CAPE New Writers Fellowship

Eligibility and project requirements

Open to writers over 18 of any race, colour, sex, religion, national origin, disability or sexual orientation: there is no AAPI heritage requirement and scripts need not feature AAPI characters or themes. All writers must be eligible for employment in the United States, and CAPE states it cannot provide any visa or work permit sponsorship or assistance, with no exceptions. Applicants must not be currently staffed on an episodic programme, though those previously staffed at staff writer level who are not currently staffed may apply. Previous CAPE fellows cannot reapply. Writing teams of up to two may submit if both members meet every requirement and are committed to a career as a team. The 2026 cycle accepted half-hour or one-hour episodic pilots only, in any genre including animation, with anthology and limited series eligible. Scripts must be original with all rights owned free and clear, must not be under option, and the applicant must have sole authority over changes.

Formats

TV Pilot

Eligibility

US residents18+No prior staffing

Open to

United States

Deadlines & fees

Dates and fees checked against the official site 19 Oct 2026.

Prepare your entry

Prizes

No stipend, grant, fee or honorarium appears anywhere in CAPE's pages, application or release form, so treat this as unpaid. The net cash position for a fellow is negative: 65 dollars to apply plus uncovered Los Angeles travel and lodging, since the 2026 cycle was hybrid with mandatory in-person sessions and CAPE stated explicitly that transportation and lodging costs would not be covered. RIGHTS, AND THE TWO SOURCES PULL DIFFERENT WAYS. The FAQ is reassuring: writers retain all rights and CAPE makes no ownership claim to any submitted script, whether or not you are selected, and there is genuinely no option, first refusal or assignment anywhere. But every applicant must sign a General Release Form that waives all claims of any kind including plagiarism, copyright infringement and idea theft against CAPE and its designees including judges and mentors; states that material is not submitted in confidence and that no confidential relationship exists; waives California Civil Code section 1542; and includes a similar-material clause under which CAPE and its affiliates owe you nothing if they produce something built on the same general idea, theme, situation or setting. One line in that release, granting CAPE the unqualified right to determine whether material is used and what consideration if any should be made, sits awkwardly against the FAQ's no-ownership promise.

Judging

Judging is blind: all identifying information must be stripped or redacted from the script. Applicants must disclose any use of generative AI, though CAPE states plainly that it views AI as a writing tool and that disclosure will not disqualify you. The 2026 mentors were named: Vicky Luu of St. Denis Medical, Gursimran Sandhu of We Were Liars, Monica Macer of Alien: Earth, and the Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang. No coverage or feedback is provided on scripts, and no edits or resubmissions are accepted after submitting. One caution if you go looking: the FAQ timeline on the live page is three years stale, still referring to 2023 dates, and it contradicts itself on whether features are accepted, though the application resolves that against features.

Frequently asked questions