Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative
Enter NowAbout
The Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative, which launched at the start of 2021, is dedicated to supplying industry access and resources to preWGA Black screenwriters.
This mentorship program is a year-long initiative that provides a pathway to eliminating barriers to entry. The program is international and you don’t have to live in Los Angeles to be considered.
Most of the programming is virtual, but out-of-town and international mentees will be flown in at the beginning of the year for the class kick-off and again for the end-of-year class retreat.
The goal of the program is to position and equip Black writers with the resources and knowledge to acquire representation, a staffed writing position, and/or optioned content.
Prices & Deadlines
Jun 30th
Early
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Jul 31st
Extended
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Class of 2026 - Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative
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$30.00
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$50.00
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Benefits
Features of the mentorship initiative include:
Monthly Writer Roundtables with established writers/industry leaders. Past participants include Ben Watkins (Producer, Creator of Cross), Deniese Davis (Producer, Insecure, One of Them Days), Dewayne Perkins (Writer, Producer, Actor), Morgan Cooper (Creator of Bel Air) Showrunner Syreeta Singleton (Rapsh*t), Golden Globe Winning Writer Kemp Powers (Soul, One Night in Miami), Kay Oyegun (This is Us), Gary King (VP Development, Paramount), Oscar Winner Peter Ramsey (Co-Director, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).
Writing workshops and notes sessions to prepare mentees for Fellowships, Generals, and Staffing.
General meetings with Networks and Production Companies. Past participants include Macro, Hartbeat, Gilga, Nick Jr., Mattel, Plan B, and MarVista.
Each mentee will receive the latest in Final Draft software.
Mentees will have access to three additional program mentors/industry professionals; Jackie Penn (4400, The Catch, Turner & Hooch), Andre Ferguson (Power Book II: Ghost), and Cynthia Adarkwa (Legacies, In the Vault, Saint X, Emperor of Ocean Park).
At the end of the program, each mentee will have the opportunity to be read by Mike Gauyo’s agents at Culture Creative and Lit Managers at M88, for representation consideration.
Class of 2025 Semifinalists on Coverfly
Announcements
Rules
All applicants must be pre-WGA to qualify, meaning you are not in the Writers Guild.
The first round of the application process will require a bio, one TV half-hour script or one TV one-hour script (of any genre), and a short essay.
Half-hour scripts can't be more than 35 pages. One-hour scripts can't be more than 65 pages.
Applicants who reach the third round will interview with Mike Gauyo and his Chief of Programming, Heather Daughtry, before 10 to 12 participants are selected.
Mentees accepted into the program must be able to attend all programming events. Exceptions will be made for individuals that have emergency conflicts.
