Onyx Collective and The Black List Launch a Program to Discover Unpublished Manuscripts

The Black List will evaluate submissions for Onyx Collective, with a deadline of August 6th, 2025.

The Black List has collaborated with Onyx Collective on a project that will advance an unpublished manuscript towards production, providing an 18-month option deal for film or television.

What’s Happening:

  • The Black List, recognized for its yearly compilation of the most favored unproduced screenplays and its screenplay submission platform, will collaborate with Onyx Collective, the content brand responsible for projects like How to Die Alone, Reasonable Doubt, the Emmy-winning docuseries The 1619 Project, and the Oscar-winning documentary Summer of Soul. 
  • According to Variety, this partnership aims to curate a shortlist of exceptional fiction manuscripts that highlight themes and viewpoints related to the Black experience.
  • Selected manuscripts will be offered a film or television deal lasting a minimum of 18 months.
  • The initiative marks a major step for The Black List as it nears its 20th anniversary.
  • In September, it expanded into fiction, allowing writers to create free profiles on blcklst.com to showcase their completed novels, regardless of publication status.
  • Writers can also receive professional critiques from experienced readers and submit their manuscripts to various fiction-focused programs.
  • Unpublished fiction manuscripts that have undergone at least one evaluation may be eligible for the Onyx Collective initiative at no cost.
  • The Black List will analyze submission data to create a shortlist for Onyx Collective.
  • Submissions are open on blcklst.com until August 6th, 2025.

What They’re Saying:

  • Franklin Leonard, founder and CEO of The Black List: “Tara Duncan is one of my favorite people on Earth, much less in Hollywood, so it’s an utter joy to partner with Onyx Collective under her leadership to help find a novel that they will option for film or television adaptation. Honestly, the only thing more exciting than doing so is knowing that the work we find will be in the best of hands once we do.”
  • Tara Duncan, Onyx Collective president: “Amplifying underrepresented artists is at the heart of our mission. The Black List has been an important resource for identifying a new generation of storytelling, for Onyx to support The Black List expansion is a no brainer. I am personally excited to collaborate with Franklin and showcase great stories on a global scale.”

More Entertainment News:

Tricia Kennedy
As a huge Disney fan Tricia enjoys having Walt Disney World basically in her backyard. When she's not at the theme parks she is either playing drums or with her dog Yoda. She is a lifelong Star Wars fan and has ridden Star Tours over 270 times.