Someone’s ears were burning (talk about having a finger on the pulse…) when Not Deadline emailed a draft of its blog about the Black List to a 3rd party for editorial input (the draft blog email is attached below)...because a few days later, this above PR announcement touched exhaustively on the reintroduction of the writing contests that the Black List and its merry band of inclusivators (Yes. The word is made up, but it sounds so cool) had previously tossed aside.
The Black List and its conspirators had no choice but to overcorrect because–
CAPE and the Black List haven’t announced any Asian Pacific winners since 2020.
EASTER SEALS/WGA DISABILITY PROGRAM and the Black List haven’t announced any disabled writer winners since 2020.
GLAAD and the Black List haven’t announced any LGBTQ+ winners since 2022.
Muslim Public Affairs and the Black List haven’t announced any Muslim winners since 2022.
NALIP and the Black List did not announce winners for 2024.
Bottom line: the Black List and its partners hijacked inclusiveness in the name of perception..and, when it dawned on them that the public might catch on—they scrambled for cover like vampires at sunrise and put out a press release efforting to convince the public that ‘there are no vampires here’.
What would be really cool is if the paying members of these inclusive groups stood up and collectively said “Wait a minute. Why am I paying hard earned dollars for membership in exchange for exposure as a writer when these contests are nothing more than illusory opportunities? I want my money back!”