NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship

Deadlines & fees

• Submission deadlineNext deadline
  4 Dec 2026America/Los_AngelesFreeGoogle .ics

Dates and fees checked against the official site 10 Aug 2026. That is longer ago than we aim for; confirm on the official site before entering.

Key facts

Formats

Feature, TV Pilot

Eligibility

Open worldwide18+

Required materials

Completed feature screenplay or pilot, in English, hosted on the Black List (hosting and evaluation are provided free for accepted scripts), A brief description of how the project qualifies as a climate story, If shortlisted: a one-page personal statement and professional resume, If shortlisted with a pilot: a long synopsis or treatment describing the primary story arcs

Open to writers in any country, with scripts submitted in English. Applicants must be at least 18 and not a minor in their state or country of residence, must be the sole owner of all rights in a wholly original, non-infringing completed feature or pilot, and writing teams are permitted provided every member complies. There is no income cap, no career-stage restriction and representation is irrelevant. The theme gate is real but genre-agnostic: the script must include climate in the story in a meaningful way involving major characters, events and plot or subplot, and more than just a backdrop or setting. Every script is reviewed by the NRDC team to decide whether it qualifies. Not eligible: content made as part of a commercial campaign, incomplete scripts, stage plays, musicals, novels, podcasts, games, VR or AR, and scripts already in development. Adaptations are eligible though securing an option or permission is recommended. Previous cycles' submissions may re-enter.

Prizes

20,000 US dollars each to three writers, plus consultation with a credited professional screenwriter, guidance from NRDC's Rewrite the Future team and its subject experts, and one dedicated meeting with a Climate Spring development executive. The programme page states revised scripts may be reviewed for development by Climate Spring, CAA, Hyperobject Industries, NBCUniversal, UTA, WME and Yellow Dot Studios among others; note the legal submission requirements put this more modestly, as review by at least one studio executive with a possible studio meeting. Every accepted script also receives a free evaluation and a free month of hosting, normally worth 100 and 30 dollars. Fellows retain complete ownership of their work, and the submission agreement contains no option, first look or first refusal.

Judging

Every accepted script receives a free Black List evaluation, and selection is based on the strength of the script as determined by those evaluations. A shortlist is invited to submit a one-page personal statement and professional resume, with pilot writers also providing a long synopsis or treatment describing the primary story arcs. Semifinalists may be asked to do a short interview, with three recipients selected no later than 30 April 2027. Mentors are named on the programme page but for the 2026 cycle rather than 2027: Dustin Lance Black, Stephen Markley and J.J. Philbin. Past mentors have included Pamela Adlon, Roxane Gay, Brit Marling, Mike Schur, Sarah Treem and Scott Z. Burns.

Frequently asked questions