EXCLUSIVE: The Black List has named the six writers and projects chosen for its 2026 Writers Lab. They are Elton de Almeida (A Mark of Kin), Yasmin DeWinter (Guillaume), Scott Leddy (Nightwatch), Marcelle Pallais (One Last Summer), Alexander Seltzer and Kyle Jutkiewicz (Depths) and Emma Taylor Stock (Denial).
The program, now in its 13th year, provides creative mentorship and professional support to promising feature writers as they further develop their selected project during a weeklong workshop in Ojai, CA.
The Black List’s Annual Lab program supports two distinct cohorts: writers and filmmakers. The Writers Lab focuses on developing feature scripts to be sold in the studio system and/or used as voice samples. The Projects Lab, which will be announced in November, offers writer-directors the chance to develop a screenplay that they intend to direct.
During the Lab, each writer will develop their screenplay through peer workshops and one-on-one sessions with working professional screenwriters, including returning mentors Travis Braun (One Night Only), Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4, The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power), Katie Silberman (Set It Up, Don’t Worry Darling), Victoria Strouse (Seekers of Infintie Love, Finding Dory) and Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey, Bumblebee).
Black List Annual Lab alumna Savion Einstein (A Cuban Girl’s Guide To Tea and Tomorrow) will also join as a session mentor. After the lab concludes, the writers cohort will participate in a yearlong support program involving monthly meetings with screenwriters, agents, managers, producers, and executives.
“We’re excited to welcome the latest cohort of screenwriters to the Black List Lab fold. At a time when the industry can seem particularly challenging and harder than ever to break into, we’re thrilled to be able to support projects that make us excited to go to the movies. These writers are bringing distinctive voices, bold points of view, and stories that deserve to be heard to the Lab and we’re privileged to be able to give them space to take risks, challenge themselves, and build community with other writers, in Ojai and beyond,” said Megan Halpern, Black List SVP.
Submissions for the 2027 Labs are now open on the Black List website.
Previous Black List Lab alumni include Claire Ayoub (Empire Waist), Minhal Baig (We Grown Now), Tom Dean (Carolina, Caroline), Gia Gordon (Law and Order), Danny Hogan (The Pitt), Jimmy Keyrouz (Broken Keys), Dagny Looper (The Resort), Alexandra Qin (ThirstyGirl), Michelle Steffes (For When You Get Lost), and Jason Young (The Magic Flute).
Learn more about the 2026 Writers Lab projects, and the creatives behind them, below.
2026 Writers Lab Projects:
Elton de Almeida – A MARK OF KIN
Haunted by her family’s tragic past, a cunning scammer seeks revenge on the uncle who abandoned her decades ago — only to be trapped by a demonic curse that feeds off her bloodline.
Yasmin DeWinter – GUILLAUME
Paris, 1898. Two American brothers walk into a brothel. The others pulls a knife. Within the hour, they owe a madam five thousand francs they don’t have. Their ship sails at dawn. The elder just had a seizure in a piss-soaked allegy – and if anyone finds out, he loses his wife, his childen, and his name.
Scott Leddy – NIGHTWATCH
In the midst of an apparent nuclear attack on NATO and the US, a communications blackout with the President places the Defense Secretary in the hot seat on America’s Doomsday Plane, but with the minutes ticking down, a comms expert discovers an anomaly that could change everything.
Marcelle Pallais – ONE LAST SUMMER
A restless, sharp-witted teen aching for meaning and adventure escapes to a wealthy beach town, only to be pulled toward a charming boy and his family’s deadly secret. Adapted from NORTHANGER ABBEY by Jane Austen.
Alexander Seltzer and Kyle Jutkiewicz – DEPTHS
Trapped aboard a US nuclear submarine, a former priest turned navy engineer must stop a demon-possessed Soviet defector before she turns the Cold War hot.
Emma Taylor Stock – DENIAL
When a health insurance giant denies their bestie’s cancer treatment, three friends attempt to approve the claim themselves. But their plan spirals when they accidentally kidnap the CEO and must expose his fraud to save themselves.
