ISA's 2023 Annual Transparency Report

The International Screenwriters’ Association is delighted to contribute to the Women of Color Unite Transparency Initiative. To provide a safe and inclusive space for the members of our Reading Team and screenwriting community, we have anonymized the overall results.

At the ISA, we have several objectives regarding all screenplay submissions:

• To provide an inclusive, supportive network for screenwriters of all backgrounds.
• To champion screenwriting of all types.
• To celebrate the work of advanced screenwriters and aid in the development of aspiring writers.
• To provide additional avenues of accessibility for screenwriters. This includes offering free contests and initiatives.
• To develop a Reading Team that is insightful and diverse in their experiences, backgrounds, and opinions.
• To support our Reading Team by providing ongoing training, additional career assistance, and a strong sense of community.
   

ABOUT THE ISA READING TEAM

How is the Reading Team coordinated?
All program scoring, script evaluations, and logline reviews are overseen by an ISA staff member. This Submissions Manager hires, trains, and coordinates all of the readers. They also serve as a point of contact for writers, addressing any concerns regarding feedback or program submissions.

How are ISA Readers compensated?
All readers are paid for all assignments. Payment varies based on the type of assignment. The pay scale is designed such that a reader will earn the same hourly income regardless of what type of review they are performing. Readers choose their own workload, and assignments are expected to be completed within a week.

What is the level of experience of an ISA Reader?
Initial reader experience varies from fresh graduates to former staff writers, to industry veterans with several decades of producing credits. More information can be found on Feedback pages.

Most ISA readers expand their industry experience while remaining on the team. As an example, readers have gained work at or engaged in programs with Warner Bros., Netflix, and Amazon during their tenure. We see this as confirmation that a reader’s unique insight is equally as important as their initial experience.

How does the ISA choose its readers?
In 2021, we overhauled our hiring process to increase the diversity of the team and provide more opportunities for applicants who may struggle in a resume-dominant system.

The process begins with the submission of note samples. If the quality level of their notes meets our standards, applicants are invited to perform a test read, giving notes on a test document. 

If the notes meet our application standards, the prospective reader is instructed on improvements and trained on house style, critical theory, and scoring methodology.

How are screenplays evaluated for a competition?
During the first round of scoring, screenplays are graded in five categories: Character, Dialogue, Pacing, Concept, and Voice. These categories were chosen with the goal of allowing a more diverse set of strong material to rise to the top. 

During the first round, readers also provide a Pass / Consider / Recommend “Verdict”. These verdicts are influenced but not directly determined by scores. This is to allow for the advancement of screenplays with intangible strengths not well reflected by a scoring breakdown.

All reads are accompanied by a note wherein the reader justifies their score and verdict. A high score or Consider / Recommend will place a screenplay into consideration for a second read.

The second read expands the scoring system to ten categories: Character, Dialogue, Concept, Plot, Pacing, Structure, Voice, Polish, Originality, and Marketability. A second reader provides a new score, verdict, and extended note.

The top-performing projects are reviewed by the Submissions Manager. A shortlist is then composed. The Submissions Manager and at least one additional ISA team member reads the remaining candidates. Depending on the competition, additional guest judges may be brought in. The final decision is made via a conversation, during which all candidates are discussed.

By the end of the process, a competition winner may be read by as many as seven different individuals.

How are screenplays evaluated for Development Evaluations?
The ten-category system is used for all notes, including Development Evaluations. Periodically, readers are sent a list of their top-scoring projects. From this list, they will select their top screenplays. These projects are sent to the Development Team for consideration.

Readers are encouraged to any identify remarkable material they come across regardless of the source. Celebrated projects have been sent to the Development Team and the Writing Gig Department. Multiple writers have been signed to Shopping Agreements via this process.

What systems are in place to ensure that a writer’s work is judged fairly?
During the hiring process, it is made clear to a reader that the ISA celebrates stories of all kinds. This is a core part of our critical theory. In rare instances, a reader may find material triggering, offensive, or otherwise problematic. We make it clear to readers that they should never force themselves to read such a project. Their feelings and experiences matter. At the same time, we believe that a writer’s vision must be respected. As such, if a reader feels they cannot fairly evaluate material, the project is reassigned.

No project is scored by or given notes from the same reader more than once. If a writer submits to two contests and orders two evaluations, their material will be read by four different members of the Reading Team. This ensures that writers receive as varied a set of opinions as possible.

Finally, a reader’s total career scores are regularly reviewed. This is to identify issues such as potential content biases or a misaligned grading scale. 

How are writers protected from problematic feedback?
All evaluations are reviewed and edited before delivery. If an evaluation is deemed to be below our standards, they are sent back to the reader for revision or are reassigned to a different reader.

As with scoring, readers are informed of any potential issues with their evaluations.  Being on the reading team comes with the assumption that the training process never stops.

How many entries does each competition receive?
The total entry numbers of a competition can vary considerably. Season to season, a program’s entries can vary by as much as 50%. In addition, the ISA provides four free entries to ISAConnect members each year. Which program offers a free entry changes each year.

For this reason, it is difficult to provide an accurate snapshot of entries. However, the ISA has internal targets for each program which are usually attained and are as follows: 

Table Read My Screenplay: 2,000 entries.

ISA Fast Track Fellowship: 2,000 entries.

Emerging Screenwriters: 4,000 entries.

ISA Diversity Initiative: 3,000 entries.

ISA Pitch Challenge: 1,000 entries.

Reader Identification Report
Members of the Reading Team were invited to provide personal information. This was entirely voluntary. As our readers have been sought out in the past, overall numbers are being used. 

“International” refers to writers who have immigrated to the United States as well as those living abroad. “Older Age” includes any reader over the age of 50. Finally, “Gender Identity” refers to those who identify as trans, nonbinary, nongender conforming, or genderfluid.

Disclosed Competition, Fellowship, and Initiative Winner Demographics
The following information is based on the 2022 winners/fellows/selected writers of our Emerging Screenwriting and Table Read Competitions, the Fast Track Fellowships, Pitch Challenges, and the Diversity Initiative.

Moving Forward in 2024
The ISA has committed to several initiatives to better improve our levels of inclusivity.

Implicit Bias Tests have been offered to all Reading Team members, and will continue to be offered to new members.

The Submissions Manager and several members of the ISA Team will be taking all available tests.

Following the volunteer disclosure, we have identified several areas where our reading team could be more inclusive. We will address this over the course of the year.