TV PILOT SCREENWRITING COMPETITION
WeScreenplay
DEADLINE: September 15, 2021
INFO: WeScreenplay wants TV enthusiasts with great pilots. Our professional readers will provide feedback, and we’ll highlight our favorite scripts to the industry (starting with our pretty sweet jury).
PLUS, starting this year, WeScreenplay will be inviting winners to our very first TV Writing Lab! Writers will tackle meetings with industry executives, participate in hands-on workshops, and learn from current television writers. So what are you waiting for?
The top 3 winning scripts in both 1 hr and 1/2 hr pilot categories will be invited to WeScreenplay’s Virtual TV Writing Lab! This is a once-in-a-career opportunity to network, get exposure for your writing, and learn from working TV writers.
Winners will take meetings with development executives, experience a mock TV writer’s room with working TV writers, and learn how to make the most of a client/rep relationship from managers and agents. It’s an exciting, hands-on schedule of events that will help you further your career — all from the comfort of your own home.
Additionally, our top scripts are read by our incredible industry jury and the winners get access to ongoing mentorship from WeScreenplay including an initial phone call, guidance for drafting query letters, research methods for finding the right representation, prep before big meetings, and strategic planning for next steps in their careers — all based on the writer’s specific goals.
THE JURY:
Tze Chun (Showrunner, Director, Producer): Tze (pronounced “Z”) Chun is a writer, director, producer, and visual artist based in Los Angeles. He is currently creator and showrunner of the animated Gremlins prequel GREMLINS: SECRETS OF THE MOGWAI for Warner Bros and Amblin, premiering on HBO Max in 2022. He is also Executive Producer and Co-Showrunner of Boots Riley’s upcoming Amazon series I’M A VIRGO. Past credits include writer/producer on Fox’s hit Batman prequel show GOTHAM and on ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME. With roots in independent film, Chun also wrote and directed the award-winning films WINDOWBREAKER (Sundance 2007), CHILDREN OF INVENTION (Sundance 2009) the Bryan Cranston thriller COLD COMES THE NIGHT (Sony), as well as an episode of BAFTA-nominee LITTLE AMERICA (Apple TV+) centering around his mother's life. Along with Salvatore Simeone, Chun also co-founded the graphic novel and fiction publishing company TKO Studios, which publishes original series by top creators such as Jeff Lemire, Garth Ennis, Roxane Gay, and more.
Monica Macer (Showrunner, Screenwriter, Executive Producer): Monica Macer is a screenwriter, executive producer, and showrunner of Korean and African American descent. She has written for some of the most acclaimed television series over the last 15 years, including LOST and QUEEN SUGAR. Currently, Monica is proud to serve as showrunner and executive producer for MACGYVER (CBS). Macer’s experience in television has spanned broadcast, cable, and streaming with writing and producing credits ranging from PRISON BREAK (FOX) to TEEN WOLF (MTV), NASHVILLE (ABC) to DECEPTION (NBC), and THE BREAKS (VH1). Last season, Macer served as showrunner and executive producer of Netflix’s Latinx dramedy, GENTEFIED. As showrunner of Queen Sugar’s second season, Macer was tapped as one of Variety’s 10 Writers to Watch. She currently serves on the Motion Picture Television Fund’s (MPTF) NextGen board and is a co-founder of the newly minted organization, Korean American Leaders in Hollywood. Monica was also in the inaugural class of the NetKAL (Network for Korean American Leaders) Fellowship at USC. Additionally, Macer is a 2020 Coalition of Asian Pacific (CAPE) Writing Fellows Mentor.
Brin Lukens (Senior Vice President of Live Action Development at Nickelodeon & Awesomeness Studios): Brin Lukens is the Senior Vice President of Live Action Development at Nickelodeon & Awesomeness Studios where she oversees scripted development. In her role, she has produced multiple series including Hulu’s critically acclaimed and Primetime Emmy nominated comedy, “PEN15,” YouTube Premium’s longest running comedy, “Foursome,” and the Daytime Emmy award-winning Netflix series, “TRINKETS.” Prior to joining Awesomeness, Brin was the Director of Development for Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Films developing both features and digital series. Prior to that she was a Creative Executive at Mockingbird Pictures where she developed numerous feature films.
Jason Kyle (Development at Sony Pictures TV): Jason Kyle currently works in Scripted Drama Development at Sony Pictures Television Studios (THE BLACKLIST, OUTLANDER, THE GOOD DOCTOR, THE BOYS, etc.) In 2019, he started as the Manager of Development under the production deal of Glenn Geller (former President of CBS Studios) and then went on to develop with Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa (Creators of HOMELAND, 24) under their overall production deal with Sony. He’s Co-Founder of The Creators Writing Room with Lee Aronsohn (Co-Creator TWO AND A HALF MEN, Exec. Producer BIG BANG THEORY) where they teach writers how to pitch their own shows, and hold free zoom webinars with other industry Pros. Jason is a former Management Consultant (don’t ask him about it - too much PTSD), and served in the Peace Corps in Albania. He’s traveled to 50+ countries and has one roommate, Maggie, who walks on all-fours and doesn’t pay any rent.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Quarterfinalist: Oct 15, 2021
Semifinalist: Nov 15, 2021
Finalist: Dec 15, 2021
Winner: Jan 15, 2022
https://www.wescreenplay.com/wetv/#
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SPRING 2022 RESIDENCY
Sundress Academy for the Arts
DEADLINE: September 15, 2021
INFO: The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is now accepting applications for short-term writing residencies in all genres—poetry, fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, screenwriting, journalism, academic writing, and more—for their spring residency period which runs from January 3 to May 15, 2022. These residencies are designed to give artists time and space to complete their creative projects in a quiet and productive environment.
Each farmhouse residency costs $300/week, which includes a room of one’s own, as well as access to our communal kitchen, bathroom, office, and living space, plus wireless internet.
Residencies in the Writers Coop are $150/week and include your own private dry cabin as well as access to the farmhouse amenities. Because of the low cost, we are rarely able to offer scholarships for Writers Coop residents.
Residents will stay at the SAFTA farmhouse, located on a working farm on a 45-acre wooded plot in a Tennessee “holler” perfect for hiking, camping, and nature walks. The farmhouse is also just a half-hour from downtown Knoxville, an exciting and creative city that is home to a thriving artistic community. SAFTA is ideal for writers looking for a rural retreat with urban amenities.
SAFTA’s residencies, which also include free access to workshops, readings, and events, offer a unique and engaging experience. Residents can participate in local writing workshops, lead their own workshops, and even have the opportunity to learn life skills like gardening and animal care.
As part of our commitment to anti-racist work, we are now also using a reparations payment model for our farmhouse residencies which consists of the following:
3 reparations weeks of equally divided payments for Black and/or Indigenous identifying writers at $150/week
3 discounted weeks of equally divided payments for BIPOC writers at $250/week
6 equitable weeks of equally divided payments at $300/week
Black and/or Indigenous identifying writers are also invited to apply for a $350 support grant to help cover the costs of food, travel, childcare, and/or any other needs while they are at the residency. We are currently able to offer two of these grants per residency period (spring/summer/fall). If you would like to donate to expand this funding, you may do so here.
For the Spring 2022 residency period, SAFTA will be offering the following fellowships only:
LGBTQIA+ Fellowship: one full and one 50% fellowship for writers who identify as LGBTQIA+
Dr. Kristi Larkin Havens Memorial Fellowship for Service to the Community
Black & Indigenous Writers Fellowships: one full fellowship for Black and/or Indigenous identifying writers
LGBTQIA+ Fellowship (Spring 2022): This year’s judge for the LGBTQIA fellowships is Nicole Shawan Junior, a counter-storyteller who was bred in the bass-heavy beat and scratch of Brooklyn, where the cool of beautiful inner-city life barely survived crack cocaine’s burn. Her work appears in The Rumpus, SLICE Magazine, Kweli Journal, CURA, ZORA, Gay Mag, The Feminist Wire, and elsewhere. Nicole has received residencies and fellowships from Hedgebrook, PERIPLUS, New York Foundation for the Arts, Lambda Literary, RADAR Productions and the San Francisco Public Library’s James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, and more. Her work has received support from Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, Hurston/Wright Writers Week, Tin House Summer Workshop, VONA, Carnegie Hall, Sundress Academy for the Arts, and others. Nicole is the founder of Roots. Wounds. Words. (a literary arts revolution that serves BIPOC storytellers), editor in chief of Black Femme Collective, has guest edited for The Rumpus, and serves on the editorial board at Sundress Publications.
Dr. Kristi Larkin Havens Memorial Fellowship for Service to the Community (Spring 2022 or Fall 2022): Dr. Kristi Larkin Havens served as the Community Outreach Director for Sundress Academy for the Arts and then as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for Sundress Publications for over six years. She earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she was a Lecturer and the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies. She was a photographer who served as a producer on films for several local competitions including The Knoxville 24-Hour Film Festival and the Grindhouse Grind-out. For many years she served as a coordinator for the Knoxville Girls Rock Camp, an organization dedicated to fostering inclusivity and creativity. For her, the arts were a natural venue for pursuing the aims of social justice.
This fellowship will be awarded to a writer who has shown exceptional service to their own community through any of the following: volunteering, organizing, fundraising, board membership, etc. Fellowship winners will receive a one-week fully-funded residency the Sundress Academy for the Arts at Firefly Farms in Knoxville, TN for either the spring or fall of 2022. The spring residency period runs from January 3 to May 15, 2022, and the fall period runs from August 23-January 2, 2023.
Find out more about the application process at www.sundressacademyforthearts.com.
The application fee is waived for all BIPOC identifying writers. For all fellowship applications, the application fee will also be waived for those who demonstrate financial need; please state this in your application under the financial need section. Limited partial scholarships are also available to any applicant with financial need.
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Mixed Mag
DEADLINE: September 15, 2021
INFO: Mixed Mag is an online multimedia publication dedicated to promoting creatives of color and celebrating our multiethnic/multicultural voices.
We’re accepting articles, think pieces, short stories, reviews and essays between 500-3000 words (sections include ART, FASHION, POLITICS, PROSE, TV/FILM/THEATER, MUSIC, FOOD, HEALTH/SEX/WELLNESS). Please read specific section requirements below:
POETRY: Submit up to three poems.
PROSE: Submit creative non-fiction, flash fiction or short stories between 500-3000 words.
TV, FILM & THEATER: Monologues must be 5 pages max. Plays/screenplays must be between 10-15 page max (this includes plays, films and web series). Short films or web series episodes must be no longer than 15 minutes.
ART: Submit 10 photos/videos max for visual submissions. Please include an artist’s statement.
MUSIC: Send us your essays, albums reviews or original music links. Please include links to Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Youtube, etc. as well as a paragraph about your submission.
FOOD: Send us your food stories, recipes, conversations and good eats related to culture or ancestry. Please include photos and if sending a recipe, please include a paragraph explaining what this food means to you and your culture.
FASHION: Submit articles, essays or reviews about clothing, accessories, upcoming designers, sustainable fashion and more. Also submit your own upcoming labels/lines with up to 10 photos/videos max and an artist statement.
Please send your submissions to submissions@mixedmag.co
Please submit your written submission(s) in a word doc file, include what section you are submitting to in the email subject line and include a short 3rd person bio.
PUBLICATION RIGHTS: MixedMag reserves all rights to the author/creator. We just ask that you mention MixedMag as the original publisher of your piece, should it appear in another publication (i.e. This piece first appeared in the online publication MixedMag)
We are a volunteer-run magazine, so unfortunately we can’t pay contributors at this time, however we hope you will join our platform as we begin paving the way to promote, uplift and push your voices to the forefront.
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THE MINORITY REPORT 2022
DIVERSO
DEADLINE: September 30, 2021
ENTRY FEE: $20
INFO: The Minority Report is an industry-vetted fellowship program for the top diverse screenwriters enrolled in undergraduate or graduate educational institutions (Class of 2021 Graduates are eligible). Made by students, for students, it's the first-ever initiative of its kind.
The contest is sponsored by DIVERSO, a student-run film nonprofit dedicated to changing the face of entertainment by empowering the underrepresented storytellers of the next generation.
At DIVERSO, we believe that long-term, systemic change in Hollywood starts at the student level: providing underrepresented student groups with exposure, resources, and connections in Hollywood that they may not otherwise have access to.
We offer an extensive professional platform to break into entertainment by connecting our Minority Report Fellows with top companies/executives/mentors and providing individualized guidance and stipend for career development.
Accepting Features and TV Pilots
Each year, the Minority Report Fellowship program changes. Below, you'll find the benefits afforded to the Fellows last season.
LAST SEASON'S BENEFITS
1. Distribution to Agencies: The Minority Report was sent out to over a dozen agents and managers at different companies from Anonymous Content to Paradigm to United Talent Agency.
2. Virtual Panels with Top Industry Professionals
Shaka King, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Ryan Bergara, BUZZFEED: UNSOLVED
JD Dillard, STARWARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
Dennis Liu, RAISING DION
3. General Meetings: Our fellows were set up on 5+ general meetings with executives from studios and production companies such as Plan B, Paramount, Universal, Big Beach, JuVee, Tornante, and more.
4. Mentorship: Fellows were matched with experienced writers in the industry based on their personalized style and experience. Mentors provided both career and script guidance.
Industry Jury Members last season included:
Dede Gardner - President, Plan B Entertainment
Meredith Lavitt - Executive Director, Sundance Ignite
Ben Lopez - Executive Director, NALIP
Yahlin Chang - Writer, THE HANDMAID'S TALE
Michelle Sugihara - Executive Director, CAPE
Teresa Hsiao - Co-Creator, NORA FROM QUEENS
Joey Soloway - Creator, TRANSPARENT
Minhal Baig - Writer/Director, HALA
Megan Halpern - Vice President, The Black List
Darell Britt-Gibson - Actor, BARRY, JUST MERCY
Poorna Jagannathan - Actress, NEVER HAVE I EVER
Persia White - Actress, GIRLFRIENDS
https://writers.coverfly.com/competitions/view/the-minority-report