Attention, Screenwriters: Apply to This HBO Fellowship for Diverse and Women Writers
With more and more networks seeking to increase diversity, the inaugural HBOAccess Writers Fellowship is aiming to give emerging “diverse and female writers 21 and older” an opportunity to attend a week of master classes held at the HBO campus in Santa Monica, California. The program follows last year’s HBOAccess Directing Fellowship.
READ MORE: Why We Need Diversity Incentives for Film and Television
“With the success of our first year of the HBOAccess Directing fellowship, we wanted to expand our focus to other areas of the creative process,” said Kelly Edwards, Vice President & Talent Development, in a statement. “We are looking for emerging writers with a deep passion for storytelling and a unique voice who will want to bring that talent to HBO and Cinemax. In turn, they will be nurtured by some of the best creative executives and showrunners in the business. HBO has a long legacy of supporting writers and we are excited we can begin those relationships at this early stage.”
Writers accepted into the program will attend master classes which focus on character and story development, pitching ideas and projects, securing an agent and networking. Each writer chosen for the fellowship will be paired with an HBO development executive and given close guidance through the script development process. At the conclusion of the program, HBO will hold a reception and staged reading for industry professionals where the writers will be introduced to the entertainment industry.
All submissions must be made through Without a Box and require a resumé, a writing sample, a completed release form and a personal essay (500 words or less) explaining how her/his background has influenced her/his storytelling.
The HBOAccess Writing Fellowship will begin accepting applications on March 4th.
