TIFF Writers' Lab
Lab · 2026Prestige 74/100
Five days in Toronto with eight writers, festival access included. Sole writers only, co-writers disqualified.
Deadlines & fees
Closed for this cycle
The 2026 cycle is closed and no dates have been published for a next round. That cycle opened on 19 February 2026 with an early-bird deadline of 23 March at 46.75 Canadian dollars and a regular deadline of 13 April at 55, with the lab running in September. No deadline times or timezones are published. Worth knowing: 2026 appears to be the first edition of the Writers' Lab, which succeeds TIFF's long-running Writers' Studio, so there are no prior cycles to establish a pattern from and no future date should be inferred.
Dates and fees checked against the official site 9 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Formats
- Feature
- Page limit
- 120 pages
- Eligibility
- Open worldwide18+
- Required materials
- A script of 80 to 120 pages · One consolidated PDF containing a logline and synopsis, a one-page story outline, a CV and filmography, a bio of 150 to 300 words and a headshot · A 2-minute pitch video · A 5-minute video sample of produced work · A FilmFreeway custom form
Applications are open to Canadians and international applicants, with no quota published. Applicants must be 18 or over and credited as a writer on at least one produced feature film or one episode of a television series. The project must be a feature-length narrative film in development with a minimum first draft complete, running 80 to 120 pages. A strict rule worth reading twice: applicants must be the sole writer on the project, and projects with co-writers will not be considered, so this is a lab a writer enters entirely alone. No director or producer attachment is required. The applicant must be the person who attends. Adaptations require proven copyright ownership. Alumni of the TIFF Writers' Studio are ineligible, and applications written by third parties are not accepted. Positioned for mid-level screenwriters and writer-directors. Writers working in broadcast, interactive, web series and transmedia may apply if they are aiming at feature production.
Prizes
The Writers' Lab itself carries no cash award, prize or stipend. What it includes is the five-day programme fully catered, access to the Toronto International Film Festival, and access to TIFF: The Market and delegate resources. Two adjacent money items are distinct from the lab and should not be confused with it: the Sloan Science and Technology Writer Fellowship, worth 35,000 Canadian dollars, which has its own separate application, and the CHANEL Women Creators' Network Fellowship, for which women and non-binary applicants are automatically considered and whose value is not published. Credit obligations are modest: subsequent drafts carry a line noting development support from TIFF Writers' Lab, and the finished project credits TIFF Writers' Lab. No option or rights transfer of any kind.
Judging
No tutors, mentors or selection committee are published; the names listed on the page belong to the CHANEL Women Creators' Network and are alumni rather than tutors. Written feedback is not promised as such: the offer is one-to-one discussions with script consultants during the lab and a script-polishing period with a development executive afterwards. Confidentiality is favourable, with materials not shared with third parties without the owner's explicit consent. Note that the separate Sloan Science and Technology Writer Fellowship, which carries a 35,000 Canadian dollar award, has its own application form and must be applied for separately. One caution for verification: the English and French versions of TIFF's own page disagree on when the higher fee begins, with the French regular window starting on 10 March and overlapping the early-bird window that the English page runs to 23 March.
The PreList verdict
Five days in Toronto with seven other writers, one-to-one script consultants, a development executive working with you afterwards, and full access to both the festival and its market. The application fee is modest and there is no tuition. For a writer with one produced credit trying to move a feature forward, the room and the market access together are the offer.
The rule to read before anything else: you must be the sole writer, and projects with co-writers will not be considered. That is unusually absolute, and it makes this one of the few labs in this directory designed for a writer working entirely alone, with no director or producer needed either. If you wrote it with someone, this is not your lab.
The honest part is what is missing from the page. Attendance in Toronto is mandatory, and travel and accommodation are not addressed anywhere, in either direction. That is a real cost for an international participant and TIFF simply does not say who bears it, so ask before you budget. Note also that 2026 looks like the first edition of this lab, succeeding the long-running Writers' Studio, so there is no cycle history to plan against. And do not confuse it with the Sloan Fellowship, which attaches to the same lab but carries 35,000 Canadian dollars and requires a completely separate application.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 9 Aug 2026
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply with a co-writer?
No. TIFF states that applicants must be the sole writer on the project and that projects with co-writers will not be considered. No director or producer attachment is needed either, so this is a lab you enter entirely on your own.
Is travel to Toronto covered?
Unknown, and that is the problem. Attendance in person is mandatory and the lab is fully catered with festival and market access included, but travel and accommodation are not mentioned anywhere on the page in either direction. Ask TIFF before budgeting.
What does it cost?
Only the application fee: 46.75 Canadian dollars at the early-bird deadline or 55 at the regular deadline, non-refundable. No participation or tuition fee is published. Your unpriced cost is getting to Toronto and staying there.
How is this different from the TIFF Sloan Fellowship?
They are separate applications. The Sloan Science and Technology Writer Fellowship carries a 35,000 Canadian dollar award for a science or technology themed feature and includes a place in this lab, but you must apply for it on its own form.
Is your script right for TIFF Writers' Lab?
Upload your screenplay and The PreList scores how well it fits this lab: genre, format, eligibility and readiness, before you spend anything.
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