Key dates:
Lab Intensive – Friday 30 April to Tuesday 4 May 2027
Location: Gold Coast
Application fee: $100
Applications close: Friday 11 December, 5:59pm AEST
The Writers Lab Australia and New Zealand is an in-person intensive coming to the Gold Coast in 2027, devoted to script development for 12 women and non-binary screenwriters aged 40 and over.
Screen Queensland is supporting three Queensland participants with statewide travel and accommodation to attend the five-day lab to engage with dedicated writing time, one-on-one mentoring and group sessions to develop their scripts, build community and bolster their careers.
The Lab aims to build skills, confidence and community, and to prepare writers for collaborative work and market demands. Shared meals, group activities and panel discussions provide opportunities for broader conversations and creative exchange. The final day of the Lab will give participants the opportunity to network with invited industry guests.
For more information, check out the The Writers’ Lab’s FAQs here.
WHO CAN APPLY?
To be eligible, applicants must:
- identity as a woman or non-binary
- be over the age of 40 at the time of the lab intensive
- be an Australian or New Zealand resident and/or citizen
- exhibit knowledge of screenwriting formatting, standards, technique and style.
Writing teams can apply, however all writers on the project must meet the eligibility requirements. Please note that 12 writers and 12 projects will be invited to attend the Lab. Selected projects with more than one writer will be required to choose a single representative to attend.
Eligible projects:
- include feature film or television series
- do not include short films, online series, games, verticals, microdramas, shorts, stage plays, book excerpts or documentaries.
WHAT DO I NEED TO APPLY?
Applicants must provide:
- contact information (name, email address, contact phone number birth date, etc)
- one-page synopsis
- an anonymised feature film or television series script of minimum 20 pages in PDF format, written in English.
HOW DO I APPLY?
Applicants can apply via The Writers Lab Australia and New Zealand page on the FilmFreeway website here. (FilmFreeway hosts this contest, and you will need a free FilmFreeway account to submit. You will be able to restrict FilmFreeway contact to correspondence from The Writers Lab if you wish.)
- Choose the Standard Entry package for our contest and follow the prompts.
- Complete all fields of the application.
- When prompted, upload your script as a PDF labelled with the project title only. Do not include the name of the screenwriter(s) anywhere on the PDF.
- Click the Submit box.
- After you finalise payment and submission, you will receive a confirmation from FilmFreeway that you have successfully entered The Writers Lab contest.
Image: by Nancie Battaglia, courtesy of The Writers’ Lab
