The Black List Teams With Writers Guild Initiative For Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship

Dino-Ray Ramos
·2 min read

The Black List is partnering with the Writers Guild Initiative (WGI) and the King Family Foundation for the annual Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting. This marks the 13th year for the fellowship and the fifth year being hosted on blcklst.com. Submissions are being accepted starting today through November 27.

The Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting provides an emerging screenwriter between the ages of 18-25 with a $10,000 stipend to write an original screenplay. This expands the parameters for the program which was previously only open to graduating college seniors. Throughout the fellowship year, the selected writer will also receive mentorship and guidance from a prominent screenwriter. The fellowship provides an opportunity for an emerging screenwriter to develop an original screenplay and to assist with the writer’s transition into the professional world of screenwriting. The WGI is looking for diverse and unique voices, and for feature film scripts that are character-driven and personal in nature.

“This being our fifth year working with the WGI and the King Family Foundation to expand access to the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting beyond the nation’s top film schools, we are thrilled by their wisdom to now include young writers who may not be attending a degree program at all,” said Franklin Leonard of The Black List. “The writing is what matters, not your enrollment, and that is as it should be. It’s a model for the industry generally, and we look forward to the extraordinary work that comes of it.”

“We’re excited to continue our partnership with the Black List and the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting,” said Jenna Jackson, Executive Director, Writers Guild Initiative. “Especially during this difficult year, it’s important not only that the program endure, but also expand as we offer the opportunity to even more emerging writers. As we give more access, we’re hoping to find even more new, dynamic, and diverse voices and stories that need to be heard. It’s a pleasure for us to provide a step forward in the career of screenwriting.”

The Black List will choose ten screenplays to send to the Writers Guild Initiative selection committee for consideration. The shortlist will be determined in early December, and the Fellowship recipient will be selected by WGI no later than January 30, 2021. The winner of this year’s Fellowship will be announced in spring 2021.

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