry and staged readings/performances (and/or publications) in playwriting or screenwriting.
They are seeking early-career writers, preferably without a published book. The program offers substantial time to write and a salary of $10,000 in return for teaching one general education level introduction to creative writing workshop during the Fall 2016 semester (August 22 – December 16).
In addition, the resident will also give a public reading, visit other creative writing courses, and work informally with English majors.
DEADLINE: April 1, 2016
URBANWORLD SCREENPLAY COMPETITION
Urban World Film Festival
INFO: Urbanworld Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization that seeks to redefine and advance the presence and impact of the multicultural community in cinema, is seeking feature film length screenplays (90-130 pages) for its five-day festival. The screenwriter must consider himself / herself of African American, Latino, East Asian, or South Asian descent. If the screenwriter is none of the above, the screenplay must feature African American, Africans, Latinos or Asians in prominent roles.
SUBMISSION FEES: Please check the website for fee requirement.
DEADLINES:
- Earlybird – April 1, 2016
- Regular – April 29, 2016
- Late – May 27, 2016
- Extended – June 10, 2016
filmfreeway.com/festival/UrbanworldFilmFestival
Film Independent
INFO: The Film Independent Screenwriting Lab is an intensive four-week workshop that meets two to three evenings a week in Los Angeles every September and designed to facilitate each writer’s unique voice through the development of a single feature project. Through personalized feedback from experienced industry professionals and other writers in the program, Screenwriting Fellows will gain the tools to revise and refine their scripts for production.
The Screenwriting Lab also helps to further the careers of its Fellows by introducing them to film industry veterans who can offer guidance on both the craft and business of screenwriting. Each Screenwriting Fellow will be paired with a Creative Advisor, with whom they’ll work one-on-one and in Lab sessions to further develop their project over the course of the program.
SUBMISSION FEE: $45 for Film Independent Members; $65 for non-Member
DEADLINE: April 18, 2016 (non-Members); May 2, 2016 (Members-only)
filmindependent.org/labs-and-programs/screenwriters-labS
2017 JANUARY SCREENWRITERS LAB
Sundance Institute
INFO: The Screenwriters Lab is a five-day writer's workshop that gives independent screenwriters the opportunity to work intensively on their feature film scripts with the support of established writers in an environment that encourages innovation and creative risk-taking. Through one-on-one story sessions with Creative Advisors, Fellows engage in an artistically rigorous process that offers them indispensable lessons in craft, as well as the means to do the deep exploration needed to fully realize their material.
The 2017 January Screenwriters Lab will take place January 15-20, 2017 at the Sundance Mountain Resort, Utah. 12 projects are chosen every year.
APPLICATIONS: Available beginning March 15, 2016
DEADLINE: May 1, 2016