Fiction Updates from The Black List

Greetings and salutations

Summer is here and so are a few updates from the Fiction side of The Black List. We have an important reminder, some new opportunities, and new episodes of Read the Acknowledgments. Check it out.

We’re now accepting submissions for new Evil Twin Manuscript Initiative. Through this program, we’re working with Evil Twin / Zando to identify an unpublished manuscript to enter into a $25,000 publishing deal.

Evil Twin is looking for upmarket supernatural, gothic, psychological, or any horror sub-genre that may intersect with thriller, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Manuscripts should elevate familiar themes — such as love, adventure, guilt, desire, betrayal, family, identity, and obsession among others — while exploring fresh, compelling perspectives. Writers with eligible unpublished novel manuscripts or self-published novels can submit their work via blcklst.com.

Remember that submissions will close November 20, 2026. More information about the initiative is available at blcklst.com/programs.

Hopefully you’re finalizing revisions on your novel manuscript. The submission window for the 2026 Unpublished Novel Award closes July 13, 2026. You can find all the information needed to participate on our 2026 Award’s program page.

The selection process for Blackstone Publishing, Genre Films, and ONYX Collective remains ongoing. We’re working closely with each partner and will have updates when they become available.

As seen in Deadline, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, among other outlets, we’ve launched the Simon & Schuster Title Discovery Initiative. Metadata from more than 6,000 titles in Simon & Schuster’s extensive fiction and non-fiction backlist into The Black List’s material discovery database on blcklst.com, creating a powerful new way for vetted entertainment industry professionals to identify and explore published books for adaptation.

This Initiative brings titles from the extensive Simon & Schuster family of imprints to blcklst.com, including Atria Books, Avid Reader Press, Emily Bestler Books, Gallery Books, Saga Press, Scout Press, Scribner, 37Ink, S&S Books for Young Readers and more.

Check out our April 2026 Fiction Discovery webinar via The Authors Guild here.

Be sure to get caught up on new episodes of Read the Acknowledgments; more on the way soon. Stay tuned.

Isabel Booth & Marcia Markland | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Dhonielle Clayton & Caroline Tung Richmond | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Laura McGrath & Alia Hanna Habib | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Porscha Burke & Yahdon Israel | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Parul Bavishi & Matt Trinetti | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Ashley Garland & Glory Anne Plata | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Zakiya Dalila Harris & Sincere Brooks | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Maura Cheeks, Josie Kals, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Spotify x JED Impact Award Special | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Minal Hajratwala & Raychelle Heath | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Kate McKean & Maris Kreizman | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Thomas Gebremedhin & Jackson Howard | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Traci Thomas & Franklin Leonard | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Erin Edmison & Szilvia Molnar | Apple | Spotify | Substack

A.E. Osworth & Denne Michele Norris | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Stephanie Delman & Allison Hunter | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Robert Jones Jr. & Mateo Askaripour | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Pilar Garcia-Brown & Jenny Xu | Apple | Spotify | Substack

Franklin Leonard | Apple | Spotify | Substack

If you’re not already a member of the Black List website, here you go:

Writers: Create a free Writer Profile and whenever you’re ready (and only then) upload your project, order professional feedback, and explore the various opportunities we have from time to time.

I'm a writer. Sign me up.

Industry Professionals Register for an Industry Membership to discover new material before everyone else.

I'm an industry pro. Sign me up.

See you in the comments.