CAPE New Writers Fellowship Opens Submissions for its 10th Year of Developing Emerging Asian and Pacific Islander Writers



Los Angeles, CA – CAPE has opened submissions for the 2022 cycle of its CAPE New Writers Fellowship, marking 10 years for the program in developing emerging screenwriters in Asian and Pacific Islander communities. With the box office success of films like Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, representation behind-the-scenes is as important as ever.

"When we started this program ten years ago, the pool of Asian writers was very small,” Program Co-Chair/Founder Steve Tao said. “As a TV Current Executive, it is gratifying to see many more Asian writers going on staff today, many of whom graduated from the CAPE New Writers Fellowship. One of my proudest moments was when I first staffed a CAPE Fellow on one of my shows, and now I have former Fellows on several of our shows on The CW.”

Launched alongside its major industry partners, the premier non-studio professional development program has trained emerging writers to succeed in Hollywood for almost a decade. The Fellowship has one of the highest track records in the industry and boasts graduates who have been staffed on over 50 shows across all major network, cable, and streaming platforms. 

“One troubling finding from  I Am Not a Fetish or Model Minority, our recent study with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media and Gold House, is that APIs are more likely to be laughed at than laughed with on screen,” said CAPE Executive Director Michelle K. Sugihara. “If we want to change representation on screen and consequently how APIs are treated in real life, we must start with the writers because narrative storytelling starts on the page.”

Featuring top industry writers, producers, agents and executives, the Fellowship was co-founded and is co-chaired by Steve Tao (SVP, Current Programming, The CW) and Leo Chu (Showrunner/EP, ULTRA VIOLET & BLACK SCORPION, AFRO SAMURAI). The sessions include master classes, panels, and workshops, as well as writing labs, in which Fellows revise their scripts under one-on-one mentorship with high-level industry professionals.

Past mentors and speakers have included writers, producers, and executives including Monica Macer (Showrunner/EP, CBS’s MACGYVER), Adele Lim (Writer, CRAZY RICH ASIANS, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON), Nazrin Choudhury (Co-EP, AMC’s FEAR THE WALKING DEAD), Teresa Hsiao (Co-Showrunner/EP, Comedy Central’s AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM QUEENS), Michael Golamco (Writer, ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE), Albert Kim (Showrunner/EP, Netflix’s AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER), Tanuj Chopra (Showrunner/EP, Netflix’s DELHI CRIME), Aditya Sood (Producer, DEADPOOL), Glen Mazzara (Showrunner/EP, THE WALKING DEAD), John Agbaje (SVP, Animation, Bad Robot), and  Sunil Nayar (Showrunner/EP, CBS’s ALL RISE).

Ideal candidates are emerging screenwriters who have an original television pilot script and have yet to be hired in a writers room as a staff writer. In contrast to previous years, the 2022 cycle of the CAPE New Writers Fellowship will only accept candidates with a focus on television writing. More information on the application process can be found on capeusa.org/cnwf. The deadline to apply is October 31, 2021.

"What sets this fellowship apart is that it’s the only writing program run by a showrunner and an executive—and the results speak for themselves.” Co-Chair Leo Chu said, “I am overjoyed that writers whose careers I helped launch are not only staffing on shows, but now becoming showrunners. Although there is more work that needs to be done, it’s a wonderful way to ring in our tenth year!"

CAPE’s distinguished alumni include April Shih (DAVE) who has an overall deal with FX and Kevin Lau (HOUSE OF THE DRAGON; LOVECRAFT COUNTRY) who has an overall deal with HBO. Additional alumni include Tania Lotia (THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN), Lauren Moon (SILK; GOOD TROUBLE), Kimberly-Rose Ka'iulani Wolter (NCIS), Nikhil Jayaram (STAR TREK: PRODIGY), Tristin Thai (THE GOOD DOCTOR), Bo Yeon Kim & Erika Lippoldt (STAR TREK: DISCOVERY), Helen Shang (THE LORD OF THE RINGS; 13 REASONS WHY), Mitali Jahagirdar (JUST BEYOND), Franklin jin Rho (PACHINKO), Nathan Ramos-Park (CLUB MICKEY MOUSE), Oanh Ly (CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA); Ken Cheng (EASTER SUNDAY), Iram Parveen Bilal (I’LL MEET YOU THERE), and many others.

Fellowship partners include Disney, Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Los Angeles County Arts and Culture.

The CAPE New Writers Fellowship is one of three talent development programs at CAPE alongside the CAPE Leaders Fellowship, which is currently in its fifth annual cycle, and the CAPE Animation Directors Accelerator, which made its inaugural launch this past September. Leveraging the synergy between this writers Fellowship and the CAPE Leaders Fellowship, CAPE is reshaping the ecosystem by connecting writers and creative executives to get more inclusive projects greenlit.

For more information, visit capeusa.org.

About CAPE
CAPE is the premier non-profit organization creating opportunities and driving change for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) success in Hollywood. We work to shift culture through storytelling to create a better world. For the past 30 years, we have fought for API representation in film and television, because what we watch on our screens should reflect the world in which we live and project a better one. CAPE advances representation for APIs in Hollywood through three main verticals: (1) nurturing and engaging creative talent and executive leadership; (2) providing cultural script consulting and talent referrals through the CAPE Database; and (3) championing projects for critical box office and streaming success through GoldOpen. Follow @capeusa on Instagram and Twitter.