Announcing: Black List Screenwriters Lab
News breaking at this very minute:
SUBJECT: “BIG NEWS: Our Inaugural Screenwriters Lab, 9/30–10/5 in Las Vegas”
We are very pleased to announce the inaugural Black List Screenwriters Lab.
The Black List will invite six promising non-professional writers identified by the Black List script evaluation service to an all-expense paid intensive writers workshop from September 30 to October 5 in downtown Las Vegas. Already confirmed screenwriting mentors include Billy Ray (HUNGER GAMES, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS), Kiwi Smith (LEGALLY BLONDE, the upcoming EXPENDABELLES), and Go Into The Story blogger Scott Myers. Two additional mentors will be announced in the coming months.
The Lab is being hosted by the Las Vegas Downtown Project recently profiled in the New York Times as part of a broader initiative, Writing Downtown, focused on building a writing community in the newly revitalized city.
Each writer will workshop one screenplay through one-on-one sessions with each screenwriting mentor and a peer workshop. The week will also include nightly special industry guests and tours of Zappos.com and the Las Vegas Downtown Project.
The selection process will work like this:
On August 30, fifteen writers will be invited, based on the strength of their scripts as evaluated by the Black List screenplay evaluation service, to submit a one-page personal statement due on September 2. From those personal statements, Lab screenwriting mentors and the Black List will select six writers to invite to Las Vegas.
Evaluations purchased before midnight July 31 will be guaranteed consideration.
Accommodations (private bedrooms in three bedroom apartments shared with fellow participants), coach travel from a major US airport, food, and reasonable incidentals will be covered for all participants.
Beginning today, writers who meet the below criteria can opt into consideration of their scripts for the Labs selection process during the uploading process or the “My Scripts” portion of the website:
- You are the sole and exclusive author of the screenplay submitted for consideration. Writing teams are not eligible.
- You have not received more than $25K in aggregate to date as compensation for film or television writing work.
- If selected on August 30 as one of the fifteen writers to submit a one page personal statement for additional consideration, you will deliver that personal statement by noon PST on September 2.
- If selected for participation in the Lab program on September 6, you are available to be flown from a major US airport to Las Vegas, NV in order to participate in the Lab program from September 30 — October 5, 2013.
Needless to say, we are excited by this opportunity to continue the educational work of Go Into The Story and the Black Board with this singular opportunity to highlight and support up-and-coming screenwriting talent.
Make a note of the July 31 deadline and don’t miss your chance. We look forward to September 30 and we hope to see you there.
Best,
The Black List
The Black List Screenwriters Lab offers yet another opportunity for aspiring screenwriters, one which I am excited to support.
And the doors to Hollywood keep inching wider for writers with talent, vision, and persistence.
Onward!
UPDATE: Hollywood press re the Black List Screenwriters Lab: