The Writers Lab Names 2026 Cohorts, Launches First Los Angeles Intensive
The Writers Lab has selected the screenwriters for its Fall 2026 Lab Intensives, unveiling the inaugural Los Angeles cohort alongside its New York group and a roster of mentors that includes Kyra Sedgwick among the industry jurors (Variety).
Now in its 12th year, The Writers Lab is a script incubation programme dedicated to elevating the work of women and nonbinary screenwriters over 40, supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. The lab has historically run out of New York; 2026 marks its expansion to the West Coast.
Eight writers were chosen for the Los Angeles cohort, which will gather at Women In Film and the American Film Institute in October. The selected projects span features and television: Maja Costa's historical thriller "Terra Roxa," Jennifer Derwingson-Peacock's war drama "Fear Us Women," Aurora Ferlin's drama/mystery "13 Prisons," Jessica Maison's sci-fi adventure "Pirate Sea," Liz McClintock's political dramedy "Santa Susana," Sarah Page's comedy thriller "Vanilla," Elise Shin's sci-fi thriller "Perpetual Dreaming," and Don Angelica Silva's historical drama "Bright Belt."
The New York cohort, meeting at the Writers Guild of America East and Lincoln Center in November, comprises seven writers. Their projects include Wendy Bednarz's coming-of-age drama "Glacial Summer," Michelle Bonnard's drama "Superhuman," Rebecca Brown's historical "A Forgotten Sky," Kate Chrisman's political thriller "Foreign Correspondent," Georgia Fu's crime dramedy "Approximate Joy," Courtney Graham's historical drama "Nobody's Horses," Meghan Lennox's coming-of-age comedy "Gay for Amy," and Charise Studesville's dramedy "The Waves."
Each intensive runs over three days, focused on tools and strategies for building sustainable screenwriting careers, and is followed by a five-day writing residency. The 2026 mentor roster includes Susan Cartsonis, Anya Epstein, Amy Fox, Pamela Gray, Jenny Halper, Rita Hsiao, Meg Lefauve, Amenya Makuku, Mary Jane Skalski, Amber Sealey, Robin Swicord, Pat Verducci and Jamie Zelermyer. Industry script jurors include Sedgwick, Clea Lewis and representatives from Blossom Films, Tribeca Studios and the Writers Guild of America East.
New partners for 2026 include the Alliance of Women Directors, Women in Film LA, the American Film Institute and Film at Lincoln Center. Returning partners include the Writers Guild of America East, New York Women in Film & Television, Roadmap Writers, The Black List and Film Fatales.
The programme is also looking beyond the United States. A third Lab Intensive is planned for Canada in January 2027, and an Australian intensive is in development for the same year.
What makes the expansion worth noting is the institutional weight behind it. Partners like AFI and Film at Lincoln Center are not merely lending their names; they are providing the physical spaces where these writers will work. For a programme that began as a single New York intensive, landing simultaneous cohorts on both US coasts — with international dates on the calendar — signals a structured, well-resourced push into territory that mainstream development pipelines have historically left under-served.
