Fox Targets Diversity in New Writers Program

Fox is looking for a few new voices.

The News Corp.-owned company on Wednesday announced the Fox Writer's Intensive, a program designed to nurture writers with diverse voices, backgrounds and life experiences in an effort to create a pipeline of talent for potential staffing as writers, story editors or showrunners on Fox productions.

Kicking off in February, Film Independent-run effort will offer trained writers a four-month curriculum focused on developing original material, honing writing skills for multiple mediums (including film, television and digital) as well as the ins and outs of the business.

“Through the Fox Writer’s Intensive we are, for the first time, actively investing in experienced talent to bridge the gap between the emerging writer and showrunner,” said Nicole A. Bernard, senior vp audience strategy at the Fox Group. “We’re providing multiplatform learning experiences and, equally important, higher levels of access to top creative professionals and senior executives – an invaluable benefit to both the writers and our entertainment businesses.”

Selected writers from the program will receive feedback and guidance on their scripts through interactive master classes and guest speaker sessions where writers, showrunners and directors will discuss the writing process behind their films and television shows.

At the completion of the program, Fox will select one participant as the Fox Writer's Intensive Fellow, who will receive one-on-one meetings with the network and studio heads as well as priority staffing efforts across Fox properties. Fox also will purchase and develop their original submission and award the referring 501(c)(3) charitable orgnization of the winning fellow a financial grant to be earmarked for its writing program.

Candidates for the program must be nominated by one of the program's partnering organizations or submitted by agents and management companies. Published writers from television, features, literature, theater or other mediums are encouraged to apply. Nominations must be received by Nov. 9.

For more information, go to http://www.fox.com/audiencestrategy/.