Francine Daniels

STOWE STORY LABS SELECTED PROJECT AND ISA Screenwriting semifinalist

My one-hour TV drama pilot MOSAIC BLUES was a Selected Project for Stowe Story Labs in Stowe, Vermont and I was thrilled to participate in the lab! It also placed as a semifinalist for the International Screenwriters’s Association (ISA) fellowship to attend Stowe.

Stowe Story Labs is a nonprofit dedicated to helping top emerging screenwriters, filmmakers and creative producers get work made and seen. The Fall Lab is the entry point for further development opportunities, including writers' retreats, ongoing mentoring programs, crowdfunding opportunities and structured market participation opportunities.

WEsCreenplay diverse voices lab semifinalist

My one-hour TV drama pilot MOSAIC BLUES placed in the semifinals for the 2019 WeScreenplay Diverse Story Labs!

The mission of Diverse Voices is to encourage stories that are told from perspectives that are often underrepresented in Hollywood today. This includes writers of color, women writers, writers with disabilities, writers over 40, writers in the LGBTQ+ community, and any other voices that have historically been ignored by Hollywood.

The Diverse Voices Lab also raises funds to support ARRAY. Founded by Ava DuVernay, Array is an independent film distribution and resource collective comprised of artist advocacy organizations, and maverick volunteers worldwide. 

STOWE STORY LABS WRITERS RETREAT

SKIN-KIN my 1/2 hour dramedy was a Selected Project as part of the Stowe Story Labs Writers Retreat in September 2020, where for five days I focused on my writing, professional development and was mentored by three amazing industry professionals including a TV director and two film/tv executives. I also recevied a scholarship to attend!

THE DISRUPTORS FELLOWSHIP

Honored to be awarded The Disruptors Fellowship for my TV pilots MOSAIC BLUES (one-hour drama) and SKIN-KIN (1/2 hour dramedy). The program is for TV writers of color who also identify as trans/non-binary, disabled and/or undocumented or formerly undocumented.

Read more in an exclusive article in The Hollywood Reporter by Rebecca Sun.

The three-month program, which includes a $6,000 stipend and Final Draft software for each participant, features mentorship from such scribes as Jennifer Castillo (Vida), Zackery Alexzander Stephens (Q-Force) and Carolina Paiz (Orange is the New Black) and masterclasses on comedy writing (taught by The Good Place‘s Josh Siegal), drama writing (from The L Word: Generation Q‘s Nancy Mejia), pitching (CSI:NY‘s Trey Callaway) and intellectual property (Original Media Ventures’ Kathryn Schotthoefer).

Fellows will also receive a personal writing coach, feedback and peer support to develop their pilots, an excerpt of which will be presented in an industry reading at the end of the program.

The Disruptors Fellowship was designed in partnership with Toppel Production, Young Entertainment Activists, Original Media Ventures and Final Draft.

INROADS SCREENWRITING FELLOWSHIP

MOSAIC BLUES (one-hour drama) placed as a Quarter-Finalist in the Inroads Screenwriting Fellowship competition was created to locate, expose and nurture up-and-coming screenwriters who have yet to receive their invitation to the mainstream industry. The competition is proudly sponsored by InkTip, Screenwriting Staffing, and Filmmatic.com.

Athena film festival tv writers lab

MOSAIC BLUES (one-hour drama) was selected for the Athena Film Festival at Barnard College Virtual Writers Lab, co-hosted by the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting, a creative development workshop for emerging women writers.

EASTERSEALS DISABILITY FILM CHALLENGE

Disability representation in the media is more important than ever. I was proud to executive produce, write, and perform in my short film SOULS OF MY FEET for the Easterseals 5 Day Disability Film Challenge to raise awareness about invisible disabilities. The theme of the challenge is superheroes!

Although more than 1 in 4 Americans live with a disability, the unique stories of our community are too often untold. By seeing our stories reflected on screen, the audience’s understanding of disability is expanded and people are inspired to join the conversation. The Easterseals Disability Film Challenge gave me the platform to share my perspective as someone with a disability.

HILLMAN GRAD PRODUCTIONS mentorship lab FINALIST

IN GOD WE GAY, my 1/2 hour dramedy was selected as a finalist for the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab. The script placed in the top 25 out of 1,500+ submissions!

THE WRITERS LAB

IN GOD WE GAY, a 1/2 hour dramedy, was selected for The Writers Lab in November 2022. The Writers Lab is supported by Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey.

From The Writers Lab: “We are delighted that you and your project IN GOD WE GAY will be joining us for The Writers Lab 2022…You are now part of a group of very talented writers with incredible projects. Congratulations!”

The Writers Lab presents script-development intensives & market incubation to build craft, community, and career.

The Writers Lab US was co-founded in 2015 by Elizabeth Kaiden, Nitza Wilon, and Kyle Ann Stokes, with New York Women in Film & Television. The Lab intensive is a four-day writers workshop that gives women and nonbinary screenwriters over the age of 40 the opportunity to work uninterrupted on their features and pilots with the support of established film professionals.

Mentors and Writers engage in a rigorous process of immersive script development through one-on-one meetings, panel discussions, peer workshops, and mock writers rooms.

Alumna then focus on the industry for up to 6 months to boIster market potential. Interactions are designed to prompt creative exploration; to cultivate first-rate cinematic stories; and to ready the projects for market.

WOMEN WRITE NOW

VIRGIN HONEYMOON, a short comedy script, was a top eight finalist for Kevin Hart’s Women Write Now Fellowshp.

HEDGEBROOK WRITERS RESIDENCY

I was selected as a WRITER IN RESIDENCE at the prestigious Hedgebrook Residency for Women in Spring 2023 for my 1/2 hour dramedy IN GOD WE GAY.

From Hedgebrook: “Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that your application advanced through 3 rounds of adjudication, and ultimately the 6-member Selection Committee has awarded you a 2023 Winter/Spring residency at Hedgebrook.”

Hedgebrook is a global community of women writers and people who seek extraordinary books, poetry, plays, films, and music by women. A literary nonprofit, our mission is to support visionary women writers whose stories and ideas shape our culture now and for generations to come.

Only 5% (2,300) out of nearly 47,000 people who apply worldwide have been chosen during the past 30 years. Deeply honored to be among alumni such as Eve Ensler, Gloria Steinem, Janet Mock, and Dani Gurira among other award-winning writers.

THE WRITERS COLONY

IN GOD WE GAY was selected as part of acclaimed and award-winning showrunner Mara Brock Akil’s Writers Colony in Spring 2022. I was invited along with three other writers to focus on and celebrate our voice.

From Essence.com: “Our program has an emphasis on community, sanctuary space and process,” [said Akil].

UNLOCK HER POTENTIAL

Thrilled to be chosen by award-winning producer and screenwriter Patricia Resnick as her 2023 Unlock Her Potential writing mentee for an entire year! UP Mentors will share their expertise, experience, wisdom, insights, guidance, and constructive criticism in order to help their mentees develop and advance professionally.

THE STORYTELLER FOUNDATION: Year of the novel scholarship

Thank you to The Storyteller Foundation’s Story Summit Scholarship for the Year of the Novel! One full year of courses to write my first novel with International Bestselling Novelists and MFA Creative Writing Instructors Julie Cantrell and Sadeqa Johnson. Whee!!

DAISY PETTLES WRITING COMPETITION FOR WOMEN

Thrilled to be selected as the 1st Place Finalist for IN GOD WE GAY for the Daisy Pettles Writing Competition for Women in 2023!

“The judges were impressed with both your sheer writing ability and the poise and lucidity demonstrated in your sample writing and work in progress, “Revelation: In God We Gay”, We are delighted to support your efforts and to foster excellence in writing by awarding you this prize in honor of your ability to craft women’s stories that might otherwise go untold.

We believe your voice to be a remarkable addition to the pantheon of women writers, and applaud your ability to record the diversity of women’s experience in modern America.”

NEW ROOTS RESIDENCY

In Summer 2023, New Roots Residency at Walhalla Farms chose my TV dramedy IN GOD WE GAY as a top 20 finalist out of hundreds of submissions!

RESPECTABILITY ENTERTAINMENT LAB

Thank you Respectability Entertainment Lab for the honor of being selected for the 5th Annual TV Writing Cohort!

The CALIFORNIA WELLNESS FOUNDATION/hedgebrook FELLOWSHIP

Surprised and deeply honored to receive a fellowship from The California Wellness Foundation/Hedgebrook to support a woman writer in California after my Hedgebrook Writing Residency! Thank you for the $1,000 award to nurture my writing dreams!