The Writers Lab, Funded by Meryl Streep, Selects 2016 Participants

New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) and IRIS, a collective of women filmmakers, are pleased to announce the selected screenwriters to participate in the second year of The Writers Lab.

The program is the only lab in the world dedicated to providing script development for women writers over the age of 40, and is funded by Academy Award-winner Meryl Streep.

The 12 participants for The Writers Lab 2016 are:

- Carol Carpenter, The Guadalupe

- Melody Cooper, The Sound of Darkness

- Meredith DePaolo, Devil's Eye

- Nancy Duff, Dead Drop

- Kate Erickson, Roll With It

- Tina Field Howe, Drone War

- Christina Hulen, A Gentleman of Good Hope

- Christine Toy Johnson, Jumping the Third Rail

- Nanci Katz-Ellis, Blink

- Leslie Longworth, One Bad Astronaut

- Barbara Nunberg, Willful Blindness

- Stephanie Stanley, The Radical

The mentors attached to the Lab, slated for September 22-25, 2016, include: Jessica Bendinger (Bring It On, Aquamarine), Susan Cartsonis (What Women Want, The Duff), Lisa Cortes (Precious, Shadowboxer), Caroline Kaplan (Time Out of Mind, Me and You and Everyone We Know ), Mary Jane Skalski (Win Win, The Station Agent ), and Kirsten Smith (Legally Blond, Ten Things I Hate About You ).

The Writers Lab will take place in the Connecticut River Valley. The 12 writers and eight mentors will meet for intensive one-on-one discussions to develop and refine their scripts. In addition, they will participate in group panel discussions to explore universal themes and concepts.

For more information, visit thewriterslab.nyc.

IRIS is a collective of women filmmakers founded in New York City by Kyle Ann Stokes, Elizabeth Kaiden and Nitza Wilon to champion the female voice through narrative feature film.

The preeminent entertainment industry association for women in New York City, NYWIFT supports women calling the shots in film, television and digital media. NYWIFT energizes the careers of women in entertainment by illuminating their achievements, providing training and professional development activities, and advocating for equality. Membership includes more than 2,100 women and men working in all areas of the industry. NYWIFT is part of a network of 40 women in film organizations worldwide, representing more than 10,000 members. For further information about New York Women in Film & Television, visit nywift.org.