Spotify has recently announced an exciting new initiative aimed at fostering greater awareness and understanding of mental health through storytelling. In partnership with The Black List, a renowned platform for filmmakers and writers, and The Jed Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing suicide among teens and young adults, Spotify is launching the Spotify x JED Impact Award. This program seeks to uncover and celebrate unpublished stories that portray mental health in a meaningful and impactful way. By doing so, Spotify hopes to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and encourage open conversations about this critical issue.
At the heart of this initiative is a commitment to providing financial and creative support to writers. Spotify will award $10,000 grants to five authors whose unpublished manuscripts feature exceptional depictions of mental health in fiction. These stories will not only highlight the complexities of mental health but also contribute to a more diverse and inclusive representation of these experiences in literature. To ensure that as many writers as possible can participate, Spotify is also offering fee waivers for up to 140 writers, giving them access to a free month of hosting and a professional evaluation on The Black List platform. This support is designed to level the playing field and create opportunities for emerging talent who might otherwise face barriers to entry.
In addition to financial support, Spotify is offering a range of resources to help writers both in their craft and in their own mental well-being. The company has developed a dedicated hub in collaboration with The Jed Foundation, which provides tools and guidance for writing about mental health in a thoughtful and responsible way. This hub will also include resources to support the mental health of the writers themselves, recognizing that the process of creating meaningful stories can be both rewarding and challenging. Furthermore, winners of the Spotify x JED Impact Award will have access to one-on-one consultations with mental health experts from The Jed Foundation, ensuring they have the support they need to thrive.
The submission process for the Spotify x JED Impact Award is now open and will run until July 8, 2025. Writers from around the world are invited to submit their unpublished English-language manuscripts through The Black List’s website. A judging panel comprising experts from Spotify, The Black List, and The Jed Foundation, as well as additional authors and industry professionals, will review the submissions and select the winning manuscripts. The winners will be announced on October 10, 2025, which is World Mental Health Day, a fitting occasion to celebrate the power of storytelling in promoting mental health awareness.
The leaders of the organizations involved in this initiative have expressed their enthusiasm for the project and its potential impact. Casey Acierno, Social Impact Lead at Spotify, highlighted the importance of storytelling in reducing stigma and encouraging people to seek help. “Stories about mental health have immense power to erase stigma and help people get the help that they need,” Acierno said. Spotify’s entry into the audiobooks space has deepened the company’s appreciation for the transformative power of stories, and this initiative reflects a commitment to supporting writers who are addressing mental health in their work.
Randy Winston, Creative Director of Fiction at The Black List, also emphasized the significance of this partnership. “The Spotify Social Impact team and The Jed Foundation are important stewards of intentional programming with meaningful impact,” Winston remarked. By collaborating on this initiative, The Black List is helping to amplify exceptional depictions of mental health in unpublished fiction, furthering its mission to discover and celebrate exciting new voices in storytelling. Courtney Knowles, Senior Media Advisor for The Jed Foundation, added that narratives in fiction have a profound impact on how we understand ourselves and the world around us. “JED and I are proud to partner on this initiative, celebrating and inspiring unpublished novels that entertain while creating connection and fostering emotional well-being,” Knowles said.
This initiative is a testament to the belief that stories have the power to change lives. By supporting writers who are exploring mental health in their work, Spotify, The Black List, and The Jed Foundation are helping to create a more compassionate and inclusive literary landscape. The Spotify x JED Impact Award not only recognizes the importance of mental health storytelling but also empowers writers to share their unique perspectives with the world. As submissions begin to roll in, there is every reason to be hopeful that this program will have a lasting impact on both the literary community and the broader conversation around mental health.
