The NY Screenwriting Fellowship is a weekly intensive that runs from early April through August 2023. Now in its second year, The NY Fellowship is for early-career, greater New York City-based screenwriters who are under-represented in the film industry and have demonstrated a rigorous commitment to their craft. Up to eight writers will be provided with both a screenwriting mentor and an executive mentor, as well as seminars, receptions, and other introductions, as they develop a new feature length screenplay during the NY Fellowship. The NY Fellowship will culminate with table reads of the participants’ works and an exclusive dinner with leaders of the New York film industry. The goal of The NY Screenwriting Fellowship is to diversify the writers who have access to the meetings and projects that offer career sustainability.

The NY Screenwriting Fellowship is a partnership between FilmNation Entertainment and the Writers Guild of America, East, as they continue their championing of industry inclusion and fostering communities of writers. The NY Fellowship marks FilmNation’s and WGA East’s commitment to serving diverse, emerging talent and supporting New York City as a thriving hub of the entertainment industry. Final Draft is serving as the sponsor of the 2023 Fellowship and will provide NY Fellowship participants with software and other promotional materials.

Note: The NY Fellowship is a hybrid program. Applicants accepted to the Fellowship are required to attend virtual and in-person seminars and group writing sessions a minimum of two evenings per week for the duration of the program (April through August). In-person meetings will take place at either the WGA East or FilmNation Entertainment offices in New York City.

Rules & Terms

Applicants of the NY Fellowship must meet the following requirements:

- Applicants must be at least 18 years of age
- Applicants must have completed at least one feature length screenplay and not have more than one produced work, which cannot exceed a budget of $5 million.
- Applicants should ideally be based in the New York City area and able to attend potential in-person events
- Applicants should be aware of the need for industry inclusion and mindful of the spirit of the program
- Applicants must be referred by one of the following organizations:

1. Almanack Screenwriters
2. Austin Film Festival
3. The Black List
4. Brooklyn College School of Cinema
5. The Dramatists Guild
6. Ghetto Film School
7. Humanitas
8. National Black Theatre
9. New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT)
10. NYU
11. Reel Works
12. Urbanworld Film Festival
13. WGAE Fellow Applicant
14. WGAE Indie Caucus
15. The Writers Lab

The program will accept up to 100 applications, until December 9, 2022, on a first come first served basis.

The application process will proceed in three rounds. All applicants will be required to submit

(1) a maximum 2000-character artistic statement on the focus of the writers work, career highlights and the significance of this program at this career stage;

(2) a resume;

(3) a completed feature screenplay and summary (NOTE: We prefer this to be WGA-registered, so your work can be protected. But we want this program to be accessible to all financial backgrounds. Under type of work, select NYFellowship at the WGAE registration page for a discount).

(4) a treatment for the project that writer would like to work on during the fellowship. (Note: This treatment must be for a different screenplay, not one for item #3 listed above. No more than 10 pages)

All required uploads must be put in the FILES & ATTACHMENT section of your PROJECT FILE PAGE in PDF Form

It MUST be labeled NY Fellowship and File Name as followed for each upload.

For your Resume: NYFellowshipResume.pdf
For your Featured Screenplay: NYFellowshipScreenplay.pdf
For your Featured Screenplay Summary: NYFellowshipSummary.pdf
For your Treatment: NYFellowshipTreatment.pdf

Applications that do not follow stated eligibility requirements, directions, and standards for feature screenplay formatting and length will not be considered.

During the Round 1 blind review period, 100 screenplays will each be scored by two WGA screenwriters. The top 40 applications will be reviewed by program staff to determine the 20 screenplays that will progress for Round 2.

Round 2 will consist of a blind review by WGA screenwriters of the sample script and summary, as well as the treatment for the NY Fellowship project. Up to 12 applicants will be named finalists and invited to interview in March 2023 with NY Fellowship staff for up to eight fellowship seats.

Application status notifications will be provided when the participating NY Fellowship writers are determined in March 2023.