Article first published: February 28, 2024
Today, GLAAD and the Black List announced that submissions are open for the 2024 edition of The GLAAD List. This will be the fourth edition of The GLAAD List.
Created in partnership with the Black List, The GLAAD List is a curated list of the most promising unmade LGBTQ-inclusive film scripts that have been hosted on blcklst.com. The first GLAAD List was announced in January 2019, and subsequent editions of The GLAAD List were announced in January, 2020 and April 2022.
Writers are invited to submit a script for consideration by uploading it to the Black List website beginning today. Submissions will close on July 1, 2024. While last year’s GLAAD List was open to both feature film and television pilot scripts, only feature film scripts will be considered by GLAAD this year. Writers selected for each diversity list will be announced in the fall of 2024, exclusively in Deadline. Please visit the Black List website for more information on how to submit.
In 2024, the Black List is opening six diversity lists at the same time. In addition to The GLAAD List, submissions are open for the CAPE List, the Muslim List, the Latine (formerly Latinx) List, the Disability List, and the Desi List – a new, curated list that will shine a light on the most promising feature scripts and pilots from South Asian writers. The Indigenous List, created in collaboration with IllumiNative and Sundance Institute, hopes to return in 2025.
Another major update for the diversity lists in 2024: AMC Networks will provide 400 fee waivers for eligible submitting writers across all active diversity lists. These fee waivers include one free month of hosting and one free evaluation on the Black List website. This access will allow 400 writers to submit their work for diversity list consideration at no cost and provide access to the entire blcklst.com ecosystem, where their work can be made accessible to thousands of industry professionals and submitted to a wide array of Black List partnerships and programs beyond just the diversity lists. Fee waivers will be equally distributed across all 2024 diversity lists and distributed at the discretion of diversity list partners, AMC Networks, and the Black List.
“For 39 years, GLAAD has championed and amplified diverse, authentic, multidimensional media stories about LGBTQ people in order to accelerate acceptance for our community. Now more than ever, our partnership with the Black List allows us to shine a spotlight on groundbreaking stories that deserve a broad platform that will reach millions of people. We’ve seen prior GLAAD List films like Anything’s Possible, Knock at the Cabin, Three Months, and Before I Change My Mind go from page to screen and we look forward to finding more unproduced gems this year,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
“Hollywood gets the best movies and television and makes the most money when it makes movies and television about everyone, and we simply haven’t done that historically. I’m incredibly excited to read and inevitably fall in love with the scripts these partnerships identify, and I hope everyone else does too,” said Black List founder Franklin Leonard. “Special notice here goes to Black List SVP Kate Hagen for both the vision and the gargantuan logistical effort to synchronize these processes for the benefit of everyone, especially the writers who will submit.”
GLAAD List Requirements:
Unlike the Black List, an annual survey of Hollywood executives’ favorite unproduced screenplays, The GLAAD List is not voted upon via a survey; rather, it is curated by GLAAD based on a pool of the highest-rated scripts provided by the Black List which feature lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ) characters. A script may remain active on the Black List and The GLAAD List up until the first frame has been shot during production.
Scripts, provided by the Black List, were evaluated by GLAAD using the following criteria:
- Fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation
- Boldness and originality of the content
- Potential impact of the media project
- Overall quality of the written project
- Passes the Vito Russo Test*
GLAAD’s selected scripts represent the most promising stories from the pool provided.
To pass the Vito Russo Test, the following must be true:
- The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ).
- That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. the character is comprised of the same sort of unique character traits commonly used to differentiate straight/non-transgender characters from one another).
- The LGBTQ character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect. Meaning they are not there to simply provide colorful commentary, paint urban authenticity, or (perhaps most commonly) set up a punchline. The character should matter.
The Black List FAQs may be found here:
Landing page for all Diversity Lists
For more information, you can contact GLAAD at GLAADList@glaad.org and the Black List at support@blcklst.com.
ABOUT THE BLACK LIST
The Black List is a platform dedicated to nurturing storytelling and empowering writers to maximize their professional potential. First established in 2005 as an annual survey of Hollywood’s most-liked unproduced screenplays, the Black List has since grown into a comprehensive resource for the film, TV, and theater industries, serving thousands of agents, managers, showrunners, producers, financiers, directors, actor, and theater industry professionals.
Since its inception in 2005, more than 400 scripts from the Annual Black List have been produced, grossing over $28B in worldwide box offices. Films produced from Black List scripts have won four Best Picture Oscars and 12 Best Screenplay Oscars since 2007. A Harvard Business school study found that “Black-Listed scripts were twice as likely to be made into films…They also did better at theaters, with movies of the same budget generating 90% more revenue at the box office.”
In October 2012, the Black List launched a unique online community where screenwriters can make their work available to readers, buyers, and employers. Since its inception, it has hosted more than 100,000 scripts and provided more than 130,000 script evaluations. As a direct result of introductions made on the Black List, countless writers have found representation at major talent agencies and management companies and/or sold or optioned their screenplays. Several films have been produced from scripts showcased on the website, including NAACP Award-nominated MR MALCOLM’S LIST, Independent Spirit Award-nominated THE NOVICE, and Golden Globe-nominated NIGHTINGALE, starring David Oyelowo.
The Black List also supports various programs for writers–including mentorships, script development deals, production funds, play commissions, and direct financial grants–in collaboration with corporate and industry sponsors. It distributed more than $800K directly to writers in 2022 alone.
More information on the Black List is available at blcklst.com. For regular updates, follow them on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd, and Youtube.