Screenwriters
Willamette Writers supports screenwriters year round, from chapter meetings to our FilmLab script-to-screen program. Scroll down to find out more about our community, and how you can write, learn, and create with us.
Submissions to our FilmLab Writer’s Room open on March 16th. Find out more below.
2026 FilmLab Writer’s Room
Willamette Writers is proud to offer an in-person educational opportunity for aspiring screenwriters this year. Eight writers will be selected by a panel of judges to participate in a two-day in-person writer’s room in Portland, Oregon. They will work with Grant Rosenberg, an experienced showrunner, producer, and screenwriter, to collaborate on a script which will be performed by SAG-AFTRA actors at the Willamette Writers Conference in August. This script will move into production in 2027.
About the Writer’s Room
Eight writers will participate in the writer’s room. In the room, they will develop the specifics of the script concept and flesh out the characters and the overall story arc. The writers will then be paired up to collaborate on a script, which they will have three weeks to complete.
Submission Details
- Submissions open on Submittable on March 16, 2026.
- Submissions are free for Willamette Writers members, and $10.00 for guests.
- Writers must submit an 10-page sample of their work to be considered.
- Submissions should emphasize character and dialogue and be presented in script format as a PDF.
This is an educational opportunity, and participation is key!
Writers who submit but are not accepted will be invited to participate as viewers of the in-person writer’s room.
Previous FilmLab participants are not eligible to submit their work, but are invited to join the room as viewers as well.
Applications open
March 16, 2026
Submission Details
Full submission details are available here.
Screenwriting Chapter
Working on a script? Editing your scenes? Willamette Writers is here to help. Join us for monthly online chapter meetings focused on the craft of screenwriting. We work with producers, screenwriters, directors and filmmakers to take you behind the scenes, demystifying the process of screenwriting and helping you take next steps in your writing career.
The Screenwriting Chapter meets online on second Wednesdays from 5-6PM Pacific time. Join us to meet your community, learn with your peers, and level up with film professionals.
Chair Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich
Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich traded her working-class Jersey roots and a career as a textile designer in New York City for love…and the broad skies of the Pacific Northwest where she has established herself as a writer, visual artist, art educator and occasional stand up comic. She is a recent Stowe Remote Writing Lab Participant, a 2024 Pushcart Prize Nominee, and wrote and produced a short film inspired by her stand up comedy that screened at the non-juried Short Film Corner at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, France.
Chair Grant Rosenberg
Grant Rosenberg is a forty-year veteran in the television industry, beginning his career as a senior creative executive at Paramount Television and Walt Disney Studios, before transitioning to become a successful writer, producer and showrunner of dramatic series. Over that time, Grant was heavily involved in pitching from both sides of the table and knows what it takes to get your ideas noticed.
FilmLab Red Carpet Premiere
FilmLab is proudly sponsored by a grant from #OregonMade.