Creative Screenwriting
Three individuals and one writing team have been selected as winners of the 2018 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition. The fellows will each receive a $35,000 prize, the first installment of which will be distributed at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards Presentation & Live Read on Thursday, November 8, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. For the sixth consecutive year, an ensemble of actors will read selected scenes from the winning scripts.
The 2018 winners are (listed alphabetically by author):
- Allison Buckmelter and Nicolas Buckmelter, âAmerican Refugeeâ
- Joey Clarke, Jr., âMilesâ
- Grace Sherman, âNumbers and Wordsâ
- Wenonah Wilms, âHorsehead Girlsâ
A total of 6,895 scripts were submitted for this yearâs competition. Nine individual screenwriters and one writing team were selected as finalists. Their scripts were then read and judged by the Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee, who ultimately voted the winners.
The 2018 finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):
- Avi Glick, âA Yacht in the Apache Junctionâ
- Ernestina Juárez, âLabyrinth of Destinyâ
- Neal McLaughlin, âThe Sunshine Wardâ
- Daniel Miska, âThe Soldier That Wagged Her Tailâ
- Gabriel Mizrahi, âBeside Ourselvesâ
- Jordan Trippeer, âAirâ
Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year. The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.
The Academy Nicholl Fellowships Committee
is chaired by Academy Writers Branch Governor Robin Swicord. The members of the committee are Eva Marie Saint (Actors Branch); Steven Poster (Cinematographers Branch); Marcus Hu and William Mechanic (Executives Branch); James Plannette and Stephen Ujlaki (Members-at-Large); Stephanie Allain, Albert Berger, Julia Chasman, Julie Lynn, Peter Samuelson and Robert W. Shapiro (Producers Branch); Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Short Films and Feature Animation Branch); Bobbi Banks (Sound Branch); and Tina Gordon Chism, Eric Heisserer, Larry Karaszewski, Dan Petrie Jr., Misan Sagay, Kirsten Smith, Dana Stevens and Tyger Williams (Writers Branch).
The global competition, which aims to identify and encourage talented new screenwriters, has awarded 156 fellowships since it began in 1986. In 2018 several past Nicholl fellows added to their feature film and television credits:
⢠Elizabeth Chomko directed her Nicholl-winning script âWhat They Had,â which premiered at Sundance.
⢠Ehren Kruger produced âOphelia,â which also premiered at Sundance.
⢠Kurt Kuenne directed an episode of NBCâs âThe Blacklist.â
⢠Tianna Langham and Chris Bessounian are writers on Fox Televisionâs âThe Resident.â
⢠Terri Miller and Andrew Marlowe are executive producers and creators of ABCâs âTake Two.â
⢠Lee Patterson was a writer on USAâs âColony.â
⢠Rebecca Sonnenshine is a co-executive producer and writer on the Cinemax series âOutcast.â
⢠Barbara Stepansky won a 2018 WGA Award in the Long Form Original category for her screenplay for the Lifetime original movie âFlint.â
Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Awards
Presentation & Live Read are now available at Oscars.org/Events. Casting for the live read will be announced at a later date.
https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-reveals-winning-nicholl-screenwriters
https://www.oscars.org/nicholl