Lilly Wachowski’s Anarchists United Foundation has compiled the latest list of fellowship recipients.
The organization — which was co-founded by the Matrix filmmaker to address inequalities in the entertainment industry across film and television — has selected Emma Bruno, Erin Deason, Sarah Granger, Cookie Hughes, and Chelsea Javier for its 2026 Writers Discovery Fellowship. The program officially launched on May 4, and is sponsored this year by Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions, Drew Goddard’s Goddard Textiles, and Eric Heisserer’s Chronology.
The Wachowskis co-founded Anarchists United with Lawrence Mathis and Sarah Marie Flores, and they helped guide the fellowship as a way to support art, equality, and underrepresented voices across film and television. The program operates entirely under the Anarchists United Foundation after a five-year partnership with Circle M+P (formerly Circle of Confusion).
Again, it’s a six-month fellowship, but this year, the organization didn’t just release the names via press release, it patted itself on the back. Wachowski and his team explained how they are pivoting and expanding the program in response to the changing landscape in Hollywood to include the creator economy, digital storytelling, independent television, and emerging media platforms. “It remains rooted in traditional television development” through mentorship coverage, mock town hall meetings, pitch sessions, networking opportunities and the creation of pitch-ready pilots, but there will be exposure outside of the studio system.
“The fellowship will continue to expose the group to traditional paths into the television industry, but we also want to focus on alternative, concurrent approaches toward building a brand within the industry,” Wachowski said in a statement. “The TV industry in 2026 looks very different than it did when we first launched this program.”
Fellows receive a stipend of $10,000 and will be mentored by a roster of mentors that includes MACRO’s Fiore Fabian, Atomic Monster’s Liz Gezana, production manager Richard Gonzalez, Universal International Studios’ Bobby Lucas, and 3Pas Studios’ Jordan Rubio. Mentors are said to donate their personal time as a way to “help shape the next generation of television storytellers” and raise the profile of fellows.
Los Angeles-based Bruno works as an actor, writer, and director in a body of work that blends existential absurdist comedy with emotionally grounded storytelling. In addition to performing at the Open Fist Theater, she co-hosts the programme Life in quarters Podcast. Dyson, a bisexual screenwriter and co-host of the weekly podcast This feels to mewrote genre-driven scripts that were recognized through ScreenCraft and Stage 32 x The Blood List competitions.
Granger draws on a background in technology and cybersecurity to create science fiction and drama. She is a recipient of the SFFILM Rainin Filmmakers with Disabilities Scholarship and the Loreen Arbus Fellowship. Hughes, a Chicago filmmaker and entrepreneur, is the founder of Pocket Set Studios and the nonprofit Lights Camera Youth Action. Javier is a multi-hyphenate director and actor, whose projects include black comedies Halloween Club And the advantage Smile or hugWhich premiered at the Bentonville Film Festival.
