The PreList

Screenwriting competitions directory · 2026

Writers' programmes and studio schemes.

Programmes are run by studios, streamers and broadcasters to find and develop writers. Most are free to apply to and very selective, and many lead to a paid placement or a staffing pathway rather than a prize.

Windows can be short and irregular, so each entry carries its application status and the next known opening as well as any dated deadline.

25 entries, soonest deadline first, then anything currently open, then everything between cycles.

Writers' Access Support Staff Training Program

Programme · 2027

Free

13 Sept 20265 days left

Writers Guild Foundation training for writers' assistant and script coordinator roles. Free, and explicitly not a writing fellowship.

Checked 30 days ago

BBC Writers Open Call

Programme · 2026

Free

1 Dec 2026

The BBC's free flagship route for UK writers: drama or comedy-drama scripts assessed for development.

FeatureTV PilotComedyDrama

Checked 56 days ago

4Screenwriting

Programme · 2027

Opens soon

Channel 4 has confirmed that entries for the 2027 course open in September 2026. The last window ran 22 September to 6 October, closing at 5pm.

Channel 4's free development course: 12 writers new to TV drama, paid to develop an original one-hour pilot.

TV PilotDrama

Checked 55 days ago

BBC Comedy Collective

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 round opened on 8 April 2026 and closed at 11.59pm on 6 May 2026, with no timezone published. The BBC states the scheme is open annually, but the pattern has just broken: the 2023, 2024 and 2025 rounds all opened in the second week of January and closed on 30 or 31 January, while 2026 moved roughly three months later and ran a week longer. The closing time has also drifted, from 5pm to midnight to 11.59pm. Do not model a 2027 window on the January pattern. One caution if you check the page yourself: it still displays an Open for applications banner for the 8 April to 6 May window three months after closing, with no closed or expired label.

Ten places, 10,000 pounds of paid shadowing and a 5,000 pound grant. Read the 18-month option clause first.

TV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

BBC Writers: Pilot 2027/28

Programme

Closed for this cycle

Applications for Pilot 2027/28 closed at 12 noon on 4 August 2026. BBC Writers runs Pilot every two years, so the next round is not expected until 2028. The 2027/28 programme is focused exclusively on emerging deaf, disabled and neurodivergent writers. The annual BBC Writers Open Call is a separate opportunity.

BBC pilot commission scheme. The 2027/28 round is exclusively for deaf, disabled and neurodivergent writers.

TV PilotDrama

Checked 30 days ago

Berlinale Talents

Programme · 2027

Closed for this cycle

Applications for Berlinale Talents 2027 closed at 12 noon CEST on 2 September 2026 (early rate 10 euros to 19 August, then 15 euros). The application page now reads "once the application opens" and lists no dates for the next call; in recent years the call has opened in July, so expect the 2028 window from July 2027.

Six days in Berlin with 200 filmmakers during the festival. Cheap to apply, entirely self-funded to attend.

Checked 2 days ago

Channel 4 New Writers Scheme

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The last published cycle opened on 28 May 2025 and closed at 18:00 on 25 June 2025, and no window for the next cycle has been published anywhere. Be careful projecting from that: the window moved by roughly three and a half months between cycles, from 6 February to 1 March in 2024 to late May and June in 2025, and the programme year moved with it. Only two cycles are evidenced and they disagree, so there is no stable pattern. The careers page has been unchanged since at least January 2026 and still fronts the closed 2025/26 cycle, so watch Channel 4's talent schemes index rather than this page.

Nine months developing a Channel 4 drama pilot. Free, unpaid, and only if you have no agent and no TV credit.

TV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

Disney Entertainment Television Writing Program

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2027 programme window ran 4 May to 1 June 2026 and is closed. The next application window has not been announced.

Disney's flagship paid TV writing pipeline toward staffing across Disney Entertainment Television.

TV PilotActionAdventure+18

Checked 56 days ago

FOX Entertainment Writers Incubator

Programme · 2027

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 round ran from 3 October and was scheduled to close on 27 October 2025 at 11:59pm Pacific, but hit its 1,000 application cap first and shut early. FOX says only to check back next autumn for the next cycle. The programme is genuinely annual across three evidenced cycles, but the window has moved earlier and shortened each time, from a roughly 40 day window opening in December, to 16 days in mid-October, to 25 days in early October. The 1,000 cap was introduced for the second of those and has closed the window early both times since, so the published closing date is a ceiling rather than a plan.

Four writers, priority in FOX staffing meetings, and rights exchanged in place of payment. Apply on day one.

TV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum: Project Market

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The most recent round accepted applications from 9 September to 31 October 2025, with an early-bird discount for applications on or before 5 October, notification by mid-December and the forum held 17 to 19 March 2026. No times or timezone are published. Fees ran 650 Hong Kong dollars early and 800 at the official deadline, with a New Director concession at 500 and 650 respectively, and a 300 dollar bank charge added for telegraphic transfer. No call for the next edition has been published. The annual pattern is stable across three evidenced cycles: the call opens in early September, closes on 31 October, and the forum runs in mid-March.

A three-day financing forum with a six-figure award slate and travel paid. You need a director, producer and company attached.

Feature

Checked 30 days ago

It's My Shout

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 round closed at 10pm on Sunday 8 February 2026 and applications are now shut. Do not try to plan around a pattern here: the deadline has moved across January, February, April, May and September in six documented cycles, and the gap between the 2025 close in September 2024 and the 2026 close in February 2026 was roughly seventeen months. The only durable features are a 10pm cut-off and a Sunday close in the most recent rounds. The page limit has also drifted, from 8 to 15 pages in the 2024 and 2025 calls to a maximum of 12 in 2026.

A produced, broadcast credit on BBC Cymru Wales and S4C. What the writer is paid is not published.

Short

Checked 29 days ago

ITV Academy Original Voices

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 round opened on 11 June 2026 and closed at 11:59pm on 2 July 2026, with no timezone published. IMPORTANT: this is not an annual scheme, despite being long-standing. Evidenced cycles ran in October 2021, August and September 2023, and June and July 2026, and ITV's own run-count confirms no cycle in 2022, 2024 or 2025. The window has moved from October to late August to mid June across those three rounds, with two and three year gaps between them. Do not diarise against it.

Three paid months inside Coronation Street or Emmerdale, learning how continuing drama actually works.

TV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

ITV Studios Disabled Writers in Development

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 round opened at 9am on 5 May 2026 and closed at 11:59pm on 26 May 2026, with placements starting late July or early August. No timezone is published. IMPORTANT: this is not an annual scheme. Only two windows are evidenced, in August and September 2022 and in May 2026, and we found no evidence of any cycle in 2023, 2024 or 2025. ITV describes the 2026 round as a return. The scheme also changed materially between cycles, from one partner label to four, from one required credit to two, and from a 500,000 pound fund to one million. The cadence is too irregular to predict, so no next window should be assumed.

Twelve months inside a major drama label, and a 21,000 pound writer fee. The highest paid scheme we carry.

TV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

NBCUniversal Launch TV Writers Program

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The window for the January 2027 programme ran 1 to 21 June 2026 and is closed. No further window has been announced.

NBCU's network TV pipeline: develop a pilot and compete for staffing across NBCU and Universal.

TV PilotActionAdventure+18

Checked 56 days ago

Netflix NextGen India Writers' Program

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

Registration for the first India edition closed at 23:59 IST on 1 September 2026. Selected writers are announced on 15 December 2026, every applicant hears by email in December, and the workshop begins in February 2027. NextGen is a travelling programme that changes shape per territory (France, then the Netherlands, then India), so do not expect a second India cycle unless Netflix announces one.

Three lakhs, travel paid, eight weeks with Netflix executives. Your application script becomes Netflix's property from the moment you write it.

TV Pilot

Checked 2 days ago

Paramount Writers Mentoring Program

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 window ran 1 April to 1 May and is closed. The next window has not been announced.

Paramount's eight-month TV writing mentorship, now incorporating the Nickelodeon Writing Program as its kids, family and YA pathway.

TV PilotAnimationAdventure+5

Checked 56 days ago

Reelworld Emerging 20 (E20)

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The most recent cycle opened on 21 November 2025 and closed on 19 December 2025 at 11:59pm ET, with sessions running from February 2026 and the table reads and Face2Face events in August 2026. The 2027 window is unannounced, but the annual cycle is well evidenced across 2024, 2025 and 2026 cohorts, all reported in the trade press. Announcement timing drifts between February and April; the cycle itself does not. Note that the programme is headed as five months with an end date of August 2026 while the FAQ says sessions run February to May with the table reads and Face2Face in August, so taught delivery is roughly four months with a gap before the August showcase events.

Remote, part-time, no published fee, and six sessions with a story editor on your own script. The most accessible entry we carry in Canada.

FeatureTV Pilot

Checked 29 days ago

RTÉ Storyland

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 cycle closed on Friday 13 March 2026 at 12 noon, described as a strict deadline; no timezone is published, though RTÉ is Dublin-based. Finalists were named on 17 April, commissions on 15 May, with delivery in October 2026. The next cycle is unannounced, and this is one to watch rather than plan around: the cadence is reliably annual but the deadline month swings hard, running December for the 2022 edition, April for 2024, May for 2025 and March for 2026. The slate size moved too, from eight developed and three commissioned to ten and four in 2025 and back again in 2026, and 2026 switched from drama to comedy-only. Expect a call, but do not expect it in any particular month.

Free to enter, three scripts commissioned and broadcast. But a production company has to submit for you.

TV PilotComedy

Checked 30 days ago

Screen Scotland Talent Builder: First Draft

Programme · 2027

Open for applications

Applications opened at 12 noon on 27 July 2026 and close at 12 noon on Monday 7 September 2026. Interviews follow in November, with successful writers announced in early December and the programme running January to December 2027.

Twelve paid months taking one feature from outline to polished first draft. No produced credit required.

Feature

Checked 30 days ago

Serial Eyes

Programme · 2027

Opens soon

Applications for SE#15, starting September 2027, open in December 2026. No closing date, time or timezone has been published yet. The previous round ran from December to early March, with decisions by the first week of May.

Nine full-time months in Berlin learning to run a series room. 4,500 euro fee, and Berlin rent is not included.

TV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

Séries Mania Institute Writers Campus

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

The 2026 edition is complete and no 2027 call has been announced. The 2026 round opened 16 September 2025 and closed 27 October 2025, with results on 17 December. Note that a September 2026 deadline circulating for the Séries Mania Institute belongs to its separate Eureka Series programme, not to Writers Campus.

Five days in Lille pitching a series at the Séries Mania Forum. Free to apply, 960 euro including VAT to attend.

TV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

SGIFF Pro Pitching Forum

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

Submissions for the 2026 forum closed on 20 August 2026 at 11:59pm Singapore time; the forum itself runs on 30 October 2026 during the festival. SGIFF's page shows the call as closed with no dates for 2027. The 2026 call opened on 20 July, so expect the next one around July 2027.

Singapore's co-production pitching forum. Free, hotel covered, but the applicant must be a producer, not a writer.

Feature

Checked 2 days ago

The Next Brilliant Career

Programme · 2026

Closed for this cycle

Applications closed on 18 August 2026 (Netflix gave 11.59pm; most state agency portals cut off at the end of 17 August). Selected writers are notified on 28 September, the Sydney pitch day is 6 October, resubmissions are due 6 November and final feedback arrives by 1 December 2026. Netflix has announced no second round.

Netflix ANZ, the Australian Writers' Guild and all eight screen agencies fly eight writers to Sydney to pitch. Free, and you keep every right.

FeatureTV Pilot

Checked 2 days ago

The Veterans Writing Project

Programme · 2027

Closed for this cycle

The 2026-27 cycle closed on 3 February 2026 at 11:59pm Pacific, with an early-bird tier on 13 January, and applicants updated by 20 April ahead of the weekend retreat in June. No dates have been published for the next cycle. The programme is structurally stable, running annually on a two-year cycle naming with a June start and a ten-month duration, but the application front end has drifted: the deadline moved almost four weeks earlier between 2022 and 2026, and a two-tier early-bird structure was introduced that did not exist before. The 2023-24 and 2025-26 cycle dates could not be evidenced from any archived source.

Ten free months writing a script with working WGA mentors, ending in a pitch to executives. Veterans only.

FeatureTV Pilot

Checked 30 days ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Access Writers Program

Programme · 2027

Closed for this cycle

Applications for the 2027 cohort closed on 12 July 2026. Windows are announced on WBD Access's official social channels rather than the website.

WBD's episodic TV pipeline for early-career writers toward staffing across Warner Bros. Discovery.

TV PilotActionAdventure+16

Checked 56 days ago

We are not affiliated with the competitions and programmes listed here, and nobody pays to appear. Verdicts are our editorial opinion, formed from public information on the date shown. Deadlines, fees and eligibility change, so confirm the details on the organisation's own site before you submit or pay anything. More in our Terms.

Questions writers ask about writers' programmes

How many writers' programmes are listed?

25 at the last count. Each one is checked against the organiser's own site and carries the date it was last verified; the newest stamp is 6 September 2026. Entries are added in verified batches, and anything that goes dormant is unpublished rather than left to mislead.

Which writers' programmes are open right now?

3 of the 25 are open for applications or carry a dated deadline ahead, and 4 more are marked as opening soon. The page regenerates every hour from the directory, so the counts move as deadlines pass and windows open.

Are writers' programmes free to enter?

22 of the 25 charge no entry fee at any deadline and nothing if you are selected. The rest charge at some point, and every listing shows the fee at each deadline. The free to enter page gathers the free ones across the whole directory.

Plan the season rather than reacting to it. The deadline calendar shows what closes next across the whole directory, the cost of entry shows how fees climb at late deadlines, and the free Contest Fit-Finder narrows the list to your script in five questions. Or go back to the full directory.