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EXCLUSIVE: The Women’s List connected Friday unveiled finalists for its 2026 Scripts List, highlighting nan year’s champion unproduced scripts penned by women spanning characteristic films and hourlong and half-hour TV pilots crossed aggregate genres.
Organizers said nan database was curated to showcase originality, beardown characters and cinematic potential, featuring move female roles nan manufacture wants and needs.
This is nan 3rd version of nan list, which successful past incarnations has led to aggregate book options for its alums on pinch meetings and script-read requests from agents, managers and actresses, and companies including nan Obamas’ Higher Ground and Abigail Disney’s Level Forward.
This year’s database has generated consequence from nan likes of Taylor Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch, Sony’s Screen Gems, Big Moody Curve, Gracie Otto’s Ralf Films and more, organizers said. Loglines and topics from this year’s harvest scope from Taylor Swift fans to anti-Nazi guidance fighters, nan Voyager I ngo and an Ozempic scary movie.
“Every twelvemonth this database gets sharper and much surprising,” The Women’s List co-founder Jan Kimbrough said. “These 2026 finalists beryllium that women are penning nan stories audiences are really craving correct now, crossed each genre and format.”
Kimbrough is chair of a committee that includes chap co-founder Mia Certic, Christine Luby, Lisa Seidman and Sharon Soboil.
Check retired nan finalists and book descriptions below.
The Women’s List 2026
Alone – Feature – Ana Mendez
In a post-apocalyptic wilderness, a female separated from her hubby fights to take sides her safe haven from a mysterious alien who threatens not only her shelter, but her reality.
Balloons – Feature – Nikki Braendlin
A reluctant relationship pinch 2 endearing misfits yet forces a reclusive parking enforcement serviceman to face his obsession pinch decease and nan guilt that accompanies it.
Betty Lee Is Missing – One Hour – Allyson Morgan
A mini municipality is thrown into situation erstwhile sweet, unassuming teen Betty Lee goes missing connected prom nighttime – and past returns, 3 days later, arsenic a 36-year-old woman.
Bible Quiz – ½ Hour – Margaret Borchert and Geneva Willis
Tasked pinch elevating nan floor plan of nan “sport” Bible Quiz, an underdog squad of girls activity glory, God, and golden (medals). But these girls are only quality and nan roadworthy to Nationals is paved pinch temptations for illustration boys, booze, and banned books.
Bright Belt – Feature – Don Angelica Silva
Post emancipation, a fierce young matriarch and her idealistic relative conflict to prolong their family’s prosperous baccy workplace arsenic ambition, loss, and quality itself sow nan seeds of a caller benignant of state fresh to bloom into a taste evolution.
Deep and Dark – Feature – Jennifer Grand
A disillusioned assemblage student visiting relatives successful a distant compartment complete wintertime break must past a location penetration by hopeless criminals who judge her unassuming uncle runs a acheronian web cognition and holds nan keys to millions successful cryptocurrency.
Everybody Knows – Feature – Rangeley Wallace
After her mom’s unexpected death, a materialistic rule student returns home, discovers a shocking truth astir her mother’s past and joins a section newsman to analyse a ruthless ambiance alteration cover-up that whitethorn beryllium down her death.
Exodus – One Hour – Leslie Borchert
On nan lam from U.S. authorities operatives, an ex-con technologist joins a squad of interplanetary smugglers successful hopes of reuniting pinch her family connected nan Mars – only to uncover a deadly conspiracy that shatters nan idyllic façade of life connected nan Red Planet.
Fania In nan Forest – One Hour – Lisa Kenner Grissom
After nan Nazi penetration of 1939 Vilna scatters her family, a fearless Jewish teenage woman fights to subordinate a group of male-only wood guidance fighters—only to study that her recklessness whitethorn frighten nan information and ngo of nan full brigade.
Filthy – Feature – Lisa Cole
When her born-again mother transplants her from California to Bible Belt Arkansas, a 13-year-old woman must past poverty, predation, and belief hypocrisy earlier uncovering nan courageousness to prevention herself.
Giants Among Us – Feature – Elba Roman Morales
After his family is fractured by loss, a rigid begetter is pulled into his young son’s imaginative world and must study to emotion successful a connection he was ne'er taught aliases consequence losing him forever.
Giles vs. Harris – Feature – Melanie Jeffcoat
An eager achromatic janitor successful 1902 Alabama, stripped of his correct to vote, partners pinch a hot-tempered achromatic lawyer from NYC successful a historical ineligible conflict pitting this improbable duo straight against established governmental achromatic supremacy and nan KKK.
Ghosting – Feature – Micheline Auger
Ghosting is simply a psychological scary astir a successful ghostwriter who retreats to a distant compartment to constitute her first novel—only to observe that to reclaim her voice, she must face nan past she’s been moving from aliases consequence losing herself entirely.
Hungry Woman – Feature – Tricia Lee
When her Ozempic supplier is recalled, a restrained bride-to-be fights her awakening suppressed hunger and starts to crave flesh.
Hush, My Darling – Feature – Meagan Fulps
Set wrong nan hyper-competitive world of elite girls’ basketball, Hush, My Darling is simply a psychosexual play pursuing a mother who gets dangerously entangled pinch her teenage daughter’s AAU coach. Inspired by a existent story.
I Met nan Devil – Feature – Rachel Coomes
Accused of witchcraft during nan Scottish witch hunts successful 1662, Isobel Gowdie spins an elaborate confession to stave disconnected her execution. Inspired by existent events.
Last Call – One Hour – Jelena Woehr
A cantankerous bartender pinch an eerie gift and a spiritually alert detective lick murders—with nan thief of nan victims.
Latecomer – 1/2 Hour – Alex Rubin
When a late-night big is fired complete politics, she decides to alteration those authorities herself by moving for governor.
Liberty Library – ½ hr – Carmen Angelica
Liberty Library is simply a mockumentary pursuing a group of community-driven librarians wished to thief contempt dealing pinch attacks from nan left, correct and wide bureaucracy.
My Last Skirt – Feature – Stephanie Sanditz
An Irish orphan fleeing poorness reinvents herself and joins nan Union Army arsenic a man, becoming a dressed up Civil War leader and perchance nan first female to ballot successful America until a devastating concealed threatens to erase everything she/he fought for.
North Brother Island – Feature – Kimberly McLeod
A pathologist crippled pinch worry is sent to an land to analyse toxic metallic poisoning, only to find himself trapped successful nan island’s haunted past and must flight earlier he becomes its adjacent quarantine victim. Inspired by existent events.
Nuts – Feature – Sara Friedman
After nan accidental decease of her one-night stand, a young therapist becomes entangled pinch his grieving family and finds herself drawn to his charismatic half-brother.
Public Way – ½ Hour – Marty Johnson
A hard-living New England townie becomes an improbable activistic erstwhile a powerful outsider moves to municipality and attempts to artifact nan locals from accessing an oceanfront path.
Rhythm Girls – One Hour – Judy Chaikin
The existent communicative of an all-girl set of Black teen-age girls from Mississippi and their struggles to emergence to nan apical of nan achromatic antheral dominated euphony world successful nan 1940’s.
Ricky Baby – Feature – Chelsea Gonzalez
Ricky, a man pinch Down syndrome, discovers a passion for creation aft falling caput complete heels for Joe, a handsome subway performer. When nan 2 squad up to gain a living, Ricky’s feelings for Joe person a awesome ripple effect connected some their lives.
See Jane Fight – Feature – Jill Morley
The girl of a fallen female kickboxing champion must face nan affectional trauma caused by her mother successful bid to execute her dream of becoming a master MMA fighter.
Shucked – 1/2 Hour – Jana Peck
A azygous mother inadvertently destroys a rate smuggling ringing past flees to her autochthonal Prince Edward Island wherever her past – and nan smugglers – await. To enactment alive, she must group up a full caller smuggling web successful nan only world she knows – oysters.
Sisters of Industry – Feature – Kryssa Schemmerling and Jodi Gibson
In a New England mill town, a runaway workplace woman assumes a caller personality to flight her abusive past—but arsenic sadistic labour conditions and ghostly apparitions converge, she’s drawn into a deadly concealed nine of mill girls bent connected vengeance.
The Slemmon Sisters – One Hour – Siobhan Gilbert
Two Irish sisters from agrarian Clare—one hopeless to flight her sibling’s shadow, nan different struggling to unrecorded up to everyone’s expectations—must navigate their fractured narration erstwhile they some make Ireland’s first master women’s rugby team.
The Sacrifice – One Hour – Jo Budzilowicz
Accused of murdering her high-school fellow successful a modern-day witch hunt, Stella Moore fled home. Twenty-five years later, she’s drawn back—to a municipality of secrets, mislaid magic, and a accumulation of Macbeth that awakens thing agelong buried.
Strange Chapel – One Hour – Austin Highsmith Garces
Children successful Strange Chapel, LA statesman to vanish into bladed air, and nan enigma of their disappearance opens nan doorway to parallel universes and a world of problems for nan town.
The Swiftie Struggle – Feature – Danielle Bruncati
When 2 devoted Taylor Swift fans get unopen retired of nan Eras Tour presale, their hopeless attempts to unafraid tickets unit them to face their deepest fears astir friendship, loss, and increasing up.
Taku Dogs – One Hour – Sarah Sprague
An indigenous Search and Rescue K-9 handler races to rescue a bid of abducted victims from an progressively convulsive kidnapper while trying to mend her narration pinch her estranged large sister.
Thunderbird – Feature – Jacky Watson
A Native Alaskan marine biologist believes a prehistoric animal holds nan cardinal to curing each familial disease. When she runs crossed a sunken Cold War submarine, she discovers nan truth down a concealed ngo and nan truth astir nan animal itself.
Total Smut – Feature – Frances Denny
When a washed-up romance novelist is forced to squad up pinch a bestselling romantasy writer aliases consequence financial ruin (and worse: irrelevance) secrets are uncovered that consequence overturning some of their lives.
Triangle – Feature – Akiva Penaloza
A clever Jewish migrant must conceal a forbidden love, outwit mill abusers, and past nan infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire to scope her American dream.
Voyager – CS Fischer
When Voyager I starts sending backmost gibberish, it seems for illustration nan extremity for nan seasoned spacecraft. But erstwhile 1 of nan squad recognizes a shape successful nan gibberish, they recognize location whitethorn beryllium thing retired location trying to make contact.
Weather aliases Not – Feature – Suzanne Johnson
A mini Midwestern municipality successful nan ‘60s is rocked by ungraded erstwhile a young woman inadvertently tells her relative nan truth astir their enigmatic boarder and successful nan process learns nan value of opinionated up for what she believes in.
Woman Hollering – Feature – Lindsey Villareal
An abandoned woman successful South Texas transforms into a half-owl, half-witch called La Lechuza.
