Sesame Workshop Writers' Room
Fellowship · 2025Prestige 66/100
Free, virtual, no experience needed. Dormant since 2025, and it takes first negotiation and last refusal over everything you write on it.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
DORMANT: the last evidenced cycle is 2025 and no 2026 or 2027 window has been announced. The live page says applications are currently closed and this year's application period has ended, while every date on it remains a 2025 date, the governing terms are still headed 2025, and the fellows roster runs 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 then stops. On the established pattern of a March open, an April close and August-to-November sessions, a 2026 cohort would be starting sessions about now; neither a window nor a cohort has appeared. There is no hiatus or discontinuation notice anywhere, and the operator actively invites people to subscribe for an update on when the next application opens, so this is a programme in limbo rather than a dead one. Worth re-checking each March. FOR THE RECORD, THE 2025 DEADLINE WAS PUBLISHED TWO DIFFERENT WAYS: the programme page and FAQ said 28 April 2025 at 12PM EST, while the governing terms and conditions said the entry period ended at 12:00pm EST on 14 April 2025. Two weeks apart in the operator's own documents, with the legally governing one being the earlier. We have therefore stored no deadline at all rather than pick one. Context, not causation: Sesame Workshop announced major layoffs in March 2025, reported at around 20 per cent of staff; no source connects those cuts to this fellowship, and the 2025 cycle ran to completion afterwards.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- TV Pilot
- Genres
- Family
- Eligibility
- US only21+Free to enterNo credit required
- Open to
- United States
- Required materials
- An application form · An original script sample, 12 pages maximum (the governing terms ask for two samples with synopses, one labelled Primary, which differs from the programme page's single-sample framing) · A synopsis of up to 100 words · A resume, 2 pages maximum; anything longer is disqualified · A personal statement of up to 250 words
Applicants must be a United States citizen or permanent resident; the FAQ is explicit that applications cannot be accepted from anyone without US citizenship or permanent residency. Minimum age 21. NO WRITING EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED, and the operator says what matters most is a passion for writing, but THERE IS A CREDIT CAP: applicants cannot have extensive media writing experience, defined as having written more than six episodes for a network or cable scripted or narrative series. Individual writers only: if you are in a writing pair you must submit a script you wrote by yourself. One application per person. No income cap is published. Participants must be able to attend and complete writing assignments for all 8 sessions and attend the 12 office-hours sessions, delivered virtually from August to November. The sample must be an original script of 12 pages maximum in script format, for a play, television, film or similar, modelling a three-act structure, aimed at viewers up to age 12, and containing no Sesame Street elements, characters or intellectual property. PDF, 8.5 by 11 inches, minimum 1 inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman or Courier. Use of any artificial intelligence resource or tool to prepare the submission or personal statement is prohibited and may be grounds for disqualification. CORRECTION TO A COMMON DESCRIPTION: this is not an eight-week intensive. It is eight three-hour sessions plus twelve one-hour office hours spread across roughly four months.
Prizes
NO STIPEND, GRANT OR CASH AWARD IS PUBLISHED. The programme is free to apply to and free to participate in, is delivered virtually so no travel or lodging arises, and nothing is payable at any point. The material upside is contingent: up to two of the six participants are offered creative development deals and further mentorship, and NO VALUE IS ATTACHED TO THOSE DEALS anywhere on the page or in the terms. RIGHTS, AND THIS IS THE HEAVIEST TERM IN THE BATCH BECAUSE IT BINDS BEFORE YOU KNOW YOUR DEAL. As a pre-condition to participating, a selected candidate must enter a formal written agreement conferring on Sesame certain rights of first negotiation and last refusal to acquire rights in and to any and all materials created by you as part of the Program, including creative concepts, scripts, stories, titles, drawings, formats, renderings, characters, pencil tests, designs, music, themes, contents and protectable elements, AND THE CLAUSE EXTENDS TO MATERIAL WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT CREATIVELY RELATE TO YOUR APPLICATION SUBMISSION. If you are selected for a creative development deal, you must enter a further agreement granting Sesame rights of ownership in the property, on terms described only as generally standard in the children's educational media community and commensurate with your experience. There is also a broad idea-misappropriation waiver headed No Limitation on Exploitation of Materials, permitting Sesame to use without payment any part of a submission that is similar to something already under consideration or in development, is not unique novel original and concrete enough for legal protection, or is similar to something independently created by Sesame or a third party. Plus a perpetual worldwide royalty-free name, likeness and biography release without further notice or consideration, a confidentiality obligation, an indemnity, exclusive New York jurisdiction, and an irrevocable waiver of any right to seek rescission or equitable or injunctive relief.
Judging
No judge or selector is named. The process is explicitly anonymised across three reading phases: third-party readers, then readers from Sesame, then representatives from the Sesame development team, then a selection committee of Sesame employees and executives with interviews. No written feedback is offered at any stage.
The PreList verdict
We are listing this as a dormant entry rather than a live opportunity, and you should read it as a bookmark. The last cohort was 2025. On its own four-year pattern a 2026 window would have opened in March, closed in April and be running sessions right about now. None of that happened. Every date on the live page is still a 2025 date and the governing terms are still headed 2025, yet the site footer reads 2026, so this is a maintained page with stale content rather than an abandoned domain. There is no discontinuation notice, and Sesame still invites people to subscribe for news of the next application, which is why we have not delisted it. Re-check each March.
When it does run it is a genuinely rare thing: entirely free to apply and to participate, virtual so there is no relocation, and open to writers with no experience at all, since what the operator says matters most is a passion for writing. The cap runs the other way, excluding anyone who has written more than six episodes for a network or cable series. Up to six writers are selected and up to two are offered creative development deals.
The term to weigh before applying is the rights position, and it is the heaviest we found this week. As a pre-condition of participating you must sign an agreement giving Sesame first negotiation and last refusal over any and all materials you create as part of the programme, and the clause expressly extends to work that may or may not creatively relate to the script you applied with. Anything you write during those four months is encumbered. If you take a development deal, the further agreement grants Sesame ownership on terms described only as standard for the sector and commensurate with your experience, which is to say unpublished. For an unproduced children's writer that may still be a good trade. It is not a small one.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 9 Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is it running in 2026?
No. The last evidenced cycle is 2025, and no 2026 or 2027 window has been announced. On the usual pattern a 2026 cohort would be in sessions now. There is no discontinuation notice and the operator invites people to subscribe for updates, so we have kept it listed as dormant. Worth re-checking each March.
What does it cost?
Nothing at any point. The fellowship is free to apply to and free to participate in, and it is delivered virtually so no travel or lodging arises. No stipend is published either.
What rights does Sesame take?
More than most. As a pre-condition of participating you must grant Sesame first negotiation and last refusal over any and all materials you create during the programme, and the clause expressly covers work that may or may not relate to your application script. A development deal requires a further agreement granting Sesame ownership on unpublished terms.
Do I need experience?
No, and too much disqualifies you. No writing experience is required, but you cannot have written more than six episodes for a network or cable scripted series. You must be a US citizen or permanent resident, aged 21 or over, and apply as an individual even if you normally write in a pair.
Is your script right for Sesame Workshop Writers' Room?
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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