Writers' Access Support Staff Training Program
Programme · 2027Prestige 62/100
Writers Guild Foundation training for writers' assistant and script coordinator roles. Free, and explicitly not a writing fellowship.
Deadlines & fees
- Application deadlineNext deadline
Dates and fees checked against the official site 8 Aug 2026.
Key facts
- Eligibility
- US residents18+Underrepresented backgrounds
- Open to
- United States
- Required materials
- Summary of past writing experience or relevant formal education · Preferred genres and a brief overview of creative influences · Responses to three or four essay questions of 100 to 200 words · Personal statement of 400 words · Professional resume
Applicants must be at least 18, authorised to work in the United States, able to demonstrate ongoing efforts to break in as a television writer, and interested in support staff work. No professional writing experience or credits are required. Anyone who has already worked as a writers' assistant or script coordinator is ineligible, though former writers' PAs and showrunner's assistants may apply. Los Angeles residents receive admissions priority and no more than 10 per cent of each class is reserved for applicants living elsewhere. Writers who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled or over 50 are encouraged to apply. Using AI to generate or edit application materials is grounds for disqualification.
Prizes
No cash prize or stipend. Participants receive the training course itself, an assigned mentor, guest showrunner sessions, and placement on the Writers Guild Foundation talent list circulated to studios, networks and showrunners, plus inclusion in the annual lookbook.
Judging
Applications are collected via Submittable and reviewed through a five-stage process by an admissions committee of television creators, executive producers, showrunners and writers, most of whom worked as assistants or coordinators themselves. The 2026 committee is published by name and runs to 67 members. The programme was founded by Tanya Saracho, Mike Royce and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper, and is taught by Debbie Ezer and Clay Lapari. Around 2,000 people apply for 16 to 18 places. No interviews are conducted and no feedback is given on unsuccessful applications.
The PreList verdict
This is not a screenwriting fellowship, and the Writers Guild Foundation says so three separate times on its own pages. It trains you to work as a writers' assistant or script coordinator, which is how a great many working television writers actually got into a room. Fourteen weeks of Thursday evenings on Zoom, an assigned mentor, guest showrunners, and on graduation your name goes onto a list the Foundation actively markets to studios and showrunners. It was founded by Tanya Saracho, Mike Royce and Liz Hsiao Lan Alper, and the admissions committee is published by name, all 67 of them.
The honest part: roughly 2,000 people apply for 16 to 18 places. You must already be authorised to work in the United States, which rules out most writers reading this from outside it. Los Angeles applicants get admissions priority and no more than one place in ten goes to someone living elsewhere. There is no stipend, so you are covering your own time for fourteen weeks. And if you have already worked as an assistant or coordinator you are ineligible, though former writers' PAs and showrunner's assistants can still apply.
Apply if you are in Los Angeles, legally able to work there, and willing to take the assistant route rather than waiting for a script to open the door for you. It costs nothing to apply and nothing to attend. Applications open on 13 August 2026 at 11am Pacific and close on 13 September at 11.59pm, with results on 15 December. One warning worth heeding: using AI anywhere in the application is grounds for disqualification.
Dylian Salvatore, Founder of The PreList · Updated 7 Sept 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is this a screenwriting fellowship?
No, and the Writers Guild Foundation is emphatic about it. Their own page states: this program is not a writing fellowship, it is a professional training program that focuses specifically on support staff roles. You are training to work as a writers assistant or script coordinator, and you never submit a script.
What does it cost?
Nothing to apply and nothing to attend. There is no stipend either, so you are covering your own time across the fourteen weeks.
Do I need to live in Los Angeles?
Not strictly, but it helps enormously. LA applicants receive admissions priority and no more than 10 per cent of each class is reserved for people living elsewhere. You must also be authorised to work in the United States, which is a hard requirement.
What are the dates?
Applications open on 13 August 2026 at 11am Pacific and close on 13 September at 11.59pm Pacific. Results are shared on 15 December 2026, and the course itself runs from January to April 2027.
Is your script right for Writers' Access Support Staff Training Program?
Upload your screenplay and The PreList scores how well it fits this programme: genre, format, eligibility and readiness, before you spend anything.
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