SCREENWRITING CONTEST TRANSPARENCY: A CALL TO ACTION
In June 2022, Women of Color Unite (a non-profit organization advocating for women of color in the film and television industries) released "Screenwriting Contest Transparency: A Call to Action," created by members Julia Morizawa, Dani Milton, and Via Bia.
This document came together as a response to writers sharing about their experiences receiving racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, and otherwise bigoted notes from contest and coverage service readers. It demands transparency and accountability from screenwriting contests, fellowships, and labs, as well as screenplay coverage services, in an effort allow writers to make more informed decisions when submitting their work to such organizations and to increase authentic representation and diversity in the stories being supported by the film and television industries.
As of March 2023, the following organizations have signed the pledge AND followed through with their promise by release their inaugurual annual statement of transparency: Roadmap Writers, Shore Scripts, The Writers Lab.
If you are a writer and would like to share about an experience receiving biased notes, you may post (anonymously or not) here and/or share on twitter using #writersmakingchange For updates, follow us on Twitter