Feb 25th
Open
Mar 10th
Early
Apr 1st
Regular
Apr 8th
Late
The Writers Lab
The Writers Lab International
2025
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2015
TWL Int’l (formerly known as TWL US) is a retreat in New York City focusing on craft and career development for women and nonbinary screenwriters 40+.
Accepting Features and TV Pilots
Enter Now
Enter on or before April 1st to save $15
About
Lab Retreat - November 2025
Dates subject to change.
Mentors to be announced.
Open worldwide to all women and nonbinary screenwriters 40+ writing in English.
The Writers Lab Int’l 2025 is a four-day retreat, conducted in-person in New York City. Writers undergo deep development work on their projects in one-on-one and group sessions, with revision guidance and career support from the experienced TWL team and some of the industry’s best writers and producers. Shared meals and group activities provide an opportunity for broader conversations and creative exchange. Writers selected to participate are expected to provide their own transportation to and from New York City. TWL provides accommodation and food at the retreat venue.
The Writers Lab Int’l is produced by co-founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon and is presented in collaboration with the Writers Guild of America East, with in-kind support from The Black List, Falco Ink, Film Fatales, New York Women in Film & Television and Roadmap Writers.
The Writers Lab, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit institution supported by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, the Lynch Hall Charitable Fund and the Lisa Cleff Kurtz & Michael Kurtz Foundation.
Prices & Deadlines
Apr 1st
Regular
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Apr 8th
Late
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|---|---|---|
Standard
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$65.00
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$80.00
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Benefits
Participating writers gain:
Individualized feedback, insights and guidance on their selected project and their craft;
Understanding of industry standards, practices, expectations and predilections, and strategies and resources for navigating them;
Extensive ongoing alumnae support, including a community of peers and a network of relationships that can extend well beyond the program;
Exposure and opportunities beyond the Lab;
Resources and year-round supplemental programming of The Writers Lab.
The Lab aims to build skills, confidence and community, and to prepare writers for collaborative work and market demands.
The Writers Lab network of producing, partnering and supporting entities has included:
TWL co-founders Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon.
New York Women in Film & Television, The Writers Guild of America East, The Black List, Falco Ink, Film Fatales and Roadmap Writers.
Untamed Stories and producers Julia Berg and Ruth Spencer; the Female Eye Film Festival and Firecracker Department.
Mentors & Speakers: Anne Carey (20th Century Women), Fernanda Coppel (Queen of the South), Anya Epstein (The Affair), Susan Cartsonis (What Women Want), Lisa Cortés (Precious), Amy Fox (The Conners), Daniela Gonzalez (Good Fear Content), Pamela Gray (A Walk on the Moon), Rita Hsaio (Mulan), Melissa James Gibson (House of Cards), Jennifer Kassabian (Carter), Meg LeFauve (Inside Out), Robina Lord-Stafford (Moonshine), Amenya Makuku (Madeline's Madeline), Riva Marker (Beasts of No Nation), Leah Meyerhoff (Film Fatales, I Believe in Unicorns), Gina Prince-Blythewood (The Woman King), Erica Saleh (One of Us is Lying), Tracey Scott Wilson (The Americans), Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan), Mary Jane Skalski (The Station Agent), Kiwi Smith (Legally Blonde), Shelby Stone (The Chi), Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha), Frida Torresblanco (Pan's Labyrinth), Pat Verducci (True Crime), Anna Winger (Unorthodox), Jamie Zelermyer (Focus Features).
Writer Success
A fantastic lab that inspires you, gives incredible mentor and peer feedback, and creates an amazing cohort of peers.
Joy Goodwin
2021 Winner
Writers need support at every level of their advancement and The Writer's Lab is committed to quality projects and a rigorous, sustained engagement long after the competition phase. I have nothing but respect and admiration for Elizabeth and Nitza, their enthusiasm, and keen insight into finding the right fit, whether that is mentors, access or recommendations for additional programs or job opportunities.
Deborah Goodwin
2021 Finalist
This program is helmed by two remarkable women who are truly dedicated to elevating mature female writers. I received emotional support, access to industry insiders, feedback from high-level producers and writers and an ongoing connection to a creative community. The Writers Lab goes above and beyond in every way.
Wilandrea Blair
2021 Winner
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Coverfly Program Insights
Coverfly vets all programs on its platform, but not every program is right for every writer.
Program Insights help you decide where to submit your work.
2024 Semifinalists on Coverfly
VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
Private
TV Script
· Drama
· 60 Pages
"Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one..." - C.S. Lewis
After a disgraced megachurch pastor loses his job, he moves his family to a new church in Mexico. When they find out the church is a front for a guerrilla organization intent on stopping the local cartel, his wife makes a "deal with the devil" to save her family.
Ventura, CA
Sierra optioned and sold her first screenplay, Bliss, to Sodium Entertainment and has collaborated with artists from IDW and around the world to bring her work to life. Her dark comedic style mixed with brash storytelling earned her this praise:
“[Sierra’s] storytelling voice is a tornado of offensive joy! I find myself swept from one scene to the n...
Show more
I Am Dali
Private
Feature
· Drama
· 121 Pages
I Am Dali is a magical realist drama about a troubled young boy who presents himself as Salvador Dali, the greatest Surrealist artist in history, and paints well enough to convince his art teacher that it may well be true.
Auckland, Auckland, NZ
Erica Cassidy (formerly Kent) is a NZ-born writer and intuitive with hundreds of writing credits. Her writing career began aged 21 on beloved children’s show Suzy’s World, where her episodes gained cult status. Two decades, three children and a divorce later, Erica has two screenplays at advanced draft stage, a TV pilot at draft stage and a young ad...
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Top 1%
TV Script
· Comedy
· 31 Pages
After Jordan, an EMT, is fired for drinking on the job, she attempts to curb her alcohol dependency and take care of her ailing mother by pursuing her latent dream of becoming a stunt performer...at age 40.
Los Angeles, CA
Merridith Allen is a Jewish, performance-trained playwright from New York City with an extensive background in martial arts.
A passionate writer/director, Merridith creates female-driven features and half-hour TV, centering on characters who must fight to become who they truly are, despite what haunts them. Favorite genres: Action, martial arts...
Show more
Announcements
Jun 18th
Quarterfinalists
Jul 1st
Semifinalists
Jul 16th
Finalists
Rules
At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.
Eligibility
- 1. Applicants must be at least 40 years old at the time of the Lab, born on or before November 1, 1985.
- 2. Because The Writers Lab serves women and nonbinary writers over 40, applicants must identify as women or nonbinary. We honor the fact that gender is personal and specific and seek to create an inclusive and supportive community.
- 3. TWL Int’l applicants may be residents and/or citizens of any country.
- 4. Submissions must be feature-length screenplays OR pilots (both 1-hour and ½-hour accepted) in English. NO script fragments, treatments, synopses, shorts, stage plays, book excerpts, or documentaries. (A per-page surcharge will be levied on feature scripts 130+ pages and on pilot scripts 75+ pages.)
- 5. Scripts by more than one writer will be considered, but all writers must meet all eligibility requirements, including age and gender.
- 6. Each Applicant may submit up to three (3) scripts, with a separate application for each script submitted.
- 7. The Lab seeks a broad selection of scripts across all genres of fiction (drama, comedy, horror, action, thriller, science fiction, animation, musical, etc.). Scripts may be about any topic and don’t need to be specifically about women, but we definitely notice scripts that feature women characters, especially if they transcend cliches and/or challenge norms.
- 8. The Lab seeks submissions from all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural groups.
Requirements
The following materials are required for your application and must be submitted electronically:
Contact information (name, email address, contact phone number, mailing address)
Biographical and demographic information, including birth date
Script information, including genre, log line, format
Responses to all questions in the application
PDF of a feature-length or pilot narrative screenplay (with the writer's name removed)
Script Registration, Acceptance of Terms & Conditions, Payment
Application Instructions
1. Protect your work: Register your script with the US Copyright Office OR with The Writers Guild of America East, which offers TWL applicants their discounted price of $17 (select "Student and NYWIFT/The Writers Lab" option).
2. The script must be in PDF format. PDFs must be labeled with the project title only. DO NOT include the name of the screenwriter(s) ANYWHERE on the PDF. REMOVE YOUR NAME FROM ALL PAGES OF YOUR SCRIPT, including the cover page, before uploading.
3. Complete the electronic application filling in ALL fields. You will be asked to complete questions in text boxes on the application. We recommend that you draft your answers, then cut and paste the final text once it has been completed to your satisfaction.
4. Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
5. Pay the non-refundable application fee.
a. Members of Film Fatales, NYWIFT, WGAE, and any other WIF organizations can use a discount code at checkout for $20 off. (Please ask your organization to share the Discount Code with you.) All membership claims will be verified with these organizations, and any falsified applications will result in disqualification.
b. If you are unable to pay the fee, please contact submissions@twlstories.org for a fee waiver. You will be asked to provide proof of need.
TWL Terms and Conditions
1. I am submitting a script (Material) to The Writers Lab (the Lab). In connection with the Material submitted by me, this constitutes the agreement between The Writers Lab (herein "you"), and me, the undersigned.
2. I request that the panel convened for purposes of determining entry into The Writers Lab read and evaluate said Material, and you hereby agree to do so, and you will advise me of your decision with respect to the Material.
3. I acknowledge that the only obligation undertaken by you in consideration of my submission is to accept the Material for review and consider me, based on the Material submitted, for The Writers Lab. No other obligation or duty on your part shall arise from or be implied by this submission.
4. I warrant that I identify as a woman or non-binary person born on or before November 1, 1985 and understand that proof of age may be required.
5. I warrant that I am the sole owner and author of said Material, that I have the full and exclusive right and authority to submit same to you upon the terms and conditions stated herein, and that I have registered this script with a legally recognized guild or copyright office as required by You. I will retain all rights to my Material during and after submission to You. If the submitted script is not legally registered for copyright protection, The Writers Lab, its directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives will not be held liable for any infringements that may be perceived to result from the submission of said unregistered intellectual property. Failure to register your script may result in your disqualification for this submission.
6. I agree that any part of said Material which does not in itself constitute protectable literary property may be used by any member, officer, agent or employee of those participating in the selection process or The Writers Lab without any liability, and nothing in this agreement or the fact of my submission of said Material to you shall be deemed to place you in any different position than anyone else to whom I have submitted said Material.
7. The Writers Lab is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible or misdirected Material, which will be disqualified. The Submission Fee will not be returned or adjusted. Submissions that do not comply with the Submission Requirements will be disqualified, and the Submission Fee will not be returned or adjusted.
8. I understand that the Internet is not a secure medium and information submitted online may be accessed by third parties. I indemnify The Writers Lab, its directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives, and those participating in the selection process and The Writers Lab to which I am applying for any digital breach or infringements that may be perceived to result from the submission of said Material and information. Further, I acknowledge and agree that the Lab receives numerous submissions of ideas, stories and scripts, and that my submission, and the ideas and stories embodied in the Submission, may be similar or identical to other material already received and/or developed by the Lab and that I am not entitled to any compensation or credit for use by the Lab of any such other material.
9. In return for participation in the Lab, if my selected project is produced at any budget level on or before December 31, 2030, The Writers Lab will receive a credit line and logo placement in the film's end titles. Further, I understand that I am asked (not required) to make a tax-deductible contribution to The Writers Lab if the participating screenplay is produced.
10. I specifically acknowledge that you may refuse to accept, consider or otherwise evaluate my Material in the absence of my acceptance of the provisions herein.
11. In further consideration of your evaluation of said Material, I and my successors or assigns hereby release The Writers Lab its directors, officers, employees, agents and representatives, from any and all actions, claims and demands which I had, now have, or hereafter may have, by reason of any matter in connection with this submission and, if accepted, my participation in The Writers Lab to which I am applying.
12. I have read and understand this agreement. No oral representations of any kind have been made to me and this agreement states our entire understanding with reference to the subject matter herein. Any modification or waiver of any of the provisions of this agreement must be in writing and signed by both of us.
