NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship: Playwriting and Screenwriting
Fellowship · 2028Prestige 64/100
Eight thousand dollars, unrestricted, no project attached. Screenwriting next opens in autumn 2027.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
Playwriting and Screenwriting is part of the 2028 award cycle, with applications opening in autumn 2027, roughly fourteen months away. Exact dates are not yet published. For scale, the last time this discipline ran, applications opened at 10am Eastern on 8 October 2024 and closed at 5pm Eastern on 17 December 2024, with notifications the following summer. The cycle typically runs from autumn into early winter with decisions by mid-summer.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- Feature, TV Pilot
- Eligibility
- US residents
- Open to
- United States
- Required materials
- One manuscript of up to 20 pages plus a title page, as a PDF, in English, 12pt double-spaced or in script format · Work samples must be anonymised, with no name, publication or production information and no resume · Synopsis of up to 250 words (required) · Artist statement of up to 250 words (required) · Character sheet of up to 250 words (optional) · Cultural statement of up to 250 words (optional) · Work must be completed rather than proposed
New York State only, and the residency test is strict: current residents of New York State or one of the Tribal Nations located within it, who have maintained that residency for at least the last two consecutive years, with documentation required before payment. Applicants must be 25 or older by the deadline and not enrolled in any degree-seeking programme. You must be the originator of the work rather than an interpretive artist. Anyone who received a fellowship in any discipline in the past five consecutive years is ineligible, and artists who have won five fellowships reach emeritus status and can no longer apply. Collaborations of up to three people are allowed, with the grant divided evenly. You may apply in a maximum of two categories per cycle. The discipline definition names screenwriters explicitly, covering stageplays, screenplays, teleplays, libretti, radioplays, audiodramas, puppet plays and experimental web series; audiotapes are not accepted in this category. Note NYFA prioritises applicants living outside the New York City metropolitan area.
Prizes
An 8,000 US dollar unrestricted cash grant with no project attached and no deliverable, plus 1,000 dollars to each of three finalists per category. Named awards are drawn from the same selection process without a separate application, and Geri Ashur Screenwriting Award fellows receive 10,000 dollars instead of 8,000. This is the cleanest award in our grants category on both money and rights: no repayment, recoupment or profit participation exists anywhere in the terms, there is no production to recoup against, and NYFA states explicitly that applying with work samples does not put your materials in the public domain. The only obligations are documenting your New York State residency before payment and your own tax liability, since fellowships are taxable income.
Judging
Judged by a peer panel of New York-based artists, cultural workers, educators and community leaders, whose names are kept confidential until the awards are announced and who change every year, with a unique panel per discipline. Three elimination rounds assess artistic merit, clarity and cohesiveness, and originality and innovation. NYFA receives between 2,000 and 4,000 applications a cycle and awarded 92 fellowships and 15 finalists totalling 753,000 dollars in 2025. The number of awards per discipline floats with application volume. No feedback is offered.
The PreList verdict
Eight thousand dollars in unrestricted cash, with no project attached, no proposal to write and nothing to deliver. NYFA is explicit that this is not a project grant but money for an artist's vision or voice, and screenwriters are named in the discipline definition alongside playwrights, teleplay writers, librettists and audio dramatists. It is free to apply, there is no repayment or recoupment of any kind, and NYFA states plainly that submitting work samples does not put your material into the public domain. On money and rights this is the cleanest entry in our grants category.
The honest part is the wait and the gate. The fellowship rotates fifteen disciplines over three years, five a year, and Playwriting/Screenwriting sits in the 2028 cycle, which means applications open in autumn 2027, roughly fourteen months from now. Exact dates are not published. And it is New York State only, with a strict test: you must currently live in the state or one of its Tribal Nations and have done so for the last two consecutive years, documented before you are paid. You must also be 25 or older and not enrolled on any degree course.
Two useful details. Named awards, including the Geri Ashur Screenwriting Award at 10,000 dollars rather than 8,000, are drawn from the same pool with no separate application, so there is nothing extra to do. And NYFA explicitly prioritises applicants living outside the New York City metropolitan area, which is unusual and worth knowing if you are upstate. Set a reminder for autumn 2027; the last cycle for this discipline opened in early October and closed in mid-December.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 9 Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
When can I actually apply?
Autumn 2027, for the 2028 award cycle. The fellowship rotates fifteen disciplines over three years and Playwriting/Screenwriting is in the 2028 group. Exact dates are not published yet; the last cycle for this discipline opened at 10am Eastern on 8 October 2024 and closed at 5pm Eastern on 17 December 2024.
Do I need a project?
No. NYFA states this is not a project grant but is intended to fund an artist's vision or voice at any level of development. You submit a completed work sample of up to 20 pages rather than a proposal, and the 8,000 dollars is unrestricted.
Who is eligible?
Current residents of New York State or one of its Tribal Nations who have maintained that residency for the last two consecutive years, aged 25 or over by the deadline, and not enrolled in any degree-seeking programme. Residency must be documented before payment. NYFA prioritises applicants living outside the New York City metropolitan area.
Are there strings attached?
Essentially none. No repayment, recoupment or profit participation exists in the terms, and NYFA confirms that applying with work samples does not put your materials in the public domain. Your only obligations are documenting residency and paying tax, since fellowships are taxable income.
Is your script right for NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship: Playwriting and Screenwriting?
Upload your screenplay and The PreList scores how well it fits this fellowship: genre, format, eligibility and readiness, before you spend anything.
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